Fans love how Starfield deviated from RPG genre with this one narrative change

It’s only been a couple of weeks since Starfield was released to spacefarers around the world, but the game has already captivated players with its immersive universe, likable characters, and interesting storyline with hundreds of different quests to discover and worlds to explore.

Some fans have also placed Starfield over multiple other big-name role-playing games because of one major difference in the popular title’s narrative: There isn’t a major threat or plot point that drives players to finish the main storyline.

In other games, like Mass Effect, Fallout, or Dragon Age, there is always a huge event or antagonist that appears and pushes you to maintain the course and complete the main plot of the game. There are many different missions available, but sometimes, it is hard to maintain immersion while playing since that feeling of impending doom looms for a majority of the game.

For example, in Mass Effect, one enemy represents the greatest threat to not just humanity, but to the galaxy as a whole and should be dealt with as soon as possible—but you can still make some detours to finish some side quests for your companions. Fallout 4 features a grand quest to find your child after going into cryosleep for countless years, but there are plenty of stops along the way as you create a little settlement and constantly defend it from raiders.

Additionally, some games lock you out of specific areas, encounters, and content if you progress far enough through the main storyline, making it even more frustrating for players who feel compelled to complete more of those priority missions.

In Starfield, however, players have the entire universe at their fingertips, with no major plot point truly pushing them in a certain direction. There are main storyline missions, but they aren’t pressing issues that feel like they need immediate resolution. Instead, you have free rein to build your own story, finish any quests you’d like, join any factions, and head out to any planet without the pressure of a world-ending event ahead.

It was a “refreshing” take on a genre that seemed relatively locked into the same formula and has been one of the biggest reasons why so many people are calling Starfield a massive hit among its player base so far.