MeinMMO author Dariusz Müller is currently having a lot of fun with Starfield, but he expected more from one skill and is disappointed.
When I watched the various gameplay videos before the release of Starfield, it became clear to me: I want to be a space samurai. I had a great time hacking at my enemies in Cyberpunk 2077 with katanas or later with mantis blades and slicing them down with brutal attacks.
Especially the animations and splatter effects gave the blade combat in Cyberpunk a special flair. It felt more action-packed and immersive to me than shooting with futuristic high-tech weapons. While I also thought the gunplay was well done and sometimes there was no way around firearms, I had the most fun in close combat.
I also felt great joy in Ghost of Tsushima and enjoyed the battles as a skilled samurai. Since then, I’ve repeatedly reached for the katana in games whenever one was offered. I also planned to grab the blade early on in Starfield. One of the first skills I unlocked was “melee combat” – but its utility disappointed me greatly.
Toothpick instead of sword
So, in my imagination, I grab a jetpack, propelled into the air by the altered gravity, land on an enemy, and take him out with a few blows. Blood flows, maybe there’s an animation, and ideally, I just look damn cool doing it.
However, this is a bit different in Starfield.
For many hours, my only melee weapon was the boring rescue axe. But it’s not quick enough for me and by far not as elegant as a katana. I want my sword. A few more hours of gameplay passed and I found a knife. “Well, better than nothing,” I told myself. Knives often allow for quicker attacks in games than a heavy axe.
But soon disappointment set in. “What am I supposed to do with such a toothpick?” I thought – and the NPCs confronting me in battle must have thought similarly. My knife dealt far too little damage, even though I invested valuable skill points in melee damage. Moreover, there were no cool animations and even less blood. Also, the fact that the knives grew larger over time didn’t help.
By now, I know that there is an epic katana on the planet Neon in the “Volii Alpha” system, but it also didn’t meet my expectations.
Expectation meets reality
Instead of brutal animations, lots of blood, and severed body parts, I saw only one thing in Starfield: the same repetitive movements my character made when I stabbed with my knives. This is not unusual, but I missed the effects to still enjoy the battles.
Eventually, it dawned on me, and I finally understood why my expectations for melee combat in Starfield could never be fulfilled: Bethesda’s role-playing game received a rating from the USK “from 16”. Cyberpunk 2077 is rated 18. A circumstance I completely overlooked.
Starfield never intended to give me bloody animations or flying body parts. It was not Starfield’s or Bethesda’s fault that I was disappointed. That was solely my fault. I expected things that were never planned or announced for the game. I operated under the features of a completely different game and wished for them in this sci-fi RPG.
I was disappointed by the melee skill and the design of blade combat because I had false expectations.
Many players encounter similar issues when exploring the planets and space. This is very limited and dependent on fast travel, but players expected gameplay elements from space simulations like No Man’s Sky or Star Citizen, even though that was never announced.
Nevertheless, players can hope for significantly more open exploration in the future, as there is already a mod that breaks down the invisible walls – unfortunately currently with little yield:
