One of the biggest criticisms Starfield received at launch was its tedious approach to space exploration. Frequent load times hindered the feeling of freely traveling between hundreds of planets, and once players stepped foot on these faraway lands, they were forced to walk miles to reach local anomalies and identify native species. The lack of land vehicles seemed like a glaring omission. Now, Bethesda has finally rectified that issue with a surprise update that adds a drivable landrover to the game.
First teased during Starfield’s May update presentation, the REV-8 is a free addition to Bethesda’s space epic. The new all-terrain vehicle lets players zoom across landscapes faster than before. It’s also armed with a turret for attacking enemies, a scanner that lets players survey planets from the comfort of the versatile dune buggy, and rocket-powered boosters for clearing large gaps in the environment.
The reveal trailer for the REV-8 shows the rover drifting, platforming, and jumping huge distances. Bethesda doesn’t limit where the player can drive the new car either. Plenty of early footage uploaded online shows players racing through populated parts of New Atlantis and Akila, terrorizing citizens with their new wheels. While the freedom to drive through towns and cities in the galaxy doesn’t do much to uphold Starfield’s sense of immersion, the results are undeniably hilarious.
Obtaining the REV-8 is pretty painless. Simply visit a ship technician in any city and purchase a vehicle module. The module will set you back 25,000 credits, but the conveniences it adds to late-game exploration are well worth the asking price. Adding the vehicle doesn’t require players to accommodate it with additional space on their ships either, and the car will appear anytime players land on a planet. While that’s certainly appreciated by those who don’t want to add another section to their ships, the lack of a docking bay for the REV-8 will certainly be a future request for more detail-oriented players.
The rover isn’t the only thing Bethesda revealed during Gamescom Tuesday. The studio also announced that Starfield’s first expansion, Shattered Space, will arrive on September 30. The DLC lets players “uncover the secrets surrounding the followers of the Great Serpent and ultimately decide the future of House Va’ruun,” one of the core game’s most mysterious and morally gray factions.
At launch, Starfield proved to be a deeply divisive game. For some, it failed to live up to Bethesda’s ambitious promises when it ultimately retained much of the jank the developer is known for. But breaking past those expectations, the experience proved to be a fun space adventure that featured Bethesda’s most interesting narrative to date. Despite a few bumps in the road, it’s great to see the company continue to support Starfield with free quality-of-life improvements in the same ways it did both the Fallout and the Elder Scrolls series.
