Back in March, the Australian Classification Commission said there were no knocking space boots. (opens in new tab) At Starfieldāand for those unfamiliar with their native language, that means no sex. ESRB (opens in new tab) Ratings go up, and accordingly you get the chance to play Chesterfield Rugby with different NPCs and engage in some truly amazing dialogue when the match is over.
Australia rates games on a simple, colorful graph that divides various elements of content (violence, language, nudity, etc.) into six arbitrarily defined categories. The ESRB takes the opposite approach by presenting game content in large walls of text. Some of it is pretty mundane, like “players use futuristic guns, lasers, axes, and explosives to take down enemies.” Other bits are almost ridiculous in the amount of detail they provide.
According to Starfield’s ESRB rating, “A fictional drug (Aurora) is prominent in the game, with a section where the player’s character works in an illegal drug lab.” But you can still get Aurora (consuming Aurora has a distortion effect on the screen). “
However, my favorite part of the rating is about sex. The ESRB rating indicates that there is no nudity in Starfield, but there is some “suggestive material” that comes up in dialogue and “after sharing a bed with a character”, and some in Pillow Talk. Some real dangers are involved.
- āLife is a 100% deadly sexually transmitted disease.ā
- “You’re welcome to go a little wild, but let’s try it without a jetpack next time.”
- “The story of seeing the stars, wow…it was amazing.”
Even with the apparently low standards for sex in video games, I have to admit that it’s generally quite nasty to be honest. badI’m not sure it can even be called ‘implicit’, except to suggest that NPC dialogue should be avoided at all costs if this is representative of the full game. I sincerely hope that is not the case. Because it borrows the phrase “Wow, wasn’t that amazing.”
The ESRB Rating also revealed something interesting about Starfield that has a more practical impact on the game, at least for some players. The existence of “in-game purchases”. There’s no indication how it will work or what it will sell, but it will likely be some kind of cosmetic microtransaction.
In a single-player game where you’re the only one who sees the extra spending item in question, that might seem silly, but Bethesda actually did this sort of thing 17 years ago with its infamous horse armor. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion ā and despite all the accusations, horse armor ultimately won out (opens in new tab)We have reached out to Bethesda for more information on Starfield in-game purchases. I will update if I get a reply.
