Kotaku’s Weekend Guide: Six Amazing Games We Refuse To Stop Playing

Play it on: Xbox Series X/S, Windows (Steam Deck: YMMV)
Current goal: Configure the perfect survival experience
Buy it from: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop

See? I friggin’ told you this was going to happen. Starfield, with its new game options and cool mods is finally letting me tweak and tailor this massive space sim into something bordering on incredible.

Recently, I’ve been set on doing whatever I can to turn Starfield into a massive, vista-rich, offline, single-player, survival experience perfect for late nights where I shut off my phone, don’t look at any other screens, and just wander the galaxy listening to SomaFM’s Drone Zone.

Read More: Starfield’s Paid Mods Ignite A Review Bombing On Steam

I haven’t found the perfect experience just yet, but I’m getting close. Thus far, I have all of the survival and sustenance settings turned up, and I’ve combined it with SKK Mods’ SKK Fast Start New Game. This mod not only lets you skip the entire opening mining sequence, you can even pick a different city to start in, or have it send you to a random planet. On my latest new game, it spawned me near The Lock, of all godforsaken places, in the Kryx system. Yeah, that’s the one owned by pirates. My attempt to check out the Lock (an abandoned prison) saw hordes of creepy things pop out of the ground to chase me back to my ship. I then had to suck it up and launch into orbit where the Crimson Fleet was waiting to start shooting at me. Given that I was level one, nowhere near capable of taking on so many ships, I diverted all power to my grav drive and jumped to Akila.

Read More: Starfield: 6 Free Mods For A More Immersive Experience

That kind of random, emergent gameplay scenario, I think, is what’s really gonna be the future of Starfield. With so many planets and existing systems, the right combination of updates and mods might really take this game to the heights it deserves and should’ve had on day one.

And yes, I know, I know. You might be saying, just download No Man’s Sky, Claire Rose. But look. I’ve really tried with NMS and I’m certainly going to be giving it another shot soon, but I really do prefer Starfield’s more realistic aesthetic than the kind of plasticky Chuck E. Cheese stylings of NMS. But yes, I will return to that galaxy soon enough to see if my opinions have changed.

And that wraps our picks for the weekend. Hope you’re staying cool and are enjoying some great games as well!