Into The Breach - Key's Gaming Journal

[Key]

Fallout 3 (An In Depth Look) pt.2

While I may have already mentioned the White House in the previous post, I wanted to talk more about the Washington D.C. mall and my experience upon arriving there for the first time. Fallout 3 certainly captivated me from the start with its honest vastness, but when you make your way into the centerpiece of the game, it blows you away in a way that only a game of this caliber can do. I just remember taking everything in and looking around me noticing burned down buildings and structures that had to be fixed and used for other things. For example, the Washington Memorial is used for as a satellite to transmit radio broadcasts. It's also gotten severe damage throughout.



It's just amazing and remarkable what the atmosphere can do to a city you know pretty well. I think this resonates with me in this way because I actually saw the Washington Memorial in person. I've been to D.C. so playing this game was sort of surreal to me in a way.

I mentioned in the previous post about the Lincoln Memorial and its missing head, well, yes, it is a thing. Check this out:



The first thing I thought about doing when I walked into the mall for the first time is "I should find the Lincoln Memorial". Though when I went there, I was evidently unprepared. But eventually I got up close enough to realize that the head was missing. Nice touch, Bethesda. But yes, it's pretty striking to see such a beautiful structure in real life be resulted to a pile of trash. And yes, there is a way to get the head back.

I still remember trying to actually walk slowly through the D.C. mall for the first time in this game because I genuinely wanted to take everything in. I mean it when I say that this game had an effect on me like most other games have not been able to do. Not all, but most. Fallout 3 is just a beauty to play and honestly, the outdated graphics give it that extra charm that makes it the unique beast that it is.

One of the cooler parts about the D.C. mall is the potential to find other things within it. Like going to the Museum of Technology and try to loot those places. But when I walked into the Underworld for the first time, I was thrown back by the fact that there were ghouls living down here. And they were all so chill too. I decided to just keep neutral with these ones because they were extremely helpful. But god damn, this place looks beautiful.



I thoroughly enjoyed walking around this place specifically because of the dark sense of emotion it brought. A world beneath the dead world full of ghouls. Brilliantly done.

And that's about the most I can remember about my first time walking into the Washington D.C. mall in Fallout 3. I know it was a pretty cool moment for a lot of people but it especially resonated with me again, because I've been to Washington D.C. in person. We'll be continuing to talk about more of my personal experience with Fallout 3 in the next part or two. I just wanted to talk about this beautiful center piece in this game on its own.

[Key]

Fallout 3 (An In Depth Look) pt.3

Now, when it comes to other locations in Fallout 3 that I remember pretty vividly, the little city that was on the boat was one that probably carried the most weight. I genuinely enjoyed talking to the people inside the structure and getting to know them. It was like they lived in a completely separate world apart from the dead world on the outside. I probably spent the most time there doing quests and all that good stuff, and again, genuinely enjoyed it. But that's pretty much easy to say about the whole game in general. I explored pretty much everything that I could in this game and I did much the same in Fallout 4. And yes, there is a lot to explore.

There is something specifically that did have a pretty eery effect on me though, and that's probably due to the fact that it's literally a cemetery, but god damn Bethesda did this cemetery so respectfully that it was genuinely an interesting time exploring the lone house on the hill. Be warned though, when I went in there for the first time, I didn't have the internet to tell me what to expect because I didn't want anything spoiled, but man, good ****.

Anyway:



Walking into the Arlington Cemetery for the first time when you've already been walking through the post apocalypsed world around you, it certainly leaves an uneasy feeling that even though the world is dead, these people were already dead before it and they have no reason to believe anything happened. It's also crazy to think that there are potentially bodies underneath the ground that you're walking on, but maybe that's just me and my silly paranoia. Either way, I loved walking through here for the first time because it genuinely felt terrifying and it did leave a feeling of unease.

