Entering the purple atmosphere of the mysterious Va’ruun’kai should have felt like something truly special, butStarfield: Shattered SpaceDLC feels more like a scientific space slog that fails to launch, rather than a groundbreaking new entry in the story. Developed by Bethesda Game Studios, the shroud of choice in a fairly linear narrative, marred by a lack of any chance-taking or anything new and exciting,leaves the first expansion for the epic space adventure an underwhelming endeavorand a reason to pause for anyone who doesn’t already own the deluxe edition.
Starfield: Shattered Space
Delving into the world of the Va’ruun showcased whereStarfieldis weak. Upon journeying into a random star system, players willencounter a derelict spaceship called the Oracle, with a distress call coming from the ship. Throughout the playthrough,players must navigate between three leading Va’ruun factions, House Veth’aal, Dul’kehf, and Ka’dic,in what feels like a fairly tired and redundant Bethesda trope that fails to capture the magic of the company’s previous DLC.
Starfield’s First Expansion Doesn’t Deliver Anything New Or Innovative
Shattered Expectations
Starfield: Shattered Spaceexpands upon one of the biggest mysteries of the base game: the enigmatic Va’ruun faction. Encounters with the religious zealots were numerous in the base game ofStarfield, but it was the only major faction missing a home base. WithShattered Space, the faction is introduced via the revelation of the planet of Va’ruun’kai and the capital city of Dazra — the (somehow) hidden home planet and capital city for the worshippers of the Great Serpent.
In terms ofnew items, QoL changes, or even memorable characters,Shattered Spacetruly doesn’t deliver. Early teasers that promised an improved melee system failed to materialize beyonda few added weapons and tiers(something that arguably should have already been in the base game). Though there are some cool Void grenades and Va’ruun weaponry, it’s nothing truly groundbreaking, or even new, with similar Starborn powers already in the game. WhatShattered Spacedoes deliver is new and unique handcrafted environments, a host of NPCs, and missions revolving around the Va’ruun.
AlthoughAndreja,amain companion inStarfield, is the only member of Constellation that has a Va’ruun background, her special dialogue options are limited with no emotional impact. There are also no new companions that can join the crew permanently inShattered Space.
Sadly, because almost nothing was modified from the base game, and the narrative slogs on at points,Shattered Spaceultimately feels like any other questline inStarfield. The narrative doesn’treallyanswer any burning questions about the Great Serpent, and the examination of the religious fanatics seems surface-level. Worst of all, itcontinues the trend ofproviding false choicesin what otherwise is a pretty linear experience.
Starfield: Shattered Space Might Be Fun For Starfield Fans
It Depends On Where You Stand
Those who are fans ofStarfield, especially the ones who already have the deluxe edition, should not skip the expansion. In many ways, the main criticisms ofShattered Spaceare present inStarfield’s main missions, sothose who enjoyedStarfieldshould enjoyShattered Space. The game itself and advancements in graphic fidelity have transformed the title into a visual delight when compared to its initial release in September 2023. In addition, there is fun side quest content, like “The Duel,” which forces players to make a definitive choice in the end that has a lasting impact on the narrative.
Every Starfield: Shattered Space DLC Ending Explained (In Detail)
Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC allows players to decide the fate of House Va’ruun in its final quest. Here’s how it ends, depending on their choice.
The story itself, which never claimed to answer burning questions inStarfieldlore,truly underdelivers by not touching on the bigger themes in a definitive way.More is elaborated about the origins of the Va’ruun, with some backstory fleshed out via Audio Logs and computer console messages, but the main questions of the truth of the Great Serpent and heftier overall themes are still left fairly ambiguous by the completion of the campaign. Conflicting information from Anasko Va’ruun and Audio Logs still leaves the entity a mystery.
Instead, the storyline revolves around tensions between three different Va’ruun factions — a common Bethesda trope at this point. The setup is all too typical, which made the DLC feel even more underwhelming. For trueFalloutandStarfieldfans, it might feel like a familiar, warm blanket, but for most longtime fans, it will feel derivative and tired.
