Starfield: Terran Armada Review – More of the Same

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Since launching in 2023 for Xbox Series X/S and PC, Bethesda has consistently updated Starfield. While the team will likely prioritize the highly anticipated Elder Scrolls 6 in the future, they aren’t finished with Starfield just yet. In addition to a PlayStation 5 version and a significant free update called Free Lanes, Bethesda Game Studios has expanded the space RPG with a new paid expansion, Terran Armada. This adds a substantial amount of new story, locations, quests, and other content.

The second expansion builds on the foundation laid by the first, Shattered Space, offering a similar experience. While it doesn’t drastically change the formula, the new content itself is quite good.

The new expansion, Terran Armada, introduces a powerful new faction: a group of soldiers who deserted from both the Freestar Collective and United Colonies during the Colony War. They vanished for a time, but have now returned with a large, technologically advanced army. Claiming to be the true inheritors of Earth and humanity, they’ve declared everyone else in the Settled Systems as their enemy. A key part of the expansion’s story revolves around investigating their attacks and discovering what drives them – and it’s a compelling storyline.

One of the best parts of Starfield has always been its detailed backstory and the compelling stories it tells, particularly through its faction quests. This remains true with the Terran Armada expansion, just as it was with the first expansion released for the game.

The new expansion features a compelling main story, and the faction at its heart keeps the experience fresh as you play. Discovering the Armada’s background – their robots, reasons for acting, and history stemming from the Colony War – is consistently interesting, though it’s a shame this story isn’t more connected to what happened in the original game.

The expansion attempts to add more enemy types, but after encountering numerous robot enemies, the novelty quickly fades.

As you explore, you’ll meet Delta, a reprogrammed robot from the Terran Armada who becomes a member of your crew. While Delta fits the familiar mold of robotic companions in science fiction, he’s a welcome addition to the characters in Starfield. It’s always enjoyable to learn more about his motivations and loyalties through conversation, and he also provides a good way for the game to reveal details about the Terran Armada and their robotic army.

Delta is likely the most exciting addition to the new robots in Terran Armada. While having a strong new ally is great, the game can sometimes feel repetitive when you repeatedly battle robots as enemies.

While the expansion attempts to introduce more diverse enemies, the variety of robots eventually feels repetitive. Luckily, the basic combat in Starfield is still satisfying, meaning even straightforward gunfights remain enjoyable if you prefer an action-packed playstyle.

Okay, so one of the biggest new things in Terran Armada is this ‘Incursions’ system. Basically, the Armada just shows up randomly all over the Settled Systems and starts causing trouble. These aren’t just simple missions either – they’re all over the place, happening both on planets and in space, and they tie into the main story and side stuff. Honestly, it feels like Incursions are woven into everything you do in the game, which is cool, but sometimes it can feel a little overwhelming.

It’s somewhat of a letdown that the Terran Armada expansion focuses on Incursions instead of adding a brand new, significant location to the Settled Systems.

Incursions are a fantastic addition to the game when they’re active, blending exploration with exciting combat. They present fresh challenges and give players worthwhile rewards, including powerful new equipment. Story-driven Incursions are especially well-designed, feeling like carefully constructed, memorable sequences. Beyond the story, Incursions also offer engaging late-game activities for players who want to earn valuable items – particularly X-Tech, a new currency introduced with the Free Lanes update that unlocks further character progression and customization.

While Incursions add variety, they can become repetitive fairly quickly. The limitations they impose – like preventing fast travel until all enemy ships are destroyed – sometimes feel frustrating rather than engaging. Fortunately, the game lets you control how often these optional events occur, allowing you to reduce their frequency if they become tiresome.

It’s somewhat of a letdown that the Terran Armada DLC focuses on Incursions instead of adding a completely new, significant location to the Settled Systems, like the Shattered Space expansion did. While Anchorpoint Station is a new area with plenty to explore and do, it’s not exclusively tied to the Terran Armada storyline; it feels like a location that exists independently of the DLC content.

This expansion does offer a fresh area to discover and learn, but it’s not a huge new map with a central, epic storyline. Instead of focusing the threat of the Terran Armada in one new location, it’s spread across the existing Settled Systems. There are still new places to visit, but don’t expect something as expansive as Dazra from the Shattered Space expansion.

Overall, this update includes a significant amount of new content, including a new story, side quests, and more to play.

The Terran Armada DLC adds a lot of new features to Starfield, including new weapons, ways to customize your ships, gear, and more. If you’ve already spent a lot of time in the game and want to improve your character builds, this DLC provides plenty of opportunities to do so, especially with the repeatable missions and late-game options like Incursions and the new Free Lanes. Overall, it adds a significant amount of new gameplay, including a new story, side quests, and other content.

Ever since Starfield came out in 2023, players have been hoping for major updates to help the game live up to its potential and deliver on the hype. While Terran Armada isn’t a complete overhaul – even with the improvements in the Free Lanes update – it’s still a worthwhile addition that offers more of what players already enjoy.

This expansion probably won’t win over players who didn’t enjoy the original Starfield or its updates. However, if you’re like me and have been having fun exploring the game’s universe, you’ll likely find enough to enjoy in Terran Armada, even though it doesn’t quite succeed in everything it attempts.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

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2026-04-07 18:45