Another location that I do want to just briefly mention is the whole sequence of you being trapped inside of an old 1940's esque neighborhood. Yes, I'm talking about this one:



Good ol' Tranquility Lane. Where everything seems innocent up until you realize what you've gotten yourself into. I loved this part in the game because it was riddled with such nonsense behavior that it was genuinely enjoyable watching everything unfold and fall apart. And of course the added benefit of finding your dad but y'know, whatever. I wish they would expand on this idea some more because it's genuinely a really good one and it was implemented into the story so well. It didn't really feel random or anything like that.

Otherwise, I just sort of went on my own way and explored as much of the map as I could. Seeing all the museums, going into every building and seeing everything the game had to offer. Fighting bandits and all that good stuff were really fun but just the exploration of Washington D.C. in ruins is just its own reward. Probably in the next part I'll be talking about the DLC's that I enjoyed the most. And once that's done I'm thinking we'll wrap up Fallout 3 and push onwards.

[Key]

Fallout 3 (An In Depth Look) pt.4

This is the end of the Fallout 3 multi-parter, at least for now. I'm quite satisfied with how I've handled this but it'll be nice to talk about another game either today or tomorrow. Really depends. Who knows, maybe i'll do a Fallout New Vegas multi-parter. Again, really depends.

Anyway, how do I wrap things up here? Well, I did mention previous that I wanted to mention the DLC's, in this game, but before I do that, I want to talk about one of most defining moments in Fallout 3, and that is of course the end of the game when you get to watch Liberty Prime crash its way throughout the wasteland. It's by far one of the coolest climaxes to any game, and for it to be done to this extent in a game this old, well it's very telling of the developers motivation to make Fallout 3 great. I mean, the design of Liberty Prime is just fantastic in every way:



It literally just screams "i'm a badass, don't **** with me." I mean, it doesn't scream that but whatever.

The nice thing about Fallout 3 though is definitely the DLC's, and once you beat the main game, you'll come to realize that perhaps the game may be over and done with. At least until you realize that Broken Steel adds a whole new line to the story and you get to continue onwards. While that's great and everything, I do have to say that one of the most fascinating DLC's that I played personally was The Pit.



I know we've got other DLC's but this one in particular resonated with me in a way that the others didn't. First off, genius idea placing land mines on the bridge even before you enter The Pitt. Sort of gives you the impression that things are really ****ed up here and you best prepare yourself. Or so I thought until they decided to take all my belonging and leave me to be a slave in this forgotten city.

As I've said many times, the atmosphere of Fallout 3 has a lot to do with my overall impression of the game, and The Pitt does this fantastically. Even though I played Fallout 3 first, The Pitt definitely gives me the same feeling that Far Harbor did for Fallout 4. A whole new place to explore and discover. While maybe not as vast, The Pitt still offers something extra and puts you into situations that you're not familiar with. And although some of the quests for The Pitt are pretty monotonous and annoying, the overall experience of it is truly remarkable. Definitely one of my favorite DLC's in any game.

Other than that, everything else pretty much falls into the same category. "What makes Fallout 3 great for me?" category. And well, there really isn't a whole more I can discuss here that I haven't discussed before. It has been quite a blast to go more in depth with Fallout 3 because honestly, I did forget a couple things and perhaps there'll be another part in the future to fill those in? Maybe. But for now, yeah...those are my overall thoughts and opinions of Fallout 3. I think until the day I die, this game will remain in my top 3 games of all time.

[Qwerty Sanchez]

Fallout 3 is my most nostalgic "modern" game. I remember my first experience was renting it at the local game store and being too scared by the ghouls to keep playing. Ended up bringing it back and renting it again before I finally got into and bought it.

I've come to terms with the fact there will probably never be a game like it for me, in terms of how invested I was at the time. Skyrim is a close 2nd but that's about it.

[Key]

Fallout 3 is my most nostalgic "modern" game. I remember my first experience was renting it at the local game store and being too scared by the ghouls to keep playing. Ended up bringing it back and renting it again before I finally got into and bought it.

I've come to terms with the fact there will probably never be a game like it for me, in terms of how invested I was at the time. Skyrim is a close 2nd but that's about it.

