Starfield fans are split on whether its main quest should feel less urgent than previous Bethesda games

For those who’ve invested thousands of hours into the likes of Skyrim and Fallout 4, the release of Starfield can’t come soon enough.

Regardless of how you feel about the prospects of Bethesda's venture into space, whether you like what it looks like in Far Cry 5, or what you want its modding scene to deliver, the idea of being able to delve into a freshly curated game filled with new quests, characters, and locations has RPG lovers of all stripes intrigued.

The current topic of conversation gripping those eagerly awaiting their invitation aboard an interstellar transport concerns the game’s main quest, which some fans seem to want to give them plenty of free rein to do all of the exploration and settlement building they’ve got planned, rather than railroading them via pressure.

Are you hoping to feel less tethered to Starfield’s main quest than you have in other Bethesda games?

Their world-saving worries are the subject of a recent thread on the Starfield subreddit, which began with a post from user jkscottsrightleg, who declared: “I think Starfield's main story could put the RP back in RPG.”

They then went on to explain that, in their view: “in Skyrim and Fallout and others, you're shoe-horned into the main story from a RP perspective. It doesn't feel natural leaving the story in the middle of some big plot point, and then returning to it after a long time and everyone's still there just kinda waiting (for) you to click on them.”

Jkscottsrightleg proceeded to suggest that Starfield’s main quest, if based around searching the cosmos for mysterious artefacts, could have less of a sense of urgency, ensuring that heading off exploring won’t risk breaking your immersion in the story.

Many of their fellow would-be astronauts seemed inclined to agree, with user MajorSmokers saying: “It always felt a little awkward putting your kidnapped child on hold while you build settlements in Fallout 4.” and Flow390 adding: “Being able to have a more natural feeling to the game's progression and story would be awesome if it works like how you described.”

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On the other hand, some users weren’t as convinced a more relaxed main quest would be a positive thing, with Ar4iii arguing: “The story is supposed to catch the player from the beginning and give them direction and some sort of urgency, otherwise a large portion of the players will just abandon the game.”

Regardless of whether you’re worried that you’re going to have to run all the way through Starfield’s main quest before feeling comfortable enough to freely tour the universe, make sure to follow us for lots of guides to its world and mechanics. You can also check out our latest mods of the month for some killer Skyrim and Fallout mods that’ll help tide you over until it arrives.