Highlights
Starfield's space exploration has been criticized for its lack of smoothness and frequent loading screens, but players have the option to bypass menus when journeying between planets by utilizing the ship's scanner and locating their destination among the stars.
In Starfield, you can land on a planet without using the menu by utilizing the scanner tool. This provides a smooth landing experience and guides players towards exciting content such as dungeons, factions, and adventures.
Despite its limitations, Starfield offers entertaining space travel options such as customizing your ship, smuggling illegal items, engaging in battles against pirate fleets, and exploring both story-driven zones and procedurally generated worlds on foot.
Starfield in Early Access has faced significant criticism regarding its space exploration, specifically with regards to the lack of seamlessness in traveling between planets. This issue has resulted in a less immersive experience for some players, despite the game's intriguing and expansive Factions. While ship customization has been praised as one of Starfield's best features, actually flying the ship in space is unusually restrictive compared to what players have come to anticipate from Bethesda titles. The confusing world map and unsettling background non-playable characters also contribute to the dissatisfaction among players. Although these issues may be addressed through modding in the future, the compromise in Starfield's approach to space exploration is something that players will have to accept.
Contrary to popular belief, Starfield does not require players to navigate through the UI for interstellar travel, eliminating the most bothersome aspect of the experience. Huggan00 on Starfield's official subreddit demonstrated that players can simply utilize the ship's scanner to select their desired destination and initiate a gravity jump, without the need to access the menu.
Additionally, the process of landing on a planet can also be accomplished without entering the menu. By utilizing Starfield's scanner tool within the ship, players can easily pinpoint any key areas on the planet they wish to visit, whether it be a barren world or New Atlantis, and seamlessly complete the landing process. While this method may not provide the same expansive experience found in games like No Man's Sky or Star Citizen, it effectively directs players towards Bethesda's strengths: engaging in thrilling dungeon raids, joining memorable factions, and embarking on random adventures.
In Starfield, players can experience the joy of building and personalizing their own ships, engaging in contraband smuggling, and battling formidable pirate fleets. This showcases that space travel can still offer immense enjoyment within the game. Despite certain limitations, Starfield enables players to fulfill their dreams of becoming interstellar explorers. However, it is important to note that a significant portion of this exploration will take place on foot, whether within narrative-driven areas or the vast array of procedurally generated worlds in Starfield. Starfield is currently accessible on PC and Xbox Series X/S.