A Starfield survival game mode could be added to the spacefaring shooter, as Todd Howard, director of the upcoming Bethesda RPG game, alongside Fallout and Skyrim, discusses Elder Scrolls 6 ahead of the coveted Starfield release date.
Exploring the initial Starfield gameplay trailer, there are already hints at various survival mechanics thanks to one of the starting Starfield skills, Gastronomy, which enables players to craft specialised food and drink. Similar to the hardcore mode in Fallout: New Vegas, this might imply that players will need to monitor various bodily needs and put more thought into keeping alive beyond just shooting and looting.
As well as discussing the Elder Scrolls 6 release date, and saying he “wishes it was soon”, in a recent interview with YouTuber Lex Fridman, Todd Howard mentions how some survival mechanics in Starfield have been toned down, but that a hardcore mode could be added to the space game at a later stage.
“It [Starfield] has a tone where there’s some effort involved,” Howard says. “You used to jump out into space, run out of fuel, and get stranded. On paper, it’s a great moment when you get stranded, and you have to press this beacon and you don’t know who’s going to come. Turns out, that just stops your game. You run out of fuel, and you’re like ‘I ran out of fuel. I guess I’ll just wander these planets trying to mine for fuel so I can get back to what I was doing.’ It’s a fun killer.
“But games do do that. If you had a hardcore survival mode, that’s the kind of thing you would do. Maybe we’ll do it in the future.”
Starfield mods are bound to introduce some survival mechanics to the open-world game, but official support from Bethesda would be fantastic, with additional features added post-launch bringing to Starfield the same longevity that’s kept Skyrim popular for over a decade.
Mining for fuel, hunting for oxygen canisters, trying to eat the final remnants of an alien fungus hanging from the walls of a cave – that’s the kind of fun I want when Starfield finally arrives.
Until then, check out all the details on Starfield cities and Starfield factions. You can also get a headstart on your personal space adventure with our guides to Starfield character creation and Starfield ship design, so you’re all geared up and squared away ready to hit the stars.