Movies News Talk
Though aspirational, Starfield's storytelling occasionally falls short of generating really immersive experiences. Andreja's disclosure as a House Va'ruun member stands one especially lacking in the expected impact. Though presented as a plot twist, from an in-universe standpoint this reveals feels startling and out of place.
Andreja first comes across players on the "Into the Unknown" quest and soon they see she has an enigmatic aura. She gently suggests her past throughout their exchanges, expressing sentiments of alienation inside the Constellation and even referencing her past conflicts with Va'ruun zealots. Her dark clothes and unusual style fit House Va'ruun's taste exactly. The game purposefully places these hints to pique players' interest about Andreja's background.
The way the game handles Andreja's secret, though, seems overdone. Her clues are not subtle, thus players are left wondering whether she even tried to hide her Va'ruun affiliation. Should her intention be to hide her actual identity, she would have deliberately tried to set her style apart and stayed away from talking about her past. The lack of subtlety distances players from their intended surprise. The writers clearly sought to build suspense, but their technique reduces the believability of Andreja's secret.
Starfield's often clumsy language could help to explain this lack of subtlety. Even choices like flirting or intimidation, the game usually spelt out every implication of the dialogue choices for the player. Andreja's reveal could be the result of this too direct approach to communication. It may also be a sign of a recurrent problem with Bethesda games, where the developers give information to the player top priority instead of producing a real in-world experience.
Bethesda games sometimes treat players like an audience seeing a movie instead of actively engaging in the universe. Andreja's reveals clearly this method. Although the player might not be initially aware of her Va'ruun connection, their character, living in this universe, would surely see the obvious signals. Clear markers of Andreja's background are her outfit, values, and subdued references to her past. A character engross in the Starfield universe would identify these hints and expect the reveal.
The immersion is broken by this way the player's character is treated as a means of exposition. Players are being fed information their character should already know, not the world of Starfield seen through the prism of a character who understands its subtleties. While some degree of exposition is required to introduce players to a new sci-fi universe, Starfield's method seems artificial and compromises the authenticity.