Starfield vs The Alters
Starfield lets you build ships and ignore the story; The Alters turns every worker into a mirror of yourself and makes survival personal.
Updated 7d ago
Free Lanes finally fixed the space travel — you can cruise between planets now — but the procedural planets and the weak main story are untouched.
11 bit studios at peak form — The Alters layers Frostpunk's moral weight onto a sci-fi base-builder where every employee is another version of you.
By the numbers
Prices checked Aug 7; they move faster than we refresh, so confirm on the store page.
Recent-review figures are Steam's own last-30-days window, read Aug 7.
| Measure | Starfield | The Alters |
|---|---|---|
| Value The Alters wins on value | ||
| Price now | $34.39 −31% · GreenManGaming | $13.60 −61% · GameBillet |
| All-time low | $34.39 | $13.60 |
| Cost / hour | $1.44/hr $34.39 · 24 h main story | $0.70/hr $13.60 · 19 h main story |
| Off its low | At its low low was Jul 2026 | At its low low was Aug 2026 |
| Main story | 24 h | 19 h |
| Health The Alters wins on player health | ||
| Steam reviews | 57% 175k reviews | 90% 19k reviews |
| Recent reviews | 63% 396 votes · vs 57% lifetime · improving | 89% 831 votes · vs 90% lifetime |
| Peak players | 7,294 Jul 2026 · ↓ 8% MoM | 3,157 Jul 2026 · ↑ 271% MoM |
| Launch peak | 2% of Sep 2023 launch peak · as of Jul 2026 | 28% of Jun 2025 launch peak · as of Jul 2026 |
| All-time peak | 330,597 Sep 2023 | 11,227 Jun 2025 |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | 8 weeks ago | 9 days ago |
| Patch cadence | 2 in last 90 days | 3 in last 90 days |
| Steam Deck | Gold | Gold |
Shared scale — same months across the bottom, same player-count axis up the side, so the two lines are directly comparable. A shorter line means a younger game.
What players say
Patterns from long-haul reviewers, taken from each game's verdict. Not live sentiment — each side is dated below.
Starfield
Long-haul pilots credit the ship builder and the mod scene with carrying exploration well past what the vanilla planets offer.
Reviewers with four-figure hour counts say the handcrafted content thins out fast and repeated points of interest turn planet-scanning into filler.
from our July 2026 verdict
The Alters
Narrative depth with emotionally weighty choices and real consequences is what keeps players returning.
from our May 2026 verdict
Key differences
Which one is for you?
Pick Starfield if
- You'll spend hours in a ship editor before touching the main story
- You're on PC and modding the game is part of the fun
- You never tire of Bethesda's quest-loot-fast-travel loop
Pick The Alters if
- You want moral choices with real cost in a survival story
- You love Frostpunk or This War of Mine's empathy-driven management
- You want voice acting that shapes a single character into many versions
Bottom line
Choose Starfield if your fantasy is building spaceships and ignoring a weak plot; choose The Alters if you want a base-builder where every management decision stings.