Starfield is releasing in just two weeks, and without fail, we have had to deal with a controversy involving Starfield’s leaked start screen. Former game developer Mark Kern decided to tweet out his thoughts on a leaked image of Starfield’s start screen. Then, lo and behold, the internet went insane. Kern states that it looked like it was rushed and put together without care, and immediately, a deluge of opinions floated in with defenses from both sides of the discussion. While the Starfield leaks have been extremely problematic so far, nobody thought that it would be a start screen causing the internet to lose its mind.
Why Is the Internet Losing Its Mind Over Starfield’s Start Screen?
To answer this is to answer the question of why the internet loses its mind over anything at all. Simply because it can. Starfield‘s understated start screen looks perfectly fine for what looks to be a thought-provoking, vast journey throughout the galaxy. That’s not enough for some people, though, as they seem to be obsessed with the fact that start screens suddenly need to be this extravagant experience with brilliant-looking menus and other bells and whistles. My question to these people is, since when?
Some of the best games of all time have the simplest start screens imaginable, and some are far less interesting than Starfield‘s start screen. For example, Final Fantasy VII‘s start screen is a black screen with a sword stuck in the ground. The Witcher 3‘s starting screen is Geralt sitting next to a creepy house. Skyrim is a black screen with a Skyrim symbol in the middle.
These are three of the most popular games of all time. While plenty of games have wonderful start screens, plenty don’t exactly translate into great games. One of the best start screens around is Gotham Knights. It’s incredibly vivid and shows you exactly what the theme of the game is. Gotham Knights wasn’t a great game.
This connection to the internet is all of a sudden conjuring from absolutely nowhere just because some jealous ex-developer decided to make a snide remark is beyond ridiculous. Lately, developers love to speak out about what’s wrong with massively successful titles. Unfortunately, it ends up looking pathetic for some big names in the gaming industry.
Not Only Is the Start Screen Not Bad, Its Great
Yup, I’ll say it. I love Starfield‘s start screen. Keep in mind I’ve given start screens throughout the years as much thought as my favorite skittle color (yellow), but I think what Bethesda did here is great. Space is a dark, mysterious, and wonderous place while at the same time being fearful and deathly quiet. How do you convey that well with a start screen? How do you show the players the type of game they’re in for with just one image? You do exactly what they did. The view of half a planet with the sun subtly peaking over the horizon is such an eerie image that shows nothing but conveys everything.
Bethesda has gone loud for the past few big titles. Take Redfall, for instance. That start screen is awesome, giving us a creepy vibe while also showing the atmosphere of the game. Then you play the game, and nothing remotely feels as creepy as that starting screen conveys. This is all to say Starfield‘s start screen means nothing when it comes to how good it will be.
Great starting screens can lead to mediocre games, and poor start screens can lead to unforgettable experiences. Wait until you have the game in your hands to hate on it. Plenty of people do that, and nobody minds because it’s an actually informed opinion. The internet loves to roast Bethesda from time to time, and maybe the game won’t be all that great, but we need to holster our guns on something as innocuous as starting screens.
Starfield carries a massive amount of pressure for Bethesda. This is their first new series in over 20 years, and Todd Howard has described it as the game he’s always wanted to make. It’s been in development for seven years, marking one of the longest periods of time the company has ever worked on a game. From what we’ve seen so far, the mixture of combat, story, and exploration is looking fantastic, and all signs point to this being yet another contender for Game of The Year.
Starfield is coming out September 6th for PC, Xbox Series X/S.
