Everyone liked that: Starfield borrows the fan-favorite Fallout 76 feature that turns your screenshots into load screens
Finally a practical reason for using your photo mode
Now that Starfield is out in the wild, players are finding all sorts of subtle details Bethesda added into the game but didn't necessarily bake into its pre-release marketing. One such feature is actually a carryover from Fallout 76, and it randomly selects screenshots from your photo mode library to use as loading screens.
Considering just how many loading screens you'll have to deal with in Starfield, this is a really neat way of not only making that downtime a little more interesting, but also incentivizing you to make good use of the game's in-depth photo mode. I typically don't bother much with photo modes in games mostly for the fact that there's usually zero utility in it, but I could see this feature being the thing that gets me to really play around with filters, poses, etc.
Another little tidbit about the game that's pretty much universally liked is the robot companion Vasco, who you can program to say your name when addressing you - well, so long as your name is somewhere on this list. GamesRadar's UK managing editor Josh West has been particularly delighted by Starfield's lovable companion referring to him as "Captain Josh," and we all just love that for him.
The much broader picture around Starfield's reception is that it's largely getting rave reviews. Our Starfield review awarded Bethesda's latest a perfect 5/5 stars, calling it "the best thing Bethesda's done since Oblivion," and its Metacritic rating positions it just below Skyrim but comfortably above Fallout 4.
Whether you've already played for a few hours or are planning on blasting off soon, here are some handy Starfield tips to familiarize yourself with.
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After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.