When it comes to exclusive titles in console gaming, there tends to always be a lot of toxic discourse unlike anything else. Sure multiplat games get some heat, but nothing like exclusives. The most extreme Xbox gamers can’t help but say PlayStation games are overrated and Xbox games are the best. The most extreme PlayStation gamers say the same in reverse. But for some reason Starfield has been a beacon for this conversation even more so than anything else. Why is that, and why does it continue?

Since its release last year, Starfield has been the epitome of the game you either love or hate. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a game in history be called a 10 by so many gamers and “mid” by so many others. Usually when something like this happens the real answer is somewhere in the middle, which, at least from critics is right where the game fell. A good, even great game with many flaws and a step below Bethesda’s usual greatness with Fallout and Elder Scrolls. I myself thought it was a solid game and I quite enjoyed it, but a 7.5 good.

And the weird thing with Starfield is the narrative never went away. Typically with these things it’s the hot thing in the moment to discuss and goes away after a couple weeks. Just look at Concord for example. It was the game to love to hate for about a month, but now no one is bothering other than the occasional joke. Starfield you could have mentioned in February that you were enjoying it and immediately get blown up for doing so. And if you said you weren’t enjoying it? Prepare for a different group battering you over it. Honestly just mentioning Starfield would create a drama filled night regardless of the context.

With Shattered Space now out this week, the conversation has once again been pushed into overdrive and once again there seems to be 2 camps. Those that enjoyed Starfield seem to for the most part be enjoying Shattered Space. It doesn’t really raise the bar of the game, but its more Starfield and they like that. Our own reviewer said as much. I will say I haven’t seen as much 10/10 love for Shattered Space as i did the base game, but a lot of the fans still are quite enjoying it. Those who didn’t like it before (or simply never played it) still hate it and think it’s the most overrated thing in gaming.

What this has led to is another round of predictable outcomes online. If you loved it, you are bias and get attacked. You only love it because you are an Xbox or Bethesda fanboy. If you hate it, well you are just a PlayStation lover. And don’t get me wrong, their definitely is some of that. Those people will always exist. However I don’t think it’s fair to lump everyone into that. Everyone has their own opinions. There’s some games out there that people think are a 6 and I think are 9. Both opinions are valid, even if you disagree and giving it one score or the other doesn’t automatically make you a hater or a fanboy.

But Why Starfield Specifically?

The question I have is, why has Starfield of all games been the one to invoke such polarizing views? I think the answer is 1 or 2 things, and it might be both.

For starters, right or wrong, Starfield became the focal point of the Bethesda purchase. When Microsoft bought the publisher it made a lot of people feel a certain type of way. And while many games have come out from Bethesda since becoming a Microsoft company, Starfield was always the big one. Starfield was the one Bethesda game that all gamers regardless of platform were looking forward to. Until it was no longer coming to PlayStation. That led to a lot of bitterness and vitriol that I think led to people feeling negative towards the game before it ever came out. Even if the game was a 10 they wouldn’t give it that love because it was taken away from them.

On the flip side it suddenly became the IT Xbox game. Xbox gamers finally had a game outside of Halo, Gears and Forza to rally around. It had been a long time since Xbox had arguably the biggest game of the year coming exclusively to the platform, and Starfield was now that. Those gamers would have loved it even if was a 5/10. It was the perfect storm for both sides.

The other answer is, it’s the first new IP from Bethesda in 25 years and had a lot of hype and anticipation behind it. Bethesda (the studio) is one of the most legendary studio’s in gaming. Both Fallout and Elder Scrolls are in the pantheon of biggest and best IP’s in gaming. Those are mighty big shoes to fill for any new IP, let alone a Bethesda game. And if it didn’t fill it, the questions would have come “why this over a new Fallout or Elder Scrolls”.

Ultimately I’m not sure Starfield is a game that warrants to be such a lightning rod. Like I said earlier, it’s a good to great game with many flaws and warts. And with more expansions after Shattered Space planned, I don’t expect it to stop anytime soon