While both Cyberpunk 2077 and Starfield are first-person action role-playing games, they try to accomplish very different things. Despite this, the game developed by CD Projekt Red is being used to highlight how the one developed by Bethesda can feel and look dated at times.
Commenting on an X/Twitter thread saying that the Creation Engine is to blame for how dated Starfield feels, Cyberpunk 2077 senior quest designer Patrick K. Mills provided some interesting insights, highlighting how the way Starfield handles cinematics is not due to the engine but tools and design. While Starfield does feature some scenes that are staged in a more refined way, the vast majority of them feature a lot of different variables due to the vast amount of freedom the game provides and to create similar scenes with the same cinematic feel as Cyberpunk 2077 taking all the variables into account would have taken Bethesda forever, as CDPR required literal years to create every single major scene for the game. Instead of going for a more cinematic feel, the Starfield developer continued to do what they are known for and are very good at, as not every feature in every game can be executed at the same level as the best in that field. Developers ultimately have to make choices and decide how their resources have to be used to achieve their goals for their titles.
Caveat, I'm not an engine guy and I have only a little experience with creation kit
So if a programmer with that experience wants to come and correct me you are welcome
But I don't see any reason why they couldn't do something more elaborate if they wanted to + had the tools
— Patrick K. Mills (@PKernaghan) October 2, 2023
They do some scenes that are staged in a more refined way, like meeting constellation for the first time, some quest sequences etc
But they have vastly more scenes with a revolving cast of characters and a mind boggling number of possible locations
— Patrick K. Mills (@PKernaghan) October 2, 2023
Instead bgs puts their resources into giving maximum levels of player freedom, they are just doing something different with their time and that's cool
You can want their scenes to be more cinematic or whatever, and that's fair, but it comes at a cost.
— Patrick K. Mills (@PKernaghan) October 2, 2023
But not every game can do every thing, you can't make a game that has every feature executed to the same level as the best in that field, and it has very little to do with the engine you are using
— Patrick K. Mills (@PKernaghan) October 2, 2023
As the Cyberpunk 2077 senior quest designer mentioned, Bethesda has never been known to develop cinematic RPGs, so no one should have been surprised to see them continue to focus on player freedom in Starfield. CDPR, on the other hand, improved its cinematic approach to the highest level with the Phantom Liberty expansion, which offers one of the most compelling narratives seen in recent times, as highlighted by Alessio in his review.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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