Starfield Crime Review: Space Piracy That Almost Delivers

TL;DR

You can steal ships, smuggle illegal junk, and join space pirates.

You cannot truly become the galaxy’s most feared criminal.

It’s crime… with a permission slip.

You wanted to feel like a feared space outlaw, not a polite tourist with a laser pointer. Our heist game breakdown delivers what Starfield doesn’t. Pair it with the Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas One Flight Stick for Xbox Series X|S & PC and finally fly like someone who steals ships for a living. Go on, upgrade your crime.

Villain Power Ranking

6.8 / 10 - “Petty Criminal with Excellent Posture”

Scare Factor

2 / 10 - The only thing terrified in Starfield is your ambition.

The Review

Let’s get one thing straight.

When you boot up Starfield and see “space exploration RPG,” your brain does a little dance. Not a polite waltz. No. A full-on cocaine-powered interpretive dance where you imagine yourself as a space pirate king.

You picture this: You, leather jacket flapping in zero gravity, boarding ships, screaming threats, stealing cargo, running a criminal empire so filthy it makes organized crime look like a knitting club.

And for about… 20 minutes?

Starfield agrees.

Then it hands you a clipboard and asks if you’d like to fill out a form before committing your crimes.

Crime exists. Oh yes. It absolutely exists.

You can:

• Pickpocket like a greasy little goblin

• Smuggle contraband like a dodgy airport mule

• Hijack ships like you’re auditioning for Space Fast & Furious

• Rack up bounties across multiple factions

• Join pirates

• Betray pirates

• Become the kind of person your mother warned you about

It’s all there.

Mechanically, the game is stacked with criminal toys. There’s a full contraband system, scanning, shielded cargo, black market vendors. You can disable ships, board them, and take everything that isn’t bolted down… including the ship.

On paper, it’s glorious.

On paper, it’s a criminal buffet.

In reality, it’s more like a tapas menu where every dish is one bite and the waiter keeps asking if you’re done yet.

The Crimson Fleet: Finally, some proper degenerates

Now here’s where things get spicy.

The Crimson Fleet is Starfield’s big villain playground. Actual pirates. Not “morally complex entrepreneurs.” Proper space scum.

You infiltrate them. You do jobs. You steal. You smuggle. You get that lovely feeling of being part of something illegal and slightly unwashed.

For a moment, the game finally takes off its sensible cardigan and says, “Alright, go on then, be awful.”

And it’s brilliant.

You feel like a criminal.

You are a criminal.

Then the game remembers it’s a Bethesda RPG and gently escorts you back to being a slightly naughty citizen with a conscience.

The problem: you’re not feared… you’re tolerated

Here’s the core issue.

Starfield lets you commit crimes.

But it does not let you become crime.

You’re not a kingpin. You’re not a legend. You’re not the reason entire star systems lock their doors.

You’re more like… a freelancer with questionable ethics and a decent LinkedIn profile.

Even when you fully side with pirates, the galaxy doesn’t really reshape itself around your villainy. There’s no sense that you’ve become the final boss of someone else’s story.

You’re just… there. Doing crime. Casually.

It’s like becoming a mafia boss and nobody updates your Wikipedia page.

Heists? Yes… but don’t get excited

There are moments where Starfield flirts with greatness.

You sneak into places. You manipulate people. You steal important things. You can talk, hack, intimidate, or just shoot your way out like a drunk cowboy in a glass museum.

And for those moments, it works.

It really works.

But these are isolated events.

This is not a heist game.This is a game where heists occasionally show up like a guest star, do something cool, and then leave before the main plot starts talking about space philosophy again.

If you came here expecting Payday 2 in space… You’re going to feel like you ordered a steak and got a PowerPoint about cows.

Starfield lets you smuggle… gently. If you actually want tension instead of cargo babysitting, read how real criminals make money and grab the WD_BLACK SN850X 1TB NVMe SSD. Faster load times, fewer excuses, more chaos. Install it, and stop waiting around like a law-abiding citizen.

Companions: the morality police nobody asked for

Now let’s talk about your crew.

Because nothing kills a good crime spree faster than having a moral lecture delivered mid-robbery.

The main companions react to crime like you’ve just kicked a puppy into a volcano.

Steal something? Disapproval.

Kill someone? Disapproval.

Exist incorrectly? Disapproval.

You’re out here trying to build a criminal legacy and your crew is basically a floating HR department.

It’s like robbing a bank with your parents in the getaway car.

The 2026 update: more space, same rules

The new updates improved travel, added more encounters, and generally made space feel less like a loading screen and more like… space.

Which is good.

More encounters means more opportunities to be a menace.

But let’s not kid ourselves.

This did not suddenly turn Starfield into a criminal sandbox masterpiece.

It just gave you more places to be slightly illegal.

The CRIMENET truth

Starfield is like being handed the keys to a casino…

Only to discover it’s mostly decorative and the slot machines pay out in compliments.

You can absolutely play as a criminal.

You can absolutely enjoy it.

But if you’re looking for a game where you truly become the villain…

This ain’t it.

This is crime with training wheels.

Crime with manners.

Crime that says “sorry” after stealing your wallet.

Strong Points

The criminal systems exist and actually work. Smuggling, piracy, theft all feel mechanically solid.

The Crimson Fleet questline is genuinely fun and gives you a taste of real villain energy.

Ship boarding and piracy are fantastic in concept and often in execution.

Multiple playstyles allow sneaky, manipulative, or violent approaches to crime.

Weak Points

Villain play lacks depth and long-term impact on the world.

Companions constantly undermine criminal roleplay with moral reactions.

Heist gameplay exists but is not a core system.

Becoming a true criminal mastermind never fully materializes.

The game keeps pulling you back toward being a “respectable” explorer.

Final Verdict (Charge Sheet)

Guilty of giving us piracy, smuggling, theft, and moments of genuine criminal brilliance

Also guilty of bottling that potential like a luxury perfume and spraying it in tiny, frustrating bursts

Sentence: 10 years of community service… stealing ships on weekends and pretending it matters

You boarded a ship expecting panic and got mild inconvenience. Fix that. Dive into our Payday breakdown and pick up the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless Gaming Headset so you actually hear footsteps, alarms, and your own bad decisions in glorious detail. Crime should sound this good.

FAQ

Can you play as a villain in Starfield? Yes, you can steal, smuggle, pirate, and join criminal factions, but the game does not fully support a deep villain career long-term

Is the Crimson Fleet worth joining? Yes, it is the best criminal content in the game and offers the strongest outlaw fantasy

Does crime affect the world significantly? Not in a meaningful long-term way, most systems treat crime as a temporary inconvenience rather than a defining identity

Are there real heists? There are mission segments that feel like heists, but no full systemic heist gameplay like dedicated crime games

Is Starfield a good crime game? It is a good RPG with crime elements, not a true crime-focused experience