Starfield is the latest RPG from Bethesda, and it’s their biggest game yet. There are hundreds of quests and a thousand planets to visit. You can spend hours on the game and not make a dent in the activities you can do. Your choices shape what is open to you, making every playthrough a different experience. While none of that is new to Bethesda RPGs, it’s hard to mention how massive Starfield is without talking about the depth of content. How big is Starfield compared to other Bethesda RPGs, and is that size a good thing?
Starfield’s Quests Compared to Fallout 4 & Skyrim
Before Starfield, two Bethesda RPGs stand out the most: Fallout 4 and Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Both titles have long adventures with hundreds of interesting NPCs to encounter, activities to do, and stories to explore. Starfield has 19 main missions, 38 faction quests, and 39 side quests. This doesn’t factor in the repeatable or radiant side quests that you earn from the different factions. Fallout 4 has 191 quests in the main game, with 14 main missions, 35 side quests, and 37 faction quests. Skyrim has over 270 missions, with 19 main missions and 22 mandatory faction quests.
All three RPGs have a large number of miscellaneous and companion quests which inflate the numbers, along with DLC quests. Starfield doesn’t have any DLC yet, but it already has more main mission content than both Fallout 4 and Skyrim.
Comparing Starfield’s Map Size To Fallout 4 & Skyrim
While Starfield has you travel around planets in spaceships, Fallout 4 and Skyrim both have maps that aren’t separated by star systems. Fallout 4’s map size is approximately 16.6 square miles in size. Skyrim’s map is approximately 15 square miles in total size. Starfield’s total map size is significantly larger, thanks to the presence of over a thousand planets that you can explore. Even though some of them are barren, the maps are procedurally generated to avoid taking up too much space.
Some estimates of Starfield’s map size are 80 to 100 times larger than Skyrim’s, which would be at least 1,500 square miles of places to explore. It’s not entirely clear how large a planet’s map is in comparison to the actual planet itself. But with 1000 planets to explore, there are certainly more locations to visit than in any other Bethesda RPG. In terms of map size, it’s not easy to find a game with greater map size than Starfield.
How Long Do You Need To Beat Each RPG?
While each Bethesda RPG can give you hundreds of hours of playtime, finishing up the main story is important. That gives you real freedom and you want to know how long it takes to get there. Fallout 4’s main story should only take around 33 hours if you are only playing the story missions. Skyrim takes around 26 hours to complete the main story. Starfield’s story will take around 30-40 hours of playtime to complete.
This isn’t factoring in Starfield’s New Game Plus which allows you to replay the game from the start. It’s also not factoring in any additional side quests you may take to get better weapons. These times are based on the standard difficulty level and only focusing on the main missions. Your actual playtime might be lower or higher than the average based on how lucky you are with weapons and skills.
Factoring in other activities will greatly increase the playtime depending on the amount of activities you want to complete. Fallout 4 and Starfield offer building activities that can eat up several hours of your time. Getting a dragon in Skyrim or a new ship in Starfield can take a while depending on your goals. But Starfield has longer story missions and you will spend more time on them than other Bethesda RPGs.
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Starfield vs. No Man’s Sky: Which Game Does Exploration Better?
Even if you know how big Starfield is compared to other RPGs, the amount of time you will spend will differ. Perhaps you prefer spending time on the ground testing builds. Maybe you love space combat and want to master it. You might even explore the other storylines to feel you are making a difference in space. Whatever it is, there’s significantly more content and more ways to vary it up. Dive in, and you will see the appeal of the RPG yourself.
