Starfield, the latest “irresponsibly large” sci-fi action role-playing game from Bethesda Game Studios, is almost here. In the lead up to the game’s release this Sept., Bethesda has released a trio of short-form animated videos intended to introduce players to the Settled Systems, the small pocket of colonized star systems in which the game takes place.
Told solely through visuals and music with zero dialogue, “Starfield: The Settled Systems” is more an anthology of mood pieces than an explicit lore dump. Rather than overwhelm fans with info, it offers a glimpse at the possibilities and stories within the upcoming game’s universe.
“Supra Et Ultra” (Latin for “Above and Beyond”) follows the story of a courier who signs up for a career of excitement and adventure as a military pilot on New Atlantis, the capital planet of the United Colonies. “The Hand That Feeds” follows your standard pair of scoundrel street-thieves who run afoul of Ryujin Industries, a megacorporation based on the city of Neon on the planet Volii Alpha, while “Where Hope is Built” centers on a young orphan who dreams of escaping the planet of Akila for a life among the stars.
It’s not known whether any of these characters will cross paths with players during their own adventures in Starfield, but what is certain is that they’re absolutely gorgeous to look at. It’s unclear which animation studio (or studios) produced these shorts, but they certainly bear a striking resemblance to the work of Titmouse, the American animation studio known for such shows as Metalocalypse and The Venture Bros. One can only hope that these won’t be the last animated glimpses at Starfield’s universe ahead of the game’s release.
Starfield launches Sept. 6 for Windows PC and Xbox Series X, and it will be a day-one launch on Xbox Game Pass.
