Starfield might be a purely scientifically fictional game but that doesn’t mean that some of it isn’t based on science. This sprawling space exploration epic gives audiences a NASA-punk universe to explore, complete with a slew of fantastical gadgets and cosmic adventures, but it also serves as a grim forecast for our home planet, Earth.
As Starfield whisks players across new frontiers – more than a thousand planets and celestial objects to explore as well as the ability to create new ones – the Earth we once knew has deteriorated into a barren wasteland with no signs of life. In Starfield’s universe, set in the year 2330, the Earth is reduced to a rock planet with a thin CO2 atmosphere. No fauna, no flora, only traces of water. Essentially, humanity’s cradle has been abandoned, a sad relic of an irreversible ecological disaster.
Players can still visit Earth, navigating to the Sol system using the not-so-straightforward fast-travel mechanic as soon as it’s unlocked early in the main campaign. And once you set your feet on this devastated soil, you find it’s more akin to the moon than to the blue jewel we once knew. Here, the atmosphere has been ruined, in part, by the technology that allowed humans to colonize distant planets. You’ll learn that the Grav Drive, the technology propelling these far-flung travels, contributed to the destruction of Earth’s atmosphere. While exploring the deserted landscapes, you can still spot a few landmarks, subtle Easter eggs for those paying attention, such as an icon for London if you’ve looted a copy of Oliver Twist.
However, visiting Earth in Starfield isn’t merely a nostalgia trip. It’s an exercise in confronting an uncomfortable truth that the Earth could potentially be rendered uninhabitable due to human actions. In 2150, according to the game’s lore, humanity was faced with the knowledge that the Earth’s magnetosphere would collapse in the next 50 years, wiping out all life on the planet. That looming catastrophe was the catalyst for a mass migration to other planets and star systems, leading to the formation of the United Colonies. The conglomerate rapidly became a major faction in the galactic realm, a legacy of Earth’s last inhabitants.
Even as the game dazzles with its futuristic settings like New Atlantis and Akila City, Starfield makes it a point to ground its narrative in a poignant backstory. The expeditions to see alien suns, the interactions with various factions, as well as the possibility of creating outposts on Earth solely for the view – the game provides these experiences with a backdrop of a fallen Earth. It’s this depth and scale that make Starfield more than just another space romp; it turns the game into a speculative lens through which we can examine our current attitudes toward our planet.
Players are given the freedom to explore this expansive universe in their own unique way, whether that’s diving deep into the storyline or detouring to investigate uncharted planets. And while the game offers countless adventures in a galaxy that doesn’t belong to us, it never lets us forget where we came from. Even small details, like the first ship in the game possessing a baseball from a 1970s play-off game in Boston, serve as a bittersweet reminder of our origins. The interplay between grand cosmic possibilities and the lost world of Earth lends Starfield its emotional gravity, making the exploration of each new frontier a journey shadowed by what we’ve left behind.
It’s a rich universe, a dream playground for space enthusiasts, yet it doesn’t shy away from the gloomy consequences of humanity’s negligence.
In a market saturated with sci-fi escapism, Starfield stands out for its willingness to embed a cautionary tale within its far-reaching cosmos. The game functions both as a platform for escapades among the stars and as a sobering reflection on the fate that could befall us if we continue on a path of ecological neglect.
This compelling duality is perhaps Starfield’s most striking feature, turning what could be just another futuristic fantasy into a complex narrative that feels uncomfortably possible.
As players traverse the unknown, one thing becomes clear: the most far-fetched aspect of Starfield is not its advanced technologies or its imaginative universe, but the idea that humanity, when faced with its own destruction, would unite to save itself.
