Summary

  • A Starfield player has discovered a boneyard on Mars while exploring the planet.
  • The Starfield player even found human skulls embedded in rocks, prompting more questions from fans.
  • Planet Traits, like unique geographical features, can evoke a sense of wonder and earn players extra credits for completing surveys.

The Red Planet is one of the first locations that Starfield players get sent to, but coming across an ominous boneyard on its barren surface is probably not the experience that the majority of people had on Mars. While there is a lot of criticism pointed toward Starfield's procedural generation, the system is still capable of sporadically producing interesting alien environments. Planets such as Muphrid I stand out due to the unique textures they use for their landscape, but more often than not, finding a Planet Trait while scanning worlds is usually what leaves an impression on players when they're out exploring the Settled Systems.

Planet Traits are key to completing a survey in Starfield, which allows players to earn some extra credits when starting a new playthrough. While the usefulness of selling survey data peters out after a while, coming across a Planet Trait in the form of a unique geographical feature can still evoke a sense of wonder. These features are sometimes not even tied to Planet Traits at all, as one Starfield player previously found a stone arch reminiscent of Solitude, the capital city of Skyrim.

In a similar nature, HeftyPackage discovered an eerie pile of desiccated bones on the surface of Mars, sharing their findings with the rest of the Starfield community on Reddit. Given that multiple players have reported finding this particular landmark on Mars (and Jemison as well), it would seem that its spawn rate was intended by Bethesda, rather than it being the product of procedural generation alone. In addition to finding the boneyard, HeftyPackage also came across what appear to be human skulls embedded in a rock formation, which prompted more questions than Starfield is likely capable of answering.

Though Starfield has a mixed rating on Steam, with only 40% positive reviews left by players in the past 30 days, the latest Bethesda sandbox can still pleasantly surprise its fans. Ultimately, while the execution in Starfield appears to be lacking, many players would argue that the foundation offers plenty of room for growth. The official modding tools for the game will be released in early 2024, when Starfield is also set to debut paid mods through the new Creations platform, which should hopefully provide swift solutions to some of the major complaints that the community has had about Starfield thus far.

On top of Creations, Shattered Space will hopefully improve Starfield as well. The first content expansion for Starfield is also expected to launch in early 2024, and though Bethesda has remained tight-lipped about the details, many fans are speculating that it will likely focus on the enigmatic House Va'ruun, a major power in the Settled Systems that only had a minor presence in the base game. Given that the boneyard's skeleton is strangely serpentine, a connection to House Va'ruun shouldn't be ruled out.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
Starfield Tag Page Cover Art
10 /10

Starfield
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Action
RPG
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Systems
PC-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 83%
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Released
September 6, 2023
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s)
Bethesda
Publisher(s)
Bethesda
Engine
proprietary engine
Cross-Platform Play
no multiplayer
Cross Save
no
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
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Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.
The year is 2330. Humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people. From humble beginnings as a space miner, you will join Constellation – the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy – and navigate the vast expanse of the Settled Systems in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game.

How Long To Beat
20 Hours
Metascore
86
Genre(s)
Action, RPG