When Starfield launched last year, it left some divided. Some loved it while others found it disappointing. I was on the side that heavily enjoyed Starfield, although I did acknowledge the games faults. Starfield: Shattered Space is an enjoyable expansion overall and a step in the right direction, but it’s a small one and may not do enough to draw in players who didn’t enjoy Starfield.

The expansion sees you answer a sudden distress call from an ominous looking space station. As you enter and explore the station, you learn that it belongs to the House of Va’ruun, the mysterious religious faction that shut themselves off from the rest of the galaxy years ago. Eventually this leads you to the planet Va’ruun’kai and the city of Darza where the house has been secretly settled for years. After being the only one who can communicate with the lost leader of the house, you’re thrust into a quest to save the city from a great peril.

Pros

One complaint that some people had for Starfield is that there weren’t enough contained stories. The faction quests and side quests often saw you jump from planet to planet and even jumping through different star systems regularly. That isn’t the case for Shattered Space. Everything is more streamlined due to all of the events taking place on Va’ruun’kai. Va’ruun’kai itself is also probably the most enjoyable locale in Starfield. The planet looks mysterious and ominous, which reflects the House of Va’ruun perfectly.

The planet is also quite fun to explore. On top of using the rover, the planet also features multiple zero gravity bubbles scattered throughout which can help with making shortcuts or finding new areas. It didn’t feel like I was just wandering and finding nothing like some of the planets from the base game as there’s a lot of locations to discover within Va’ruun’kai. It seemed like I found a new one while exploring much faster than the base game.

Combat in Shattered Space was probably the most fun I’ve had in Starfield thanks to new enemy types which provided a better challenge. The vortex phantoms, which are members of the House of Va’ruun who have been rendered to a ghost-like state and driven mad. They have the ability to teleport and will weave in and out of combat regularly.

The vortex horrors are spider-like creatures who can also teleport like the phantoms but they pack a huge punch and can finish you quickly if you aren’t careful. There’s also the redeemed, a new type of enemy from the outcasts of the House of Va’ruun, the zealots. They’re heavy melee specialists who can take a lot to put down.

I overall enjoyed the quest lines for Shattered Space as well. The main questlines see you assisting the three branches of the House of Va’ruun, all of whom are unsure of how to proceed forward. You’ll experience a few eerie moments, cool looking set pieces and a few intense battles as you get through these.

Each of the main quests has more than one way to end things as well. The side quests feature more personal stories that you get involved in such as a zealot trying to reform himself or a conflict between two brothers at each other’s throats. If you just plow through the main quests you’ll be done in about 4 hours but doing the main and side along with exploring most of Va’ruun’kai took me close to 12 hours (this was also with me being over leveled as I was doing this through a starborn playthrough.)

Cons

So while Shattered Space had enjoyable exploration and quests, the payoffs don’t feel too grand unfortunately. You are given some new weapons which do feel powerful, but there’s nothing like any new ships to unlock which were some of the best rewards for the faction and side quests in the base game. No new vehicles and only a couple of armors as well which I didn’t feel a need to use over my current armor. A new power or trait related to the house or the entity they worship, the great serpent feels like a missed opportunity as well.

Unfortunately Shattered Space also doesn’t fix some of the weaker and more annoying parts of starfield as well. Things like vendors still running out of money too quickly, not being able to build ships from scratch are still present within the game as well as some of the more grindy requirements for unlocking certain perks. While I like Starfield alot , not addressing these a year in just feels off putting. There’s also a missed opportunity for new party members as one complaint of the game was there weren’t any main party members that won’t judge you for being the bad guy. While Shattered Space does add a couple new ones, they’re more like the ones you can hire in bars and such and aren’t on the same level as the constellation members.

Final thoughts

Shattered Space was a fun experience for me. I enjoyed exploring Va’ruun’kai as well as seeing how the reclusive House of Va’ruun operates. I had fun going through the different quests as well and it was refreshing to not have to jump from planet to planet all the time. Unfortunately however, there’s still a lot of the more annoying aspects of Starfield present and it feels like they missed a few opportunities. While not too short, the overall content just doesn’t feel as beefy as Bethesda’s excellent expansions from other games in terms of payoffs.

Reviewed on Xbox series S.