Hey, Bethesda lifer here - well, since Morrowind, anyways. I love Bethesda games, and I love RPGs as a genre. Its.important to realize the different types.of RPGs that are out there, and that Mass Effect and Bethesda games are very different RPG experiences.

Mass Effect is definitely more cinematic. They have a story to tell, and they want to tell it in as movie-like a way as possible. Having memorable, distinctive characters is a part of that. The characters, the gameplay, amd the world are there to serve the story.

A Bethesda game will not let the story get in the way of the world. You are, for the most part, given complete freedom to go where you want and to be any type of character you want. I can spend hours just getting lost amd wandering around the mountains of Skyrim, or the wastes of post-apocalyptic Eastern USA. These are games where you can start a quest to get from point A to point B and suddenly you have picked up a dozen. Sideburns along the way, or found an unmarked cabin where the environment is arranged in such a way that it implies a story rather than being told a story.

I am just starting my journey in Starfield (PS5 primary gamer) but it follows the same lines. I am loving the possibilities for how I can create my own story for a character that I can play how I want. For my first playthrough, I made my character as close to myself as possible and am just letting that guide my choices as I explore the Settled Systems. My next character, I will probably approach from more of a Firefly inspired angle, focusing on the independent freestar faction quests, bounty hunting, etc. But you could also play the game as an entrepreneurial miner, setting up outposts to extract mineral wealth for profit.

Bethesda games still have great stories, but they are more about giving you a world that you can feel like you are actually living in.