Summary
Starfieldhas a wide selection of beautifully designed consumables, though players can’t help but point out how redundant they are compared to past Bethesda titles. Whereas some food items inSkyrimoffer different buffs, especially those introduced in theHearthfireexpansion,food items inStarfieldmostly restore a minuscule amount of health. There are notable exceptions such as the Jemison Wellington, which increases Carry Capacity when consumed, butStarfieldplayers largely rely on Med Packs and Trauma Packs when their health gets low.
While it would be unrealistic to have food as the main source of healing in a game, it does make Gastronomy as a skill somewhat negligible and underutilized. Players already haveissues withStarfield’s perk system, as many of the game’s primary mechanics such as ship building and lock picking are outright locked behind spending skill points, which subsequently takes away from specializing in combat perks such as Marksman. Though the community is split on how the system could be improved, one of the suggestions entails splitting perks into two categories.
However, as pointed out by OldCorkonian on the officialStarfieldsubreddit, food items seem to be an even bigger question mark in the game right now. Given that there is no easy way to drink or eat a consumable before picking them up, and coupled with the fact that they only restore 5 hit points on average, it makes food items inStarfieldlargely worthless outside decorative purposes.
Thankfully, Bethesda has stated that it will be adding an eat/drink button to the game in an upcomingStarfieldupdate, and someStarfieldmods have already attempted to tackle this issue for PC players. Another change that may greatly improve food items inStarfieldwould be to make them percentage-based like Med Packs and Trauma Packs. It would allow them to scale with the player’s level, making them useful even in endgame scenarios.
Another obvious way to expand on Gastronomy and food items, in general, would be to add an optional Survival Mode toStarfieldthat not only introduces concepts such as hydration, sleeping, and eating to regular gameplay, but also reintroduces the bigger focus on planetary hazards thatStarfieldhad during development. Though it remains to be seenhow Shattered Space will improveStarfieldin the near future, the modding community will almost certainly be quite busy once the Creation Kit releases for the game in early 2024.
