Starfield Would be Amazing in VR

Now don’t get me wrong, I realise this is pure height of fantasy but Bethesda’s Starfield in virtual reality would be utterly amazing. Wouldn’t you agree? But this also got me thinking, is that idea as fanciful as I first thought considering Bethesda’s VR history and the platforms Starfield is available on?

The game is currently dominating the news cycles with reviews now dropping, most of which are fairly positive – which isn’t unexpected. Bethesda’s newest IP in almost 30 years, Starfield is a huge sci-fi role-playing game where you can explore the stars. Focus on the campaign or get lost in the multitude of side missions, build your own spaceship and become a pirate. Or choose to be nice and not shoot everyone in the face, the choice is yours. But you probably knew all of that already.

Starfield screenshot

Skyrim, Fallout anyone…

So how would it look in VR? Glorious I’d reckon. Running around unexplored planets, navigating cityscapes or scavenging disabled ships, all of this could be so immersive inside a VR headset. Most of the gameplay seems to revolve around firefights and piloting craft, perfectly suited to VR gameplay and motion controllers.

The rest of the time you’re having conversations with NPCs, delving into your vast inventory or cobbling together spaceship parts to make a viable vehicle. In VR the latter would almost be like building LEGO, snapping on and off engines, weapons and other components at your leisure. The inventory design and management do look quite convoluted, however.

Technical challenges aside – like the fact that Starfield runs at 30fps, way too low for VR – Bethesda already has a rich history of bringing its games into the VR space. Need I mention The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR or Fallout 4 VR for example? Both similarly massive open-world RPGs that received ports years after their original release, adding an entirely new element to the experience. Considering Starfield is on Steam, a PCVR release in 5-6 years’ time wouldn’t be that crazy.

Oh, and let’s not forget to mention Starfield’s closest rival and one of the best open-world VR games, No Man’s Sky. Hello Games added VR support for the impressive sci-fi game years ago, continually improving the experience to this day. If NMS can provide a procedurally generated universe for headsets like PSVR 2, why couldn’t Starfield, eventually?

What do you think? Would Bethesda’s latest make an ideal candidate for VR? Let us know in the comment below.