Asmongold opens up on Starfield's recent start screen controversy, says it won't be a "great" game

During a livestream on August 20, 2023, Twitch streamer Zack "Asmongold" commented on the controversy surrounding Starfield. While browsing his official subreddit, Asmongold came across a post that featured Mark "Grummz" Kern's recent tweet. In it, he shared his thoughts on Starfield's menu, claiming that it demonstrated that the developer either "hastily shipped" to meet the deadlines or that they "didn't care."

Mark Kern's tweet reads:

"The physiognomy of start screens. The start screen of a game can reveal a lot about how rushed the team was and how much pride they took in their work. Starfield's start screen either shows hasty shipping deadlines by a passionate team overworked, or a team that didn't care."

Kern also stated that the start menu of a game is typically completed at the "very end" of its development. He added that a team that "takes pride" in their work would redo changes before the release:

"Start screen(s) are often done at the very end of development. Teams are too busy making the core game. It's quite common for the start screen to completely change once the game is shipping or on patch 0. Teams that take pride want to put a good face forward and will often redo these just prior to (the) game going live."

In response to these criticisms and drama surrounding the space exploration title, Asmongold remarked:

"I'm going to be honest, guys. I think this isn't a problem. I don't! I think the starting screen is totally fine."

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"I'm expecting Starfield to not be that good" - Asmongold on Starfield's success

Asmongold continued the conversation, explaining why he was "totally fine" with Starfied's menu. He used World of Warcraft: Cataclysm's start screen as an example and said:

"You know why? Because I don't need it to be, like, you know - the Cataclysm starting screen. Where, like a dragon flies in and, you know, there's a bunch of s**t."

A few moments later, the co-founder of One True King (OTK) shared his thoughts on Starfield's success, claiming that it would not be "that great." He elaborated:

"I'm going to be honest. Like... I think this is fine. I've been somebody who... I was kind of skeptical about Starfield. Like, I'm just going to say it - I don't think this game is going to be that great. I'm expecting Starfield to not be that good. I don't expect it to be really exciting."

Timestamp: 00:30:05

Continuing further, Asmongold claimed that he would "reorient" his mindset before beginning to play the Bethesda title:

"I'll play it. And, like, that's the wrong mindset to go into playing a game. And, I think it probably is. I'll try to, like, reorient myself whenever I actually do play it and try to go in myself. Because, you know, you go into it with a perspective and, you know, like, it is what it is. But... that's honestly the way I feel about it. Like, I have low expectations for this game."

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Fans react to the streamer's take

Asmongold's take on the Starfield drama has elicited over 2.5k reactions in the YouTube comments section. Here's a snapshot of some pertinent ones:

YouTube community discussing the streamer's clip (Image via Asmongold Clips/YouTube)

One viewer believed the "minimalistic start screens" were Bethesda's trademark feature. Meanwhile, another community member compared Starfield's menu to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, calling the former a "thing of beauty."