Summary
Emil Pagliarulo, a lead designer and writer at Bethesda Games Studios, has issued a lengthy response to the negative reception ofStarfield: Shattered Space. After launching on Xbox Series X/S and PC on September 30, the very firstStarfieldDLC quickly reached a mostly negative review rating on Steam, but Pagliarulo says he’s “very proud” ofShattered Spaceand urges anyStarfieldfan to play the expansion.
While there are plenty offans lovingStarfield: Shattered Space, the general consensus has been mostly negative, at least in terms of user and critic reviews. The DLC takes players on a brand-new adventure to a mysterious planet, featuring unique weapons, spacesuits, and all-new gear. Unfortunately, at the time of writing this article, the game’s very first DLC has almost 2,500 reviews on Steam, but only 30% of them are positive. And it’s looking pretty similar on Metacritic, with a user score of just 5.5 out of 10.
Starfield: Shattered Space’s negative reviewshave now drawn out a response from Bethesda developer Emil Pagliarulo, who has issued a lengthy response to a fan. After publishing an interview on Twitter, one user responded with a ten-part thread calling the interview “tone deaf” while also criticizingShattered Space’s “poorly written quests, bugs, and lack of meaningful content.” The interaction was generally constructive and far from the usual toxic comments seen on social media, which led Emil to respond by saying that while he doesn’t necessarily agree with all of the user’s points, he does “understand and appreciate” where they’re coming from.
Starfield Dev Responds to Negative Shattered Space Reviews
After the user noted that Emil’s interview felt like a “pat on the head” that wasn’t warranted due to the DLC’s negative reviews, the developer responded by saying he was happy to represent the designers and the studio as they “deserved nothing less” for how passionately they worked onShattered Space. He went on to explain that he’s “very proud” ofShattered Spaceand that his general optimism about games tends to shine through in interviews, and that it was “no way meant to be mud in the eye of any dissatisfied fan.”
Emil then went on to discussShattered Space’s quests, noting that many of the new missions and levels were developed by designers who have worked on many previous Bethesda titles and DLCs, even going all the way back toThe Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. “They’re good at what they do, and it shows,” Pagliarulo said. His response then continued by stating that anybody who likesStarfieldand hasn’t playedShattered Spaceis “missing out.” As for those who have played and still don’t like the expansion, the developer said that “makes [him] said,” but did note that Bethesda has heard from “plenty of people who love [Shattered Space].”
Since the launch of Bethesda’s massive space RPG, numerousbug fixes and content updates forStarfieldhave been released, something that Emil says has come from listening to fans. “We make these games for all of you,” he noted. But due to the sheer size ofStarfield, Pagliarulo did state that it “takes time” for the studio to address player feedback but that they move as fast as they can. He ended his lengthy statement by saying that there is “no ego” and “no arrogance” when it comes to Bethesda’s games, “just a lot of hard work.”
Starfield: Shattered Space
WHERE TO PLAY
Shattered Space is the first upcoming DLC for Bethedsa’s space RPG Starfield, due Fall 2024. It expands the core story, adding a horror-like twist as players head to the homeworld of House Va’ruun.
