Starfield players explain why NG+ is “pointless”
BethesdaThe New Game Plus mode in Starfield features a nice twist that makes it stand out from other games. But some players on Reddit recently explained why Starfield NG+ feels “pointless.”
At the heart of Starfield is its intriguing main story, which sees players navigate the universe in search of alien artifacts. They’re joined by the game’s primary faction, Constellation, during this quest and players eventually forge relationships with its members.
The objective of this adventure is to gather all the artifacts and rebuild the Unity. Aside from all the lore implications that Starfield’s ending brings, completing the main story also opens up access to the New Game Plus mode.
If you’re yet to finish your journey among the stars, consider this a spoiler warning for the ending and NG+. But if you’re set on that front, you’re probably aware that the game’s NG+ lets you keep your character’s traits and attributes, and allows you to explore alternate universes.
BethesdaEach NG+ run lets you play through the story all over again while changing the personalities of Constellation’s members, and your relationships with them. These changes can dramatically alter the opening few hours of the game, as you can land in a universe and come face-to-face with your own character or find out that the faction is being run by children.
This spin on a common mechanic from other games has attracted praise from Starfield players. However, a popular Reddit post recently attempted to explain why NG+ feels “pointless.” The post came from user ‘IceTacos,’ who felt that the main quest’s ending makes everything that happens in NG+ insignificant.
They explained their view by saying, “If I’m supposed to go through new game + to continue with the main story and that there are infinite universes means that your choices really don’t matter, because you can just enter another universe. So all the rest of the questlines I have to do just feel like they don’t matter anymore because that universe ‘doesn’t matter’ looking at the big picture.”
They added, “All the credits and my whole inventory collection is just useless because they want you to go through new game + multiple times, thus resetting your inventory. So what is the point of saving resources and stuff like that? The only thing that matters is my level and skill points.”
The user essentially stated that the emphasis on infinite universes reduces the value of NG+ runs, as your choices are lost once you start another run.
Some users in the comments seemed to agree with the OP’s point, while others pointed out the philosophical or ‘meta’ nature of the mechanic, “Well that’s the philosophical point the game is trying to make. Why go through the Unity repeatedly if it means that everything becomes meaningless in the process?”
Players can always find a NG+ universe that they like and spend the rest of their Starfield adventure in it. While this doesn’t help make multiple runs feel equally significant, it certainly adds more value to the universe you’ve landed in and the decisions you’ve made.
For more on Starfield, check out everything we know about the Shattered Space DLC and the best ships to buy.