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Blockbuster Starfield trailer shows off ship combat, 1,000 explorable planets

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This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.

During the Xbox and Bethesda showcase, Bethesda dropped a new gameplay trailer for Starfield.

Introduced by Todd Howard, Starfield’s player character lands on the mysterious moon named Kreet during the year 2330. The gameplay looks to be a mix of both third-person and first-perspective. The former is used when exploring or jetpacking across large vistas similar to that of No Man’s Sky while the latter is used during the shooting sections, or speaking with NPCs.

Starfield: Official Gameplay Reveal

The Constellations are introduced as well — the last group of space explorers. The group’s headquarters are in the capital city of New Atlantis on the planet Jemison.

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There’s robust character creation with players being able to customize almost every aspect of themselves. Additionally, players can choose a background that will provide them with three specific starting skills. The Diplomat, for example, gets Persuasion, Diplomacy, and Bargaining.

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Players can also choose optional traits that come with unique advantages and disadvantages. One example is called “Raised Universal” where the player can get a big discount at the church store but will lose access to another storefront called the Enlightened store.

Outposts can be created for resource generation, and players can hire people they meet throughout the game to keep them running. Players can also create outposts for resource generation.

Spaceships can be built for combat. Battles appear to be in both third person and first person, where players can lock on to other enemy ships and shoot them down.

Over 100 systems. Over 1000 planets. All open for you to explore. pic.twitter.com/MZRXQGS1BI

— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) June 12, 2022

Lastly, Bethesda states that over 100 solar systems and 1,000 planets can be explored in Starfield. They range from inhabitable ones with heavy resources to goldilocks planets filled with life.

Starfield launches on PC and Xbox Series X/S in 2023.

George Yang
George Yang is a freelance games writer for Digital Trends. He has written for places such as IGN, GameSpot, The Washington…
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