Yeah man, I remember just experiencing everything for the first time and I as well got to the game a little bit later but man, once I understood how the game worked, it was a good time from there. I've played it a few times since then and I still love it. New Vegas is still quite good but Fallout 3's atmosphere is just perfect.

[Qwerty Sanchez]

Yeah man, I remember just experiencing everything for the first time and I as well got to the game a little bit later but man, once I understood how the game worked, it was a good time from there. I've played it a few times since then and I still love it. New Vegas is still quite good but Fallout 3's atmosphere is just perfect.

Totally agree. New Vegas is a great game but there's just no touching Fallout 3.

[Guybrush]

I love Fallout 3 too! I was a big fan of the first two games and actually had this little tradition where I'd play one of them around Christmas time.

I was quite sceptical about Bethesda and whether or not they could pull it off, but what they made just blew my mind. Getting out of the tunnel beyond the vault and looking at the open world and taking my first steps into it is one of my big gaming moments.

Like you, @Qwerty Sanchez , I've find that experience hard to replicate and like you, Skyrim probably came closest for me. I was also delighted to find some of the same wonder playing Elden Ring, if not quite as much.

@Key , I also realize I have to try Rogue Legacy 2 🙂 How does it compare to Dead Cells?

[Key]

Some more screenshots from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

If it's not entirely obvious by now, I'm having a really good time with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. I'm taking my time with it though because I want to really take it all in. It just plays so well and I don't want that feeling to go away soon. Fortunately, Tears of the Kingdom comes out in 8 days, so that's about the perfect amount of time for me to finish Jedi Survivor without feeling like I rushed it too much.

Anywho, here's some more screenshots:

[Key]

I love Fallout 3 too! I was a big fan of the first two games and actually had this little tradition where I'd play one of them around Christmas time.

I was quite sceptical about Bethesda and whether or not they could pull it off, but what they made just blew my mind. Getting out of the tunnel beyond the vault and looking at the open world and taking my first steps into it is one of my big gaming moments.

Like you, @Qwerty Sanchez , I've find that experience hard to replicate and like you, Skyrim probably came closest for me. I was also delighted to find some of the same wonder playing Elden Ring, if not quite as much.

@Key , I also realize I have to try Rogue Legacy 2 🙂 How does it compare to Dead Cells?

Rogue Legacy 2 and Dead Cells are two entirely different beasts when it comes to overall mechanics, but they are similar in that they are sidescrolling metroidvania roguelike-esque. I'd definitely recommend Rogue Legacy 2 if you liked Dead Cells, certainly. But each are their own respective games and I think both absolutely nail the genre. I think you'll enjoy Rogue Legacy 2.

[Guybrush]

Yes.. And I did like the first game, so it should be a fairly safe bet

[Key]

If you liked the first one, you'll really like the second

[Key]

Let's Take Another Look At...Fable III

Yes, in 2023, I am going to write an updated review on Fable III. There are several reasons why. The first very important reason is that I had possibly the best experience playing this game for the first time back in the day, that the memory still feels fresh. Myself and my best friend at the time decided that we were going to do a full on co-op run, and we did. We played Fable III nonstop from the very start to the very end, and it was such an amazing time. I had played Fable III maybe once or twice since then a few years ago, but it was only recently that I had the urge to play it again. And wonderfully enough, Game Pass has all the Fable games available, so I decided to install and off I went.

I'd like to get one thing out of the way and say that I know Fable III was not the most well received among the bunch. Hell people straight up hated this game. I'll admit, the gameplay elements and everything took a much different turn than what the game was like in the original. And if you're wondering which version of the original is the essential one, I'd say Fable Anniversary. It is indeed the best version of the original. But back to Fable III, I never really had much issue with how the game felt as far as the gameplay or anything. If anything, I was just a little irked at how quickly you can get through the game. Though going back to it much later in life, I've quickly realized that there is a lot more to do other than just taking on the main quest. I think what's nice about going back to games like this is that you sort of allow yourself to take on other things aside from the main quests whether it's companion missions or side quests etc. I'm basically taking my time with it, and I'll be honest, I'm having way more fun with it than I realized I would.

