It's so much larger than Skyrim, but has none of its richness or that strong sense of place that makes Tamriel feel so tangible. Starfield has some standout quests that I really enjoyed, but between them I was mostly just fighting the same pirates in the same buildings on planets lacking any bespoke elements. And this was just after a handful of hours.
I've been battered by frost trolls in glacial caves up north, stopped necromancers from finishing a dark ritual, looted crypts full of the undead, joined the College of Winterhold to fulfil my ambition to become an archmage and transformed into a vampire.
It's the diversity of experiences that's been keeping me entertained. After more than a decade, some of the shine has worn off, but Skyrim is still more than capable of entrancing me, whether I'm aimlessly exploring or embarking on a more scripted adventure. But returning to my old haunts has shown me that's not the case. After Starfield, I was starting to think I was maybe just done with Bethesda's brand of sandbox RPGs.
