Starfield: Shattered Space looks like a wise return to Bethesda basics

Sorry everyone, I might have to start doing that Token RPS Starfield Liker thing again. The Shattered Space expansion, out on September 30th, probably won’t refurbish the RPG’s reputation as an overall miss – but it does ditch the proc-gen planet bloat for a single handcrafted hellhole, a true Bethesda speciality honed by years of Fallouts and Elder Scrollseses. And, if its - sadly hands-off - Gamescom showcase is any indication, it might just double down on Starfield’s own strengths as well.

Mainly, though, I’m interested in leaving the base game’s empty boulder fields and just exploring another big ol’ hunk of densely detailed BethRPG land. It’s Va'ruun'kai: homeworld of House Va’ruun, the serpent-worshipping cult that was supposedly one of the big three factions in Starfield lore (yet was mainly represented in-game by one utterly moderate follower and a pensioner locked in his house). Shattered Space reveals that both they and their planet are in dire straits: multiple sub-factions, each more snake-obsessed than the last, are vying for control, while Va'ruun'kai itself is quite literally falling to bits. Low tolerance for grey rocks? Shattered Space might just have you covered: red and purple skies are pierced by vast spikes of planetary shrapnel, many surrounded by smaller debris fields held aloft within gravity anomalies.

Not everything is destroyed: at least one major settlement still stands, home to the variously downtrodden House Va’ruun faithful. Though this too is under threat, and not just from the group’s worst zealots. Bug-like "Vortex" enemies can burst through reality tears at any moment, likely adding some light jump scares as you explore the expansion's other locales. I counted a blood-smeared lab and a spooky cave network among the new areas, and although you could point to existing examples of these in the base game, I’m holding onto hope that their fully bespoke nature will pack them with more secrets and stories than their procedurally generated counterparts. Va'ruun'kai might be big enough to scout out in the newly added REV-8 buggy, but the chunk you’ll be exploring has been entirely built by the fleshy hands of human designers, artists and writers; as a Bethesda game should be.

Also, yes, jump scares, blood, occasional space ghost, you’ve probably already seen by now that Shattered Space is trying its hand at horror. I’m not convinced, however, that this will be much more trouser-staining than any of Bethesda’s prior attempts at terror. My impression from Gamescom is that it’s more about forcing you into tighter, faster gunfights, swapping out shootier enemies for those who’d rather chase you down and rearrange your intestines. More intense? Maybe. Scary? Maybe not, when I’m still packing an armoured spacesuit and at least nine guns.

Still, this could be another change for the better. I maintain that Starfield’s gunplay can be pretty good fun(play), provided you get aggressive and mobile with the jetpack. There’s a dynamism to it that, say, Fallout 4 could scarcely dream of. Hungrier foes, more inclined to get up close and force the use of jetpacking and quick-footed repositioning, should therefore be a good fit.

Shattered Space’s general upping of the weirdness factor also looks like a re-emphasising of Starfield’s quirkier aspects, which it was far too quick to forget about previously. I am begging, for instance, for those massive gravity anomalies to host more zero-G gunfights. And even if it took a NG+ run to reveal the full extent of Starfield’s take on a multiverse, the fact remains that it’s one of precious few pieces of media to actually do something interesting with the concept; something to justify it beyond "like with Marvel". The Vortex, assuming there’s more to it than belching out enemy spawns, promises more possibilities there as well.

Basically, Shattered Space isn’t intriguing because of a surprise shift into horror, but because it hints that Bethesda are correcting course. Fewer bland planets, more sci-fi spectacle. Less shooting gallery tedium, more desperate, three-dimensional blaster duels. And most importantly, abandoning the fleeting convenience of algorithm-shaped dustbowls to return to – again, hopefully – a denser, more carefully mapped-out world we can truly get lost in.

For more of the latest news and previews from Gamescom 2024, head to our Gamescom 2024 hub.