I haven't beaten it yet on the playthrough I have going right now, but I'm slowly but surely working through each area and getting all the collectibles and quests done. I'm basically playing it the best way I can by trying to complete everything. I don't know if I'll even play this especially with Fable IV in the somewhat near future, I hope. So, why not try and do everything for one last hoorah, of sorts.

As far as favorites go though, I'd say my favorite goes to Fable II for various different reasons, but Fable III probably comes third given that Fable Anniversary sits right at 2nd place. Fable II just improves the right amount of things for it to be slightly better than the original without taking too much away from the original that made it great.

I want to go back and talk about the combat in Fable III a little bit more because I honestly feel like even playing it in 2023, it doesn't feel dated. I mean, as far as camera movements and stuff like that, yeah, it may feel a little odd. But honestly, the times that I have been in combat in my playthrough, I felt like it was sort of an early version of what would later become the Arkham style combat. Which is very satisfying don't get me wrong. I actually quite like the fact that Fable III opened the combat up quite a bit and barely had any restraints as far as how often you can attack with spells etc etc. It feels very open ended. Which is helpful in a game such as this.

And i'll also go as far as saying that the game doesn't actually look that bad. Again, Fable III was released many moons ago so it's not going to be up to the standard that we hold today for video games, but there have been some moments where I looked around and really saw a lot of beauty, even for a game that is this old. Hell, I'm sure you could play games from the Nintendo 64 era and say the same thing, so maybe that isn't as farfetch'd as I'm making it out to be. Either way, for its time, Fable III actually looks quite good. And to today's standards, I'd give it like a C+.

Overall, I'd say if you've been wanting to relive the good ol' days of gaming and jump into one of the best game franchises of all time, Fable III still holds up pretty good to today's standards. It's nowhere near perfect and as I said, Fable II takes my number one spot, but Fable III does enough things good that makes it a joy to play.

[Key]

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom comes out in 6 days
And boy oh boy am I excited

So, I need to finish up Jedi Survivor by the time this comes out because I want to be fully invested in this one just as I have with Jedi Survivor. I'm inching closer and closer to completion of it so I think I'll be alright. If not, it's all good too. But anyway, we are currently 6 days away from the release of Tears of the Kingdom and because I literally have not played any of it, there really isn't anything to say other than that I am very excited and have been looking forward to a sequel of my favorite game of all time. I think it's going to be excellent, but that's yet to be seen. Anyway, I still believe this is one of the best video game trailers of all time and it only comes second to the original trailer for Breath of the Wild. The one for Tears of the Kingdom is great but Breath of the Wild was the first time we'd ever see this land, so it felt so revitalizing and new. Again, nothing wrong at all with the second one. It's got as much hype factor if not more than the original but for me, I'd put the Breath of the Wild trailer over that. Here's both in case you're interested:

[Key]

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - Full Review

A word of caution: There will be massive spoilers in terms of gameplay and story so if you are not interested in having the game spoiled for you, I do not recommend reading on. However if you are curious of my overall thoughts of the game now that I have officially completed it, read onwards

Well, I have done it. I have completed the main story of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and now it is time to finally give this game a full review and give my final thoughts on what I think of it as a whole. And what do I think? Well, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a fucking amazing game and should be played by anybody who is either a fan of Star Wars, a fan of the Star Wars Jedi series, or just a fan of gaming in general. There are many reasons that attributed to me basically giving this game an 11/10 as my final score. I'll be going into those reasons here in this review, but yes, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor gets an 11/10 score from me. Long story short, this game exceeded every expectation I had for it and threw in some more to make game even sweeter. We're talking amazing gameplay, platforming, landscapes, everything. If you look at the positive reviews for this game, you'll see that what I'm saying is not too farfetch'd. And as you've seen from the past few posts of Jedi Survivor that I put up during my time with it, you can already see the positive momentum of this game and how it was honestly really easy to want to keep playing it. When I looked at the stats of my gameplay, I came in at about 21 hours which is pretty standard based on what I've seen from other reviews. You'll see a lot of the end game screenshots at the end of this post, but let's get into the story for a little bit.

