I’m not really into special editions, he writes a month after receiving the special edition ofThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. That was different, though. I’m a lifelong Zelda fan and a sucker for an artbook. No, I haven’t opened the artbook yet because it’s got spoilers and I’m taking my time with the game. No, I don’t know what I’m going to do with the pin badges and steel poster. What’s wrong with paper anyway?
While I’m a sucker for an artbook, especially for games and series I love, I am well aware that some people love all sorts of tat that comes with special editions. My colleagues regularly show off their statues of Goro Majima and limited edition consoles – which do look cool even if they’re not for me – but pre-ordering an expensive box of goodies is risky, and that goes double forStarfield.
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While we got a beefy Starfield presentation recently that showed a lot more about the game, we don’t know what it’ll be like until we play it. You don’t with any game, no matter how much gameplay has been shown or how many of the previous entries you loved. Any unreleased game could be an immense disappointment, and Starfield could be more disappointing than most.
First, the positives: Bethesda has a great reputation forRPGs, and if you likedSkyrimandFallout 4, this game looks to build on them. If you’re more New Vegas than West Virginia, you may not be the intended audience here. Starfield also looks intriguingly different from other games in its genre. While many of its promises have already been achieved in games like No Man’s Sky and Elite Dangerous, the added roleplaying opportunities are enough of a hook for me to get excited about Bethesda’s spacefaring adventure.
But the risks are high. Bethesda has a habit of releasing bug-ridden games, then fixing those issues long after launch. What if it launches like Cyberpunk? There’s also the fact that Starfield is a new IP – what if the story is dull? What if it leans too much on the developer’s previous games’ gameplay, and it feels stale and archaic as a result? Yes, any game has similar risks ahead of release, but it matters a whole lot more if you’ve dropped 250 notes on a pre-order – as a lot of disappointedCyberpunk 2077fans learned the hard way.
Finally, you’ve got the most important point. I love the look of theStarfield Constellation Collector’s Edition, especially that gorgeous space watch to go with the equally giddying controller, but Bethesda’s previous special editions have been underwhelming to say the least. The Power Armour Edition of Fallout 76 was supposed to come with, among other things, a hefty canvas bag. Instead, those who shelled out £180 were sent cheap nylon duffels. There were a host of complaints, andBethesda eventually (seven months after the fact) sent out better quality bags, but the point still stands. Are you willing to risk £250 on a watch that may be cheap plastic with a crappy chip superglued inside?
I hope Bethesda proves me wrong. I’m looking forward to Starfield, and I’d love for its supporters to be rewarded with a premium hunk of spacetech on their wrists, but those people are taking a big financial gamble. Even if the watch is good, high quality, with a crisp screen that tells accurate time as well as all the bells and whistles, what if the game doesn’t live up to your expectations? You’ve got a lovely timepiece advertising a game you think is mid. I suspect that anyone willing to spend this much money on a pre-order will be willing to defend the game to their deathbed, no matter how good or bad it is, but you’ll know in your heart that you wasted your money.
I would love a fancy space watch, but I’m not willing to risk that much money on a Bethesda game and its associated tat. I’m very tempted to get the special edition controller and call it a day – it’s less of an investment, and I’ll still use it to play my Xbox and PC games even if Starfield doesn’t do it for me – but the Constellation edition is just too much. It’s one small step for Bethesda, but one giant leap of faith for gamerkind.
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