As the first proper city for players to explore, Starfield's New Atlantis is missing a certain element that past games managed to capture more effectively. Since it introduces new players to many aspects of Starfield's gameplay, such as shops and side missions, New Atlantis has an important job to play in the game. In that sense, it does do its job. However, when compared to other games, even other Bethesda games, New Atlantis doesn't measure up to some previous RPG starting cities. The reason for this makes itself clear during the player's first trip to the city.