First things first, I did really enjoy the story and the overall feel of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. I felt that Cal Kestis had a really good introduction as a character in a new game series, but I didn't come out of the game thinking that the potential was fully met for the game. Not saying Fallen Order is any sign of negative in any way. In fact, it's quite a fantastic game in its own merits, but now that I have a game like Jedi Survivor to compare it to, it's hard to really recommend playing it again now that I have experienced Jedi Survivor in its entirety. We basically find Cal being captured early on, but soon realize that he can't be help captive for long, and we meet a new character in the form of Bode, who throughout 95% of the game, is leading us on to believe that he is one of the good guys. Though as we find out at the end of the game, Bode turns out to also be a dark Jedi capable of giving Cal a good whooping, which in turn leads to Bode being the final boss in the game. And perhaps it's my experience with Elden Ring and fighting those bosses and learning how to take them down, I didn't have too terrible of a time with Bode as a final boss or any of the bosses in the game for that matter. What we'll get to next is why that is, and it all boils down to gameplay. But basically, as you fly throughout the galaxy, you bring back together your team from the previous game minus Cere whom we later find out is also aiming for the same overall goal as we are, to find a safe haven in Tanaloor. At the same time, we are also met with an unexpected though very welcome romance between Merrin and Cal, and simultaneously seeing Cal struggle with his feelings for her and also his feeling towards attachments in general. Jedi are not allowed to form bonds. However, in this case, we are in a time where there is no more Jedi Order so there's even more disconnect between his connection to typical Jedi ways and going with his own feelings. Fortunately, we do later find out that he does give into his feelings for Merrin and we see more of a romantic connection between the two. And honestly, it doesn't feel too forced or anything of the sort. It feels natural as they are two lone survivors with a similar past, and they wrote Merrin in such a way that she feels strong connections towards those she connects with, so the connection between herself and Cal just feels more natural given that they are both very emotional characters. All the other characters like Dagan Gera, and the other bosses were also very well written, and much like the show Andor, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor truly made me feel for the characters throughout the entire game. Even if they offered little assistance to you, they still shined and the entire cast should be proud of how they created such a story that elicits such emotion through a game. The cutscenes also just add to this even further as you'll see in the screenshots later, but god damn there were moments where I was just sitting back in my seat sort of in awe of what I was watching. At times, it honestly felt like I was watching something that was meant for a TV show or even theaters. Hell, I'd love to see Cal Kestis as a character being written into a movie. I'm sure it would be fantastic. All in all, we do succeed in making it to Tanaloor accompanied by Kata, Bode's daughter, Merrin, and Greez. Cere unfortunately gets struck down by Darth Vader later on in the game. I enjoyed the story and thought it was very excellently written and again, all the characters that were in the game were very well thought out and had good scripts to accompany them. An overall great story that lends itself to a really great sequel. Seeing as they are expecting this to be a trilogy, I'm excited to see what they can come up with with another sequel. No doubt it'll be amazing.

Enough about the story, let's talk about the gameplay. When I made previous posts about Jedi Survivor, I also talked endlessly about the gameplay, but the reason for that is simply because the gameplay is just so so so good. It took everything that made Jedi Fallen Order great and just boosted it by like 500% and consistently throughout the entire game, I felt satisfaction in how they managed the level designs with platforming sections and combat sections. The combat was simply the most satisfying it's ever been in a Star Wars game and it really makes me feel like I did when I figured out the combat for Marvel's Spider-Man for Playstation 4. From the boss fights down to just taking down swarms of stormtroopers, the combat mixed with the new stances and skill trees really allowed the gameplay to shine bright overall. There were very few moments where I couldn't figure out what to do or how to progress and that was simply because something was just out of frame or a command didn't show up properly. Otherwise, traversing the landscapes and levels and dungeons and figuring out the puzzles weren't terribly difficult, but I did have moments where I had to sit back and sort of look at the puzzle and figure it out, which I eventually did.

