Unlock a New Dimension of Immersive Gameplay with Starfield's Revolutionary Lockpicking Feature

Highlights

Starfield offers a vast amount of content, including over 1000 planets to explore, numerous quests, companions, and weapons, making it a big game for Bethesda fans.

The lockpicking feature in Starfield is a standout among the complex mechanics, providing players with a rewarding and satisfying experience by enabling them to acquire valuable gear and items.

Throughout the years, Bethesda has refined its lockpicking minigame, and Starfield introduces a more user-friendly and comprehensible puzzle-based lockpicking mechanic. Despite being accessible, it still offers a challenge for experienced players.

Bethesda, a highly prolific Western RPG developer, has garnered a large and dedicated following throughout the years. Despite some notable missteps, many fans are forgiving and remain loyal. Prior to embarking on a new Bethesda RPG, fans often have a clear understanding of what to expect, as the studio's mechanics and systems typically remain consistent across their titles. While Starfield introduces unique features, it remains familiar and comforting for long-time Bethesda enthusiasts.

Starfield is an exceptionally massive game. With a staggering 1000+ planets to explore, countless quests to undertake, a diverse array of companions to recruit and interact with, and a vast selection of weapons to wield, Starfield boasts an immense amount of content that rivals, if not surpasses, any of Bethesda's previous games. Moreover, Starfield introduces groundbreaking mechanics such as ship combat, space exploration, and various forms of character progression. However, amidst these complex systems lies one of Starfield's most gratifying yet straightforward mechanics: the lockpicking feature. This mechanic represents a natural evolution of a familiar Bethesda staple.

Starfield's Lockpicking Is a Natural Evolution for Bethesda

Lockpicking has become an expected feature in modern Western RPGs, where valuable loot is often hidden behind lockpicking minigames. However, these minigames can sometimes feel like an afterthought, designed to impede players' progress. But in certain RPGs, lockpicking can be immensely satisfying, providing valuable rewards for solving puzzles.

Bethesda's lockpicking mechanics typically fall into the latter category, offering challenging yet fair and engaging minigames. The first instance of a picklocking minigame in a Bethesda RPG can be found in Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, as Morrowind did not include such a feature. Oblivion's lockpicking minigame was enjoyable, but it had a steep difficulty level. Players had to manually set each tumbler of a lock one by one, which became increasingly tricky due to varying drop speeds of the tumblers.

Fallout 3 introduced a simpler lockpicking minigame. Players just need to rotate the two thumbsticks together to find the lock's biting point. This system was then used in Skyrim and Fallout 4, and players enjoyed it. An ideal lockpicking minigame should be easy to understand and control, but also challenging to keep players engaged. Fallout 3 and Skyrim's lockpicking minigame achieved this.

However, Bethesda has made significant changes to the lockpicking minigame in Starfield, their latest game since 2008. The new lockpicking mechanism has a futuristic look. In Starfield, players rotate a circular puzzle piece to match its lines with the slots in the background piece. This lockpicking game is the most accessible and easy to understand from Bethesda yet, but it still has some tricks for experienced players. As players encounter higher-level locks, they will have more puzzle pieces to choose from. Players must strategically choose the right puzzle piece, considering future layers, to successfully unlock the lock. Starfield's lockpicking minigame is simple, accessible, but also complex, making it potentially the best one Bethesda has created so far.

Starfield is available now in early access launch for PC and Xbox Series X/S.