Shattered Space is on the horizon, launching more than a year after Starfield was released to the world. In 2023, Bethesda Game Studios finally pushed Starfield out to the open market, being met with a mixed reception and some critical feedback that would come to shape the future of the ambitious space-based RPG.
Shattered Space is the first major expansion for Starfield, but it won’t be the last. Recently, Bethesda took a deep dive into the core gameplay mechanics centered around Shattered Space, stressing that the entire expansion unravels on a single planet.
‘Explore Every Nook and Cranny’
In a recent deep dive published by Bethesda Game Studios, the foundational principles of Shattered Space were laid out. It was explained by BGS that the entire expansion takes place on Va’ruun’kai, the homeworld of House Va’ruun, an ‘isolationist’ society shrouded in mystery and intrigue.
In that, the team also confirmed that at no point does the DLC leave Va’ruun’kai:
From the minute you arrive on Va’ruun’kai the story never sends you off planet. You’re free to leave at any time, but the story is fully centered around life on the Va’ruun home world.
We wanted to give you the opportunity to explore every nook and cranny of this location and find clues as to who these people really are and what happened to them.
Thanks to IGN for the quotes
Eagle-eyed users noted that the description for Shattered Space mentions that Va’ruun’kai is a ‘fully handcrafted’ location, which has filled the community with a sense of hope. One of the flaws of Starfield was that the promised ‘endless exploration’ opportunities turned out to be rinse-and-repeat caves, bases, and settlements with identical structures, layouts, and enemy positions.
If Va’ruun’kai has been designed from the ground up by hand, it should at least be a little more immersive and entertaining to explore.
Sadly, the faction element in Starfield was also underwhelming, with many players (including myself) coming away with no real sense of attachment to the factions. They weren’t memorable in the same way that the Dark Brotherhood from Elder Scrolls or the Brotherhood of Steel from Fallout are memorable, which is a shame.
Hopefully, Shattered Space can heal that flaw a little, as House Va’ruun is interesting enough on paper.