Summary

• While Starfield has a number of different weapons to use, its entire melee class is underwhelming.
• Melee weapons lack variety, with very little difference in animations, no difference in reach, and more.
• There are a number of ways Starfield‘s melee weapons can be improved without completely overhauling the game.

Although Starfield has a decent variety of weapons, one particular type of weapon feels like an afterthought compared to the rest – the melee weapons. Like other Bethesda RPGs before it, Starfield offers players the option to choose between a number of different melee or ranged weapons which, in combination with the game’s Skill system, should allow them to define a certain play style for their character. Unfortunately, Starfield‘s melee weapons are monotonous, one-note, and unsatisfying to use, with different melee weapon types being hardly distinguishable from each other outside pure numbers.

Even in open-world RPGs with more of a focus on ranged combat, like Fallout and Cyberpunk 2077, melee options still tend to be a viable and potentially powerful option – in fact, games where most enemies will be fighting from range create the opportunity for a melee-focused player character to really stand out and feel powerful by rushing down enemies despite ostensibly being at a significant range disadvantage. However, whereas even past Bethesda RPGs offer some interesting, varied options for melee-focused character, the unarmed combat and melee weapons in Starfield end up feeling underwhelming compared to the guns, and is a big step back from its implementation in games like Skyrim and Fallout 4.

Related: “An Instant Classic”: Starfield Review

Why Starfield’s Melee Weapons Are Underwhelming

Despite technically having options for melee combat, with one Combat Skill, Dueling, devoted to using melee weapons and one of Starfield‘s Physical Skills, devoted to barehanded combat, the game’s close-range combat ends up feeling underdeveloped, especially compared to using guns, for several key reasons. Even compared to past Bethesda RPGs, melee combat in Starfield takes several steps backwards, lacking in variety, customization, and moveset satisfaction, making it a poor choice for most players when using guns would likely be both better and more fun. A combination of lackluster animations, seemingly missing features, and a total lack of different play styles result in Starfield‘s melee combat feeling like more of an afterthought than anything else.

In terms of animations, Starfield‘s arsenal of melee weapons share a major problem – despite technically having nine different types of melee weapons, animation variety between them is practically nonexistent. The only real difference is that some of the game’s knives will start with a stab instead of a swing, but otherwise, melee weapons share the same general moves, creating an issue where something like a Rescue Axe doesn’t feel meaningfully different to use from a Wakizashi katana or a Va’Ruun Painblade.

Compounding the issue, the variety for melee weapons is pitifully small as well, with the game essentially giving the choice between different skins for large or small blades, and only nine different kinds, compared to the numerous types of guns across multiple categories. Worse, unlike guns, melee weapons can’t even be modded to allow players to tinker with their performance or add interesting trade-offs to each weapon, a missing feature that’s especially egregious since melee weapons could be modded in previous Fallout games. With no mods, or even higher-tier variants of melee weapons to find, trying to play as a melee character becomes tedious and frustrating later in the game.

Whereas players will eventually find higher tiers of guns that deal increased damage, indicated by the prefixes Calibrated, Refined, Advanced, and Superior, it is impossible to find the equivalent for melee weapons without the use of mods or the command console.

The variety issue is even worse in comparison to past Bethesda games like Fallout 4 and Skyrim, both of which offer multiple options for melee weapons that could be meaningfully differentiated from each other with certain build choices. Fallout, for example, includes a number of bladed or blunt melee weapons with varying attack speeds and properties, as well as unarmed weapons like brass knuckles or power fists. Skyrim allows for differentiation between wielding one-handed or two-handed weapons, allowing for the opportunity to dual-wield, or to mix a one-handed weapon with magic or a shield, and even creates some minor differences between axes, swords, and maces, with daggers being used for stealth.

How Starfield’s Melee Combat Could Be Fixed

Although Starfield‘s melee weapons feel like a definite afterthought, there are still plenty of chances for them to be improved or fixed. Upcoming patches or DLC like the already-announced Shattered Space could all serve as good opportunities to make improvements to melee weapons, increasing the game’s playstyle variety and giving it more potential replay value. Outside major additions or changes, like adding entirely new weapons or overhauling systems to allow for melee weapon mods or completely different movesets between different weapons, some smaller changes could still serve to improve the game’s melee.

Related: 10 Things Starfield‘s Shattered Space DLC Must Include

One simpler change that could improve Starfield‘s melee would be to make changes to each weapon’s attack speed and range – something like the Wakizashi could be faster than, for example, the Rescue Axe, and the UC Naval Cutlass could have increased range compared to other weapons. These changes, while not at the level of overhauling the game’s systems to match those of Skyrim or Fallout 4, could already go a long way towards making melee weapons feel more unique from each other, making them feel more like distinct weapons with different use-cases and less like simple reskins.

For a more drastic solution, however, Starfield could look to the melee weapons of something like Cyberpunk 2077. In Cyberpunk, melee weapons are much more clearly differentiated in both playstyle and moveset – with a katana, players can use quick slashes and deflect bullets, offering a majorly different experience from using a hammer, with which players can essentially build themselves into being a human wrecking ball. Even within the two categories of Blades and Blunt Weapons, Cyberpunk offers more variety, with katanas, chainswords, daggers, and arm-mounted Mantis Blades all being available options within just the Blade category alone, all with differing uses and unique features.

While melee combat is technically a part of Starfield, its lackluster implementation leaves it feeling like more of an afterthought than anything else, with both melee weapons and unarmed combat suffering from a lack of both damage and variety compared to the game’s various guns. To increase the satisfaction of using melee weapons, they could be changed in various ways, from smaller tweaks like speed and range changes, to complete overhauls to better match up to the systems of games like Skyrim or Fallout. Hopefully, future patches or DLC releases for Starfield will address melee weapons and make them more satisfying to use.

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  Starfield

  Platform(s):

  PC, Xbox Series X/S

  Released:

  2023-09-06

  Developer(s):

  Bethesda Game Studios

  Publisher(s):

  Bethesda Softworks

  Genre(s):

  Open-World, RPG, Sci-Fi

  ESRB:

  M

  Summary:

  Bethesda Game Studios presents Starfield – the first original IP from the studio in twenty-five-plus years. Set in the year 2310, the United Colonies and Freestar Collective are observing a shaky truce after a war set 20 years prior. The player will customize their character as a member of a space exploration team called Constellation while navigating The Settled Systems and the conflicts between the warring factions. According to Bethesda, players can explore over 100 systems and 1000 planets to find resources and build their ships, living out their own sci-fi journeys.