Wholesomeness in Starfield

Cyberpunk 2077.

Black Mirror.

Nine Inch Nails.

100 Bullets.

Gone Girl.

From games to shows, albums, comics, and books, I love me some dark, gritty stories.

Humanity's dark side is endlessly fascinating, and will probably always be while the majority of works will be about the opposite, to reassure audiences, leave them feeling happy rather than depressed.

So it might be strange to write a positive piece about Starfield in-regards to its wholesomeness.

It's not the most wholesome game I've played.

It's not the digital equivalent of this puppy…

But it is the first game I've played in a while where my favorite thing about it, is the wholesomeness.

'Cause it ain't the storytelling… or the quests… or the presentation… or the gameplay… or the design… or the tech… or all the things you've probably already heard or experienced in Starfield Yet, through all of that, it does do something I've not really seen many games do, and that's achieve an adorable quality without being childish.

There is a child character, Cora, and she is adorable too, but not as much as your Mom and Dad, who are just… the nicest people.

Mom fixes up your high-school backpack, Dad polishes up an old family pistol, they visit The Lodge after hearing about your character joining Constellation, and come by to drop off Muffins; most importantly, they live their own lives, as is quite evident when you can bump into them at the game's equivalent to Omega, and totally aren't there for space drugs.

Highlights in my twenty(ish) hours of Starfield aren't fighting the Ursa from After Earth, or leaping across chasms on Mars, and joining a street gang… that last one was actually a real let down, No, instead its getting hailed by a ship in the middle of the galaxy, and it turns out just to be an old Grandma that’s looking to not eat her dinner alone…

And that's just…

Nice.

It got me thinking though.

Starfield's mysteries, are woefully dull. Its action set-pieces fall well below the standards we expect in a modern AAA release. The technology is unremarkable. And much of its core isn't reminiscent of an eight year old game, but an eighteen year old game.

So, this wholesomeness…

I honestly can't say how intentional it is.

Does it stand out because the rest of the game is a collection of dated run of the mill fetch quests that we've seen before and done better? And does it fit the game, because the game itself is rather adorable all the time, IE, broken, or woefully undercooked in its production value?

I can't say.

All I know, is from talking about my upbringing with Mom and Dad in Starfield, taking Parvati out drinking in Outer Worlds, or letting Misty give a Tarot read in Cyberpunk, I'd like to see more moments and people in games that are just nice.