Bethesda has always been good at sneaking in some hidden secrets into their games due tohow massive their open-worlds are, andStarfieldmost definitely upholds this tradition, with there being plenty of them to seek out during a playthrough. The truth is, because a lot of the secret areas and items are tucked away, or simply just really hard to find, it’s unlikely that players will come across them when following the main missions, or even the faction missions.
There are evena few hidden mechanicsthat can end up making the game much more enjoyable, despite the fact that the game never tells the player about them directly. These secrets are therefore designed to reward players who travel off of the beaten path and who have decided to do some exploring of their own to see what they can uncover in their adventure, and with a game as big as this, there’s guaranteed to be a ton of interesting things to find. Here are the very best secrets that players can run into when playingStarfield.
7Customizable Loading Screens
Starfieldhas undoubtedly beena big success for Bethesda, and it has received generally positive reviews by those who have played it, but by far the biggest issue that many players had a problem with was the painfully long loading screens. Luckily, there’s a hidden feature in the game that makes these a lot more bearable, and it involvesthe Photo Mode.
By setting up the Photo Mode, players will be able to take a few quick snaps of their favorite characters and areas, and are even able to toy around with different lighting effects to add some extra personal flare to a picture. Each time a photo is taken, it will be added to an album which will show up during loading screens which makes them a lot more bearable.
6Stealing Credits From ATMs
While wandering around the commercial district of New Atlantis, players will be able to spota few ATM stationswith the “GalBank” logo spread over the top. These can be very easy to ignore because of how small and unimportant they seem, but one thing the game doesn’t make clear is that, if players have a high enough lockpicking skill, they’ll be able to steal people’s credits.
ATMs can only be accessed by someone who has the ability to open up advanced locks, so it might take a little while until the player can do this, but it’sa great way to get a few extra Creditsto save up for a new ship or weapons. The best part is, that the workers at GalBank won’t even know who it was stealing the Credits, so there’s no need to worry about any bounty hunters being alerted, just ensure not to get spotted while performing the act.
5Hours Without Incident Clock
Mars
The Cydonia Mining Colony can be found on Mars, and from how the workers talk about the profession, it’s clear that it’s an incredibly dangerous and risky job that can easily cost someone a finger or two if they’re not careful. To keep track of this, there’s actually a giant counter in the center of the area which records the “Hours Without Incident” which might seem like just a part of the environment, but itactually works in real time.
For example, while the counter could be very high if the player hasn’t yet visited Mars, if they were then to commit a murder while on the planet, then the timer would actually update to “0” and the hours would slowly go up from there, so long as there are no more incidents. This is a very small hidden feature that many would likely not notice, but it’s pretty impressive that the clock manages to keep track of the player’s bad deeds.
4Lord Of The Rings
Potato
Ever since Bethesda decided to place a lot of their focus on potatoes duringtheStarfieldgameplay trailer, this small starchy food has become somewhat of a meme among the community, with many players testing how many of them they can hoard on their ships. While they’re extremely easy to come by, and can often be found in large quantities, the description of potatoes makes subtle reference toThe Lord of the Rings, and more specifically, Samwise Gamgee.
When Gollum initially seems puzzled at the quality of the food, Sam reassures him that potatoes are perfectly edible and even goes on to state the different ways it can be prepared, saying “Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew…” which is the same description used for them inStarfield.
3Broken Space Helmet
The Frontier Ship
When players are first given access to their very own ship,the Frontier, they probably won’t think to explore it much since the ship is incredibly small, and is only really designed to transport them from A to B as quickly as possible. However, one specific item that can be found lying around is a Broken Constellation Helmet with the words “Don’t Use” written across the front of the bandage holding it together.
This is a clear warning to leave the helmet alone, but if players actually decide to pick up the helmet and wear it while out exploring, the bandage will actually show up and cover nearly the entire visor. In brighter areas like The Lodge and outside in New Atlantis, the ink itself can even be seen on the tape, and while it would have been easy for Bethesda to make the broken helmet no more than a prop, this is a nicely hidden detail that only first-person players could pick up on.
2Secret Entrance To House Va’Ruun Embassy
New Atlantis
It’s a shame that the nihilistic serpent-worshipping House Va’Ruun don’t have their own faction questline inStarfieldsince they sound incredibly interesting from all the details given about them by other characters. It seems likely that this was a fully-fledged faction that Bethesda might have been forced to leave on the cutting room floor, or maybe they’ll even be introducedas part of future DLC, but there is at least a way in the base game to visit their base of operations in New Atlantis.
This can’t be done by just approaching the building though since the player will need to pursue the “Friends Like These"UV Vanguard questwhere a secret passageway to the base will be opened up near GalBank. Their less-than-favorable reputation has meant that the members of House Va’Ruun have completely abandoned the building which has now been covered in overgrown plants and greenery, but it’s still fascinating to see where this mysterious group’s embassy was situated for so many years.
1Planet Names
For the majority of their playthrough, at least when it comes to the main quest, players will be spending a lot of time exploringthe Alpha Centauri systemwhich is the home of a collection of planets, including the city of New Atlantis. It would be easy to write off the names of these planets as nothing more than the writers getting a little creative with their wording, but each of them is actually referencing famous space travelers in our own world.
A few examples of this include Chawla, referring to Kalpana Chawla who was the first Indian woman to fly to space, Gagarin, in reference to the first Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin, and Jemison which references Mae Carol Jemison who was the first African American woman to reach space. These are just a handful of examples, but these are small secrets that only those who are knowledgeable in the area of space travel could pick up on, and it’s a heartfelt way for Bethesda to call back to some of the individuals who inspired the whole concept of the game.
