Starfield is a massive game that can swallow hours of your life, and when a game is this big, it’s sometimes overwhelming to take in everything it’s throwing at you and even more difficult to take in the little details that it has to offer. Outside of the procedural content it has to offer, Starfield is packed with little details everywhere you look that show just how much work went into crafting this truly special game.
10 Little Details in Starfield You Might’ve Missed
Not everyone likes to take time to smell the roses, but if you take time on occasion, you will find so much to see here in some very unexpected places.
10. Injured Enemies
When you’re engaging in the countless shootouts you’ll experience throughout Starfield; you might notice that enemies react differently depending on where you shoot them. If you’re not a great shot, sometimes you’ll just be spraying and praying, and while you’ll do enough damage to take them down, they might not always die. If they don’t, on occasion, the enemies will start to crawl and even beg for their lives and say something along the lines of “Hey, let’s talk this out.” Different factions have different things to say, and while it’s not the most efficient way to fight, it’s a cool little detail that Starfield has to offer.
9. Trading With Ships
A lot in Starfield isn’t explained. One of those things happens to be interacting with ships. You can actually talk to ships much like you would NPCs. Each ship can give you information on the world, send you off on quests, and, most importantly, trade with you. If you have a ton of stuff you’ve picked up on missions and don’t feel like landing on a planet to sell stuff, you can usually dump it off on a nearby ship. Granted, you need to make sure these ships are friendly, so stick to the ones that hover around the bigger cities like New Atlantis for trading.
8. Ballistic Weapons Affect You Differently Depending on Environment
There are many times throughout Starfield when you will engage in combat in zero-gravity combat. This adds a ton to your strategy as your boost pack comes into play far more. In addition to this, weapons affect you and your enemies differently. If you’re using ballistic weapons, you will actually fly backward as you shoot them, and the same goes for your enemies. If you’re using energy weapons, this won’t happen, which makes them a better option for combat where gravity isn’t present.
7. Different Ship Part Manufacturers Have Different Styles
When you get into the ship-building aspect of the game, it can be a lot to take in at first. One thing to take note of is that each different ship part manufacturer will have its own style. While you can mix and match, keeping your ship to one manufacturer type creates a ship that looks even better, with each part perfectly flowing into each other. It’s a small little detail but something that goes into Starfield feeling as full and interesting as it is.
6. You Can Remove Traits In Starfield
At the start of Starfield, you can choose a handful of traits to individualize your character. These traits can affect your game in various ways, but sometimes, they can give you unwanted effects. When that happens, you’re probably wondering what you can do to fix it. It’s not an easy fix, but some characters you can talk to will allow you to answer with an option that removes a trait completely. For example, a character that has a religious background in the game can visit a temple in New Atlantis and talk with a character there about their religion. Eventually, you’ll get an option in dialogue that removes the trait from you completely. Think carefully before doing it because it’s irreversible, but the option is there.
5. Vasco Knows Your Name
You know how, throughout the years, your name in Bethesda games never really mattered outside of what would show up on your character screen? Well, now it matters slightly more. Your trusty robot companion, Vasco, actually says your name. He will preface it with Captain, and you need to be within the 1000 names it has stored, but if you choose that one, you’ll hear him address you properly. If you go with an off-the-wall name, you’ll likely be out of luck here. So, if you use names on that list, Vasco will be that much more immersive.
4. NPCs Will Demand Your Attention
We’re all guilty of checking our phones while playing games. Bethesda knows this and decided to have NPCs notice when you take too long to choose a dialogue option. They will chirp at you things like “Are you okay?” or “I seem to have lost you.”. The first time this happens, it’s genuinely impressive, and it reminds you that while your real life should take priority, these characters believe their problems are just as important, and they don’t like you giving them the cold shoulder. It’s a great little detail in Starfield that goes further in making these characters feel alive.
3. You Can Steal Ships On the Ground in Starfield
Another thing not told to us by Starfield itself is that you can actually take most landed ships you can see. There are some limitations on this, as you’re seemingly unable to steal ships while within populated cities like New Atlantis, but in the depths of space where law doesn’t exist, you’re free to act how you’d like. This includes stealing a ship from anyone you find, be it innocent civilians, Raiders, Spacers, or the Val’ruun. This can make for some exciting space heists, and taking off in an enemy’s ship is a hilarious and thrilling experience.
2. Hours Without Incident
There is an area of the game you will visit during the main story that shows a counter on a wall that says Hours Without Incident. Next to it, you’ll find a number. That number actually corresponds to the amount of time you’ve played. You might be wondering what incidents refer to. Try shooting someone in that area; the counter will immediately shoot to 0. It’s a completely needless little detail, but something that Bethesda has always been great at adding to their games, and in Starfield, it is no different.
1. Arrow To The Knee, A Starfield Tribute
All Bethesda fans remember the iconic “I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow to the knee.” quote that Skyrim gave us. Those wondering if Starfield would create a similarly iconic phrase, well, that remains to be seen. Instead, there is a loving tribute to that line in Skyrim from colonists who say, “I used to be an explorer too, but then I- no, never mind, it’s a long story.” A lot of fans expected it to be in Starfield in some way, and Bethesda certainly gave the fans what they were looking for.
