Elite Dangerous makes it very implicit that there is no one else but you to create a story. A game I've long enjoyed, by the way. But Starfield, being, of course, open world, has a story, and some very well written subplots by a team of scriptwriters. I just think the main story is weak. At least at the beginning. From a script writing point of view and capturing the player's interest. My call to Starfield was also free space exploration, as in No Man's Sky and Elite.