Bethesda Seems Scared To Take Risks
Best Described As Milk Toast
Starfield: Shattered Spaceis by no means a great DLC, nor is it a remarkably terrible one. Although a few persistent bugs still exist from the base game, the expansion commits one of the worst sins in gaming — it’sjust plain uninteresting. The problem lies in the primary choices taken with the narrative. Although the setup lends itself to a twisted, macabre story, the game never really goes there — that’s to say, it never takes any risks.
Throughout the DLC, dialogues feel like narrative dumps, with the science behind the sci-fi delivered via overly verbose snore fests with complex terminology at nearly every corner. String theory, a multiverse: the same tired old tropes that have gained popularity over the last decade. Although the religious fanaticism of the deviant Va’ruun is present,it never feels extreme enough, reducing them down to a joke. Joining a cult should feel uncomfortable, but inShattered Space, Va’ruun feels like any other faction. An opportunity to inject true dread or a sense of paranoia, creeping doubt, or fear is all missed here.
Can You Keep Playing Starfield: Shattered Space After Beating It?
Finishing Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC may give players access to special locations, but only if they make the right decisions.
And sadly, this illustrates an issue with the game generally. InStarfield,every faction more-or-less feels the same, except for one or two things that set each city or town apart. New Atlantis is the clean, corporate city, Neon is the cyberpunk city, and Va’ruun is the religious city.Starfieldmicro societies themselves tend to lack the nuance of fully fleshed-out, living, breathing places, and the new Va’ruun’kai lacks anything that would make it truly memorable.
Shattered Space Is Not A Horror Game
The Trailers Misled
One of the more peculiar aspects of theShattered Spacelaunch was the intentional positioning of the game as a cosmic sci-fi horror DLC. While there are a few spookier moments in the game,to say that it embraces the horror themes present in the trailers would be untrue. In some ways, this was one of the more disappointing aspects of the experience overall. Although the game’s plot is nearly adirect copy of the ’90s filmEvent Horizon, its overall tone and aesthetic is a lot different than that film.
There aren’t a whole lot of new enemies, even though they are arguably all horror-themed in some respect. Adversaries from the Void include a new ugly alien and glowing, cosmic face-huggers, butnone as monstrous as what is already inStarfield. Void Horrors, which are made to be frightening, lose the effect after the second or third encounter.
The initial quest to explore the Oracle is terrifying in some respects, with corpses floating in zero gravity, but beyond that, the scares are few and far between. There was an opportunity here to have the player-character question their own sanity or evenflux between planes like in the mission “Entangled,” but neither route is ever really explored.
In A World Of Constant Comparisons, Starfield: Shattered Space Loses
It’s Not Terrible, But It’s Also Not Good
In a different universe, ifShattered Spacewas created by a less infamous company than Bethesda, it could have been lauded as a pretty fun, albeit overpriced DLC. That said, it’s not only its own, generally acclaimed DLC likeDragonbornforSkyrimorFar HarborforFallout 4it needs to contend with. In 2024,Starfieldnow has a multitude of competitors in the narrative science-fiction space, and many of those provide more value thanShattered Spaceat a $30 retail price.
The truth isStarfield: Shattered Spacefeels less like a revolutionary expansion that fulfills the wishes of faithfulStarfieldfans and more like what should have been a free DLC that adds another questline that probably should have been included at launch. Although it’s not as anemic in content as therecent Trackers Alliance missions, it’s certainly not what everyone’s been hoping and waiting for.
Maybe one day,Starfieldwill finally become what everyone had hoped, with more emphasis on the mechanics people enjoy.Starfield: Shattered Spaceisn’t the worst DLC in the world, and fans of the base game may enjoy it, but it fails to live up to the reputation that Bethesda has established as a company that makes great expansions.
Starfield: Shattered Spacewas reviewed on PC as part of the reviewer’s Deluxe Edition.
