The universe is full of mystery, and while Starfield goes a long way toward answering some of those mysteries, we still came away with just as many questions as we went in with. Of course, given the size of the game and the long legacy of Bethesda hiding secrets that aren’t discovered until years after release, there may be further clues that haven’t yet been uncovered. Alternatively, we might learn some of the answers in Starfield’s expansion packs, such as the upcoming Shattered Space DLC.
But until then, here are 10 unanswered questions we still have after completing Starfield.
Are We Really Alone In The Universe?
I don’t know about you, but I was kind of expecting us to encounter aliens at some point in Starfield. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad there was more of a twist in the story than just making first contact, but humans can’t really be the only intelligent life out there in the universe, can they?
Maybe this one is just me imposing my own beliefs on the game, but the lack of other sentient life sure does make things feel a lot lonelier out there. Of course, there’s always the Terrormorphs, which at least show signs of intelligence. It’s not quite the same as stumbling across a colony of little grey men though.
What Else Is There to Learn About the Terrormorphs?
The fearsome Terrormorphs are one of the most bracing encounters you’ll come across in Starfield. While most of their backstory is revealed throughout the UC Vanguard questline, their novelty among Starfield’s other alien creatures leaves us keen to discover even more about them.
The Terrormorphs are an obvious homage to the Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise, and you only need to look at how those films have fleshed out the backstory of the silent killer to see how Starfield could follow suit. We still don’t know how exactly how the Terrormorph’s mind control abilities work, or why they evolved to become such effective killing machines.
There’s also the question of how human tampering with Terrormorphs could affect their future evolution, and what consequences that could bring for the wider universe.
What Lies Beyond The Unity?
At the end of the game, we are given the choice to step through the Unity and become remade as a Starborn in a new universe. It’s a really neat way of tying new game plus into the ongoing story of your character, but it’s also a little bit disturbing to think that we’re now just stuck in this endless loop of being reborn in new universes.
I’m not sure that being a Starborn is really all that great if it turns you into intergalactic Phil Connors, doomed to live out the same Groundhog Day over and over for eternity. In that film, the main character has to ‘fix’ himself to break the endless time-loop that he’s stuck in, and I wouldn’t mind seeing something like this in a Starfield expansion. Giving some purpose to the whole matter would be a satisfying and personal way of capping off our story.
Where Are All The Other Starborn?
Once you have your first run-in with the Starborn they start popping up all over the universe. We only really get to know 2 though, the Hunter and the Emissary. Surely there must be plenty of other Starborn out there running around doing interesting things. And what’s the deal with all those Starborn just hanging around artifacts waiting to bump you off?
Future encounters with other Starborn seem like a likely avenue for future Starfield content. With how powerful you can become after repeated trips through the Unity, it would be interesting to see how a Starborn at full power could become either a massive threat or a force for good in a single universe.
Who Designed the Unity?
Our encounter with ourselves at the end of the main story is the closest we come to gaining some understanding of what the Unity really is. Unfortunately, