In Starfield there are numerous planets, but only a few of them are inhabited and invite exploration. This creates boredom in space for some fans. However, Bethesda now explains why most planets are empty.
What is the reason? According to Managing Director Ashley Cheng, it is even intentional that many of the planets are empty. Most of them tell us what there is to discover before landing, but often it is not much.
Some planets, such as the gas planets, cannot even be targeted. However, many fans consider this to be sensible. After all, one cannot land on real gas planets because they do not have a solid surface to land on.
In an interview with the New York Times (via vg247.com), Cheng explains that not every planet is supposed to be “Disney World”. Bethesda aims to create a feeling of how small humanity is compared to space with the empty planets.
A similarly overwhelming feeling is expected to arise when a human explores the vastness of space in reality. The astronauts who have set foot on the moon certainly did not get bored, Cheng says.
You can admire the world of Starfield in the following trailer:
Game Director and Executive Producer Todd Howard adds that Bethesda could have alternatively designed only four different cities on four different planets. However, this would not make players feel like explorers.
Unfortunately, Bethesda puts some obstacles in the way of freedom when exploring planets. It is not possible to land anywhere on the planets. You can only go to the surface at certain points and encounter invisible walls during exploration.
The emptiness of the planets is also meant to create a feeling of loneliness among players. After all, space in reality is just as empty. And this feeling can only be created by having many empty planets.
By contrast, this means that only a few planets are worth visiting. MyMMO has listed six planets that are worth a detour.
This includes Earth, which in Starfield is just a barren planet without flora and fauna. Nevertheless, the visit is worthwhile because the history behind the planet is so interesting, and everyone should see what has become of Earth.
If you do not want to deal further with the empty planets, that is no problem: Exploring these celestial bodies is completely optional. You can invest your time better in the areas that interest you in Starfield.
If you don’t feel like spending too much time in Starfield, you could do it like this speedrunner: Forget 40 hours: Speedrunner completes Starfield in 3 hours before the full release
