Starfield: Can You Manually Land on Planets?
Want to know if Starfield allows manual planetary landing? The Bethesda game focuses on space travel and exploration, and it offers immersive piloting mechanics that include the ability to dock with ships and space stations. However, we wanted to know if it’s possible to land on planets and moon, such as Mars.
The Starfield gameplay we’ve seen so far has offered plenty of moments to engage in grav jumps and fly around in orbit, looking for targets such as friendly spacecraft, enemy ships, cargo, shipyards, and science stations. You can also just fly around and admire the beautiful Martian cartography on display in Bethesda’s highly-anticipated sci-fi game. Despite that, it seems like you won’t be able to initiate a manual landing on planets.
Can’t land manually in Starfield
During a test in Starfield, we attempted to come as close as possible to the surface of Mars. Our test ship was able to initiate grav jumps and fly in orbit around the planet, but we weren’t able to come closer than 9,980 meters to the surface.
Even though the game registers the engines as continuing to function, there is no further travel past this point. It’s unclear if this is a general limitation for all planets, or if there are some that allow for closer approaches. However, we were unable to find out, as manual landing on planets in Starfield simply isn’t possible.
Of course, this may disappoint some players who want to experience landing their ship manually on a planet’s surface. However, it’s understandable considering the logistical challenges involved in implementing such a feature. After all, the team at Bethesda has worked hard to create an immersive space travel experience in all other aspects of the game.
If programmable feasibility allows, perhaps a popular mod will be developed to enable manual landing in Starfield. For now, you can still enjoy all other aspects of the space travel experience, including dogfights and exploring various targets.
That said, there is still plenty of room for improvement in terms of the user interface. For example, it’s unclear what happens when you hit the land button – is there a separate menu? And is there a way to disembark from your ship? We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, check out some of the other best space games on PC, to get your fix of sci-fi adventures.