Overall everything just feels massively improved from the predecessor which is obviously what you want out of a sequel. But Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is not just a sequel, it's a great sequel. And aside from it being that, it is also a great game that really warrants at least one playthrough if you're curious of it. If you're not interested in playing Fallen Order beforehand, they do give you a pretty nice recap as to what transpired during the time in that game, but experiencing it first hand is always better, obviously. To each their own.

And while I know I'm writing this review having not had any performance issues whatsoever, it is still rather unfortunate that PC players are not able to get the same experience because honestly, it is one of the most beautiful games I've ever played on my Xbox and on top of that, just plays so smooth and really allows the game to feel alive throughout. Whether you're going through a small tunnel or riding on the backs of creatures to traverse the land before you, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor makes the game far larger than its predecessor, but the things that make the games interesting is not lost in this big space. In fact, I'm sure I'll be going back to the game at some point to finish exploring the maps and collecting everything. However, the new Zelda will be coming out in a couple days, so I won't have time. But, it is on my to do list, so Jedi Survivor is not entirely finished yet.

I mentioned before writing this review that I'm giving the game an 11/10, and I want to explain further as to why. I usually don't rate games that low unless it's an overall poor experience. My average for rating games sits right around the 7/10 and 8/10 range. So, basically it doesn't take much to impress me with video games. However in this case, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was not only worth of a 10/10 but it exceeded all my expectations much in the same way that Middle Earth: Shadow of War did when it came out. It's just so good that it's hard to put simply how good I think this game is. And it's been pretty well received other than the obvious PC port issues.

I hope I made it pretty obvious in this review that I think Star Wars Jedi: Survivor overall is a great game, but if it wasn't entirely obvious at this point, I'm probably going to conclude this with the added thought that this game will be in my top 5 favorite gaming experiences of all time now that I have finished it. I haven't been this excited to write a review for a game since I wrote my review for Breath of the Wild, and with Tears of the Kingdom soon coming, you'll probably see another full review in the same respect as this one and the one for Breath of the Wild. I'm happy with my experience with Jedi Survivor but I definitely will miss playing it. I really enjoyed the story and the gameplay and everything just allowed for a really nice feeling overall that it's the kind of game that just doesn't come by too often. And when it does, you want to enjoy it as much as you can. I will miss it, but I enjoy it as much as I feel I wanted to. Highest recommendation.

Below, you will see screenshots that will undoubtedly be spoilers of end game so if you are not interested in seeing screenshots from the end of Jedi Survivor, don't continue reading. I'll put them into spoilers just in case.

[Key]

Starfield

Alright, here we gooooooo! It's time to talk about Starfield. It's pretty crazy to think about, not only the fact that I'm literally coming here to talk about the game that I've been looking forward to all year, and in some cases kind of not looking forward to, but we'll get all get to talk about the game that I've 'ultimately' been looking forward to because it's not just a space game, it's a space game made my Bethesda. So given my experience with them in the past, my expectations were high but not otherworldly high, pun intended. TLDR, I've only put about 30 hours into Starfield since it's released, and I'm well aware of all the New Game+ mechanics etc etc, but i'm not going to get into that for two reasons. One, enough people have given their experiences with it that it doesn't seem like something I'll most likely partake in, and two, I just feel it breeds negativity about the game because ultimately getting to the 'real' New game+ requires you to speed through this game, and that's just not my play style. So I won't be talking about any of that. I may not even do a New game+ so it's rather pointless anyway. What I am here to talk about though is my overall feel and take on Starfield right now. As I said, I'm only about 30 hours into the game, and while I've done a lot of side quests and faction quests, I've barely scratched the surface, so there will be a follow up to this. This is more for just to put my current thoughts on the game out there and we'll see how things progress as I put more time into it. So...I suppose we can get the most important question out of the way...am I enjoying Starfield? The answer is a resounding 'yes'. Out of all of the games that I have played this year, and man we've had some really good ones this year, Starfield has managed to meet and exceed every expectation I set for it pre-release and it continues to get better as I go along. Here are some reasons why:

