A negative user review for Starfield has appeared on Metacritic in spite of the fact that the game isn’t due for release until September. Starfield is one of 2023’s most anticipated titles and also happens to be the first title from Bethesda Game Studios since 2018’s Fallout 76 if one doesn’t count The Elder Scrolls: Blades, the free-to-play action RPG released for mobile platforms in 2020.

Starfield has found itself near the top of the Steam sales charts following Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct. The digital events provided more information including gameplay footage for the upcoming game that seems to have impressed fans who may have been on the fence after the lackluster release of Redfall earlier this year since both titles fall under the Microsoft umbrella.

Recently, a Metacritic user by the name of Joppsta360 left a review for Starfield, penning what seems to be a diatribe of sorts against Bethesda and its executive producer Tom Howard. While it is unknown whether this person has actually played the game or not, they have also submitted negative reviews for Diablo 4, giving each game a zero. The user appears to be incensed by the microtransactions in the case of Diablo 4, even though they are limited to cosmetic items. Joppsta360’s review for Starfield implies that it is a disappointing mess.

It is probably quite safe to assume that this pre-emptive negative review is without substance, but one can only speculate thanks to the anonymity of Metacritic’s platform. According to Xbox head Matt Booty, Starfield has the fewest bugs of any Bethesda game. If what Booty is saying is true, it will certainly please Bethesda fans who have hoped that the studio becoming a Microsoft first-party would lead to more stringent quality controls, but fans will have to wait and see for themselves when Starfield eventually releases. Either way, the voice of the man at the helm of Xbox Game Studios is more authoritative than a seemingly random Metacritic user.

It is unclear what this particular Metacritic user thinks Todd Howard is lying about. Howard has mentioned Starfield many times, at one point comparing it to Red Dead Redemption 2 in terms of the way its gameplay flows. Regardless, it is probably best not to read too deeply into such user reviews; while they can be useful for players who are deciding whether they want to play a particular game, it is usually quite easy to discern whether they are sincere or not.

Starfield releases on September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.

Source: Metacritic