In one respect, Hangar 13’s game follows Bethesda Game Studios’ (BGS) approach, but it would be better if it didn’t. Since its release in 2023, BGS’s ambitious space adventure Starfield has failed to achieve the success many expected, drawing constant criticism for its empty world and lack of replayability. Painfully slow loading times only make things worse.

Starfield is full of loading screens, and for a game that demands hours of exploration, this quickly becomes tedious. As soon as you enter the game, a loading screen appears, breaking the flow. BGS originally planned annual expansions, but after the mixed reception of the first DLC, Shattered Space, no second expansion has been announced yet (rumors suggest it will be called Starborn).

Mafia: The Old Country doesn’t have loading times as long as Starfield’s, but loading points appear with striking frequency throughout the story, disrupting the narrative. These loading interruptions are frustrating for two different reasons: in Starfield, they make the open world feel restricted, while in Mafia, they break the narrative immersion.

This is a compelling example of how loading times can impact two very different games in a similar way. Despite technological advances, loading can still keep a good game from becoming a great one. Mafia’s strongest feature is its story, and when you’re deeply engaged, frequent loading breaks are particularly annoying. Although both games’ loading times are similarly long, the technology behind them is different: Starfield uses Creation Engine 2, while Mafia runs on Unreal Engine 5.

And this is with fast NVMe SSDs — imagine what it would be like on a SATA SSD or, worse, an HDD.

Source: GameRant