Companions: The thing that I have always loved about Bethesda games is the companions. Going all the way back to Fallout: New Vegas with Boone, the companions in their games have always been at the very least, interesting to have around. Whether you're using them as your own personal pack mule (which I am btw) or you just want to get into some deep roleplay and really immerse yourself into the world, you can do that to. And there are many options to do so, unsurprisingly. I'd say Starfield has some of the most fleshed out and most interesting companions to choose from, and I've only really only used two so far. I married one of them because again, I like to immerse myself into the roleplay aspect and Bethesda deserves a reward for their writing abilities alone.

Combat: This is something that I don't think Bethesda has really nailed as far as previous releases go. Fallout 76 felt like the most fleshed out combat experience in a Bethesda game at that time, however I would say that as I've given Starfield a bit of time to breath, I've actually really come to enjoy the combat. It wasn't the easiest thing to get down at first especially playing on console, but eventually I got it down and it's one of my favorite aspects of the game. At first, you'll feel like you're not really doing any damage or you're constantly running out of ammo, but it does get better. You start finding items and weapons that really fit your playstyle and at the moment, I'm doing mostly a pistol / melee build and it's working out nicely. The melee is a little finicky at times but that's just because your weapons do feel like they have a bit of weight to them, so sometimes it'll feel like you're not attacking as much as you should be. However, I'd say that's mitigated as you level up because you start to get perks that up your melee damage and honestly, just one level up in that perk makes my previous impressions on melee sort of half hazard, but it's just a bit of a pre warning for those wanting to do a melee run. Just give it time. Bethesda hasn't really nailed melee fighting down in their games probably since Skyrim. And that's perfectly fine. I've been enjoying the combat for the most part and it only gets easier as you find better weapons and do more damage. Never feels like you're underpowered, at least I haven't.

Space: I don't want to be overly critical of this aspect of Starfield because again...this is a game about space. And in space, there's really not a whole lot to see. At least from what we know about it. Sure, you can make the argument that this is a game and they could have added more if they wanted to. However, I would argue that sometimes it's better to immerse yourself into a game that feels more realistic and life like. For instance, I feel like it'd be a little odd to see creatures and things of that nature strolling around in space when realistically you know that just isn't plausible. It would kind of take away from the immersion in a way so I suppose there are two sides to it. I don't know. How is the space aspect of Starfield though? Well, to me, it's the weakest part of the game altogether. There isn't much to do other than save ally ships from being attacked from pirates etc but ultimately the space travel is solely meant to get you from point A to point B, and honestly, that's perfectly fine. I don't need a space game to strictly revolve around space. Especially given that the planets have so much stuff to do that you'll simply get lost in side quests and various activities. To say that the space aspect is the weakest part is not necessarily saying it's the worst part. It just doesn't stand out as much as the other parts of the game.

Quests: There are so many quests, and I mean so many quests. And guess what? They're all relatively decent to good, and I'd say they're so far all worth doing. I've probably done about 50 quests at this point ranging from companion quests, to faction quests, to the main quest, and so far, I'd say I haven't been disappointed. I'm still making slow progress on the main quest because it's so fun doing everything else that you just sort of get lost in true Bethesda faction. And I love that.

Overall: So as of right now, sitting at 30 hours, I'd say I'd not only strongly recommend Starfield to those that haven't checked it out yet, but if you're looking for a genuinely fun Bethesda RPG that has very little bugs, Starfield is that game. It's far better than people have been saying. Don't listen to the negative reviews. Play it for yourself and decided on your own merits. There's so much to do that it's impossible to have a full opinion on the game at this point.