Unraveling the Enchanting Worlds of Starfield's New Atlantis: A Riveting Rival to Skyrim's Riverwood and Mass Effect's Citadel

Highlights

New Atlantis in Starfield is visually impressive and captures the player's attention with its vibrant colors and futuristic buildings.

The city acts as a central point for players to engage in side quests, gather information, and earn rewards by assisting its residents. Nonetheless, the quests in New Atlantis primarily consist of fetching items rather than engaging in combat, and the city's extensive layout may lead to a sense of tedium and lengthiness in certain quests. Some other games have managed to convey a stronger sense of adventure in their initial cities.

Starfield's New Atlantis, the first city for players to explore, lacks the captivating element that previous games successfully incorporated. Despite its role in introducing new players to various gameplay features like shops and side missions, New Atlantis falls short in comparison to other starting cities, including those found in other Bethesda games. This becomes evident during the players' initial visit to the city.

Upon completing a mission on Starfield's first moon, Kreet, players have the opportunity to travel to New Atlantis - the game's primary city. Instantly, New Atlantis provides a stark contrast to its predecessors in terms of visuals. The barren asteroid and mining camp from the tutorial and Kreet were nothing compared to the vibrant, futuristic buildings of New Atlantis. The city even boasts a park adorned with lush, green plant life - a striking deviation from the rocky landscapes encountered at the start of the game. Undoubtedly, New Atlantis captivates players as soon as they set foot within its boundaries.

Starfield's New Atlantis is Less Exciting Than Other RPG Starting Towns

To discover side quests in Starfield, a great approach is to explore densely populated areas like New Atlantis. In this city, players can gather useful information by listening to conversations and stumble upon intriguing trivia that can lead to actual side quests. Moreover, many individuals in the city require assistance and are willing to pay the protagonist for their help. After a stroll through New Atlantis, players are likely to have multiple new leads to pursue. However, for inexperienced players, the abundance of quests can be both a blessing and a curse.

Although the intricate design of New Atlantis' futuristic architecture in Starfield showcases the attention to detail by Bethesda, the quests themselves present a drawback. Almost all of them revolve around fetching items or individuals for quest givers, with minimal combat involved. Only one quest offers a fleeting opportunity for a fight. While meeting some of the characters can be interesting, the early quests lack excitement or danger. Furthermore, the expansive layout of New Atlantis also causes certain quests to unnecessarily take longer to complete than they should.

Compared to other games, starter cities in Starfield, like New Atlantis, do not offer the same sense of adventure. In games such as Skyrim and Mass Effect, players are introduced to exciting quests and intriguing storylines right from the beginning. For example, in Skyrim, players are guided to the Bleak Falls Barrow dungeon after a quest in Riverwood, which is easily accessible shortly after completing the tutorial. Similarly, in Mass Effect, the Citadel allows players to delve into a web of intrigue and face challenges such as a boss battle against a local crime lord. These games offer thrilling side quests without requiring extensive travel, unlike Starfield, where such experiences are only available once the player leaves New Atlantis.

Despite its drawbacks, New Atlantis in Starfield does have its advantages. It serves as the first meeting place for the player and Constellation, as well as the initial location to recruit crewmates. When exploring what New Atlantis has to offer, players may choose to approach the city's side quests over multiple visits. This approach allows them to view these quests as a break between major adventures, rather than a continuous stream of missions that need to be completed in succession. This can greatly enhance the pacing and momentum of the game. Although Starfield's New Atlantis is an impressive city in space, other games have employed the starting city concept more successfully.

Starfield is available now for PC and Xbox Series X/S.