Starfield is almost upon us, and it’s one of the most highly anticipated RPG games this year. Bethesda has gone all out with its space setting, bringing features from familiar games we all know and love to the upcoming Starfield. We’ve been looking forward to hearing the iconic developer respond to fan questions about the soon-to-launch game, and today’s Q&A session on Discord absolutely delivered in that regard. From criminal consequences to unique companions, Bethesda shed light on a variety of exciting features.
Stop, you’ve committed crimes against… Starfield and her people? That’s right, what say you in your defense? A jail system is coming to Starfield, and it’s going to function a lot like Bethesda’s other in-game prisons. The developer responded to a question asking about criminal activity in-game and consequences for such actions, saying, “Yes, you can elect to go to jail or pay a fine when you’re arrested (or even resist arrest and try to escape).”
Bethesda went on to clarify, “There’s civilization, there’s government, and there are laws,” saying that “in a couple of cases, we actually explore the themes of crime and punishment in our futuristic universe.” If you love role-playing as a chaotic or two-faced character but don’t want to risk jail time, then you’ll be happy to hear that you can instead play as a double agent safely.
A fan questioned if you can be a “double agent” with the Starfield release date approaching, asking, “For example, if you join the United Colonies, can you also join the Crimson Fleet and give the United Colonies information?” Bethesda responded that “All of the playable factions can be completed independently.” The answer given implies that you can enjoy each Starfield faction‘s questline without worrying about trouble.
For all you history buffs (me, it’s me), Bethesda also answered a question regarding the mechs in-game. “The mechs are leftovers from the Colony War,” the developer wrote, saying that both the Freestar Collective and United Colonies had mechs, with the former being the one who “really mastered them.” The United Colonies instead relied more heavily on controlled alien beasts “from their Xenoware division.” Both the mechs and aliens were outlawed following the war’s end. Bethesda also left a sneaky additional response, writing, “I’m not saying there’s an old mech battleground in the game…”
You know what that means, y’all. There’s definitely a battleground to explore. If you’re more of a homebody, though, Starfield apparently has houses galore available for purchase. “There’s housing in different cities that the player can get,” Bethesda wrote. “Some you have to purchase and some are rewards for specific quests.”As a huge Skyrim stan myself, I love that they’re doing in-game houses like this again. If you have a horrible tendency to spend all your money while playing on less useful things as I do, then quest houses are a great opportunity to catch an affordable home.
While there’s no follower quite as iconic as Lydia in Skyrim, Starfield’s own companion system is shaping up to be quite a solid one. When asked about companions and their perks, Bethesda replied that “They don’t level up, but they come at different ranks, depending on the companion.” If you come across a character good at rifles, for instance, you can hire them to watch your back. Or, you can look for an astrodynamics expert to increase your gravity-defying jumps.
The developer also said that Starfield companions‘ skills “do stack with yours, when relevant.” While some perks are less important than others, “you’ll really feel the benefit of the ship and combat-related ones.” I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to see how well my companion boosts and supports me. When it comes to combat, I’m useless.
Another fun hint of realism present in Starfield is religion. Bethesda confirmed that a wide variety of real-world religions are present in the RPG, along with three brand-new belief systems. Sanctum Universum has followers who “believe that God very much exists somewhere in the universe.” The Enlightened, on the other hand, is described as “an atheist group that focuses on humanitarian and community work.”
Finally, Starfield has the House Va-ruun, a mysterious religion following a “celestial entity known as the Great Serpent.” Bethesda can’t stay away from dragons, and I love it. I mean, there’s no telling what the Great Serpent really is just yet, but I’m going to go with a dragon. Maybe not a Skyrim dragon, but a Starfield dragon. No? Okay.
If you haven’t done so yet, you should make sure that your PC is ready for take-off with this quick rundown of the Starfield system requirements. You can also prepare for the game’s release by looking through all of the known Starfield cities thus far.
Still looking for more? While a good Starfield wiki can be a handy source of information, our new Starfield Database goes further, offering you daily news, searchable databanks, and even interactive tools.