Starfield is not a perfect game, but boy, do I love it. Fallout in space is an appropriate comparison, and Bethesda has done an incredible job of making the world feel alive. However, Starfield has some cons, the biggest being inventory management.
Why is Starfield's Inventory so Bad?
There are no questions about it—Starfield has an ugly, outdated, and awful inventory. Managing it is tedious, especially considering how often you must go into your inventory. It almost feels like I spend more time managing my inventory, and most of this is fighting with it. Each tab has to be opened individually, and if you have a lot of an item type, the list can be extremely long, forcing you to scroll instead of displaying everything at once.
Navigating the inventory requires opening each tab individually and finding the item you want. Other games have a large inventory with the option to sort items, but not Starfield. Having to constantly switch tabs every time takes more time than it should, especially given how easy it would be to consolidate the inventory.
Even more annoying is the ship cargo and how Starfield's ships handle inventory when switching ships. Any loose item is not transferred to your new ship and left behind. You even risk losing items, meaning switching ships requires you to take everything up before. The same is true for houses and homes you own. Additionally, the cargo space on some ships is laughably small, sometimes even less than what you can carry on your person.
Bethesda games have notoriously bad UI and inventory management, but Starfield's 2023 release should have been partnered with an updated and sleek inventory management system. While modders have always stepped in to fix Bethesda's UI and inventory management, I hoped Starfield would fare better, especially considering the polish on the rest of the game.
How to improve Starfield's Inventory Management?
There is little hope of fixing Starfield's unwieldy inventory system in-game, but there is a way for PC players. Modders have created StarUI, a mod aiming to streamline and improve Starfield's inventory system. Using StarUI has been a lifesaver and allows me to enjoy Starfield without dreading opening my inventory. There's a similar mod for Skyrim and it's equally stressful inventory, so it was pretty funny to see how resigned people were to make one again for this game.
For more information on Starfield, check out House of Enlightenment Chest Location – Starfield and How to Install Mods in Starfield on Pro Game Guides.
Justin has been diving into fantasy worlds since he can remember. He is a certified nerd who has a deep love of reading, writing, and hiking. He has been writing since his college days, but specifically in gaming for two years. His favorite games are The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, Hollow Knight, Celeste, and Banjo Kazooie.