I've seen some pretty absurd complaints, like the not being able to land on gas planets, or people complaining due to ridiculously high but present area limitations.
Absurd complaints always seem to surround the media people whom people blame of being "woke", which is why I usually give the media being criticized the extra benefit of a doubt since people will make or criticize shit for reasons they don't say out-loud. I usually find out it's not really that bad, but it's just amplified because they create an environment of criticism that other people that have no underlying agenda still follow.
Then there's the real complaints about performance, which I personally haven't experienced because of a top tier PC (although I'm curious what people on the Xbox have to say, as Microsoft would hang them if it wasn't playable on it as one of their new hallmark exclusives for it), and people not liking the Bethsoft sort of gameplay loop, which this is and has definitely improved upon IMO. Not only will this game be played for years on end like Skyrim, but I suspect it will also spark a much needed MMO off-shoot in the space genre just like their Fallout and The Elder Scrolls games did.
I've played about 40 hours so far on a Series X. It froze on loading twice in that time, but otherwise I've had no performance problems. I even tried remote play streaming from my Series X to my PC and it worked well also.
That said, Starfield is fine. It's not great- I don't think it would be considered GotY even if BG3 and TotK hadn't come out this year- but it's otherwise solid. If you like the Bethesda formula, Starfield plays it absolutely straight (for better or worse). The usual critiques of Bethesda games in general apply- it has that look of a Bethesda game, the NPCs have the facial animation range of a post-botox Barbie, Radiant quests abound, the exploration gameplay loop is pretty shallow, etc.
Don't get me wrong- there's a lot it could do better, much of which other games already do. It's a sci-fi fi version of Skyrim, and that's good enough for me, but it probably won't live on in the gaming zeitgeist.
I would agree with you in that if Starfield has any longevity, it would be because it would serve as the foundation for mods rather than on its own merits. But I disagree that it could stand on its own as-is.
Just tried starting it this morning on a Series X. It crashed 5 times on less than two hours. The last time, I was barely into the "learn how to pilot a ship" part of the tutorial, and I'm already over this. I'm so disappointed. I was really looking forward to getting sucked into a new game.