This may not be a popular opinion, but I consider “Freelancer” to be the greatest Sci-Fi Video game ever made. It was innovative, smart, and engaging, moreso than any other game especially for its time. Were they to remake “Freelancer” on a modern engine, with modern graphics and mechanics, it would blow every other such game out of the water.
Unfortunately, that won’t ever happen, but we do have many other games that have tried to pick up the mantle that “Freelancer” has set aside. “Star Citizen” was allegedly going to be the next great sci-fi video game, and if it ever gets out of Alpha status after over a decade of development, maybe it will. Unlikely, but you never know.
Then there’s “Elite: Dangerous”. It has engaging ship combat, excellent exploration, and is overall a fun game. But while I really like what they’ve done with ED over the years, it will never reach the heights of storytelling of a “Freelancer”.
I’m not even going to bother with mentioning “Eve Online”. It’s a griefing simulator, not an actual sci-fi video game. And certainly nothing on the level as “Freelancer” was.
You know where I’m going with this, don’t you?
Let’s look at what “Freelancer” brought to the table, and compare it to what is now the greatest sci-fi video game of all time, “Starfield”.
- Great Story? Yep.
- Excellent space combat? Check.
- Exploration? Absolutely.
But here’s where the similarities diverge. “Starfield” and “Freelancer” both use cutscenes on launching from and landing on planets, but in Starfield’s case, you have more freedom on where you land, and walking around the area. This was a notorious detriment of “Freelancer”, albeit not nearly as annoying as some made it out to be. “Starfield” has more planets and moons to explore, more locations to investigate, more factions to work with, more quests, and a deeper overall story than “Freelancer”. And of course, since it is a more modern game, better graphics, of course.
It could be said that perhaps “Starfield” is missing some of Freelancer’s charm, and their eventual final foe (no spoilers!), but that’s a minor thing, really. In the end, I feel that “Starfield” is much closer to the overall feel of “Freelancer” than any other sci-fi game, and improves upon the earlier title in many, many ways. So screw “Star Citizen”! If you are a long-term “Freelancer” fan, “Starfield” is the game you need to be playing!