As a new Bethesda Game Studios RPG, the studio’s first new IP in over two decades, and a major new first party Xbox title, it would be an understatement to say that there’s a great deal riding on Starfield, and following the recent Xbox Games Showcase, we got a comprehensive look at the game courtesy of Bethesda’s Starfield Direct.
A great deal of details were revealed about the story, the setting, and various aspects of gameplay, and one in particular that will catch many players’ eye is the character creator. It boasts a startling degree of fluidity and freedom across a variety of options, including skin tone, hair color, jewelry, scars, teeth settings, and much, much more.
Bethesda says that for the purposes of the character creator, it scanned a wide range of faces, which will allow players to create highly detailed and diverse characters. What’s more, all NPCs in the game were made using the character creation toolset.
Players will also be able to choose a backstory for their character, and depending of which of the many available options you choose, you will also get unique skills. Each background will come with three skills of its own, which, in turn, will dynamically alter the gameplay- so you could be in the middle of a fancy restaurant and meet someone who needs a Beast Hunter. Interestingly, if your character follows a specific religion based on their background, an enemy of the same religion might choose to not be hostile towards you.
To further personalize your character, you’ll also be able to choose three traits, which will each provide unique pros and cons- like getting a damage buff, but having to deal with mercenaries who randomly show up to kill you. Traits will be optional, but if you do pick them and don’t like the effects they’re having, you’ll be able to remove them.
In addition to that, players will also be able to customize and upgrade their characters across an expansive progression system, which will encompass five separate skill trees, with each skill having four ranks that you can upgrade to. Completing specific Challenges, meanwhile, will also reward you with new skills. Skills will enable players to do a variety of things, from being able to control aliens’ minds and enhancing your stealth abilities to improving your melee and physical skills and more.
Various other intriguing details have also been revealed- like a creepy and uber-obsessed NPC who’s a massive fan of yours and wants to breathe in “every atom” of the air that you’re breathing as well. Sound familiar, Oblivion fans? It does look like you can kill this super (creepy) fan though, so there’s that.
More details from the Starfield Direct (a lot more) are also coming up, like ship customization, space flight and combat, crafting and weapons, and much more, so stay tuned.
Starfield launches on September 6 for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Bethesda and Microsoft also unveiled a new trailer for the space-faring RPG at the preceding Xbox Games Showcase- check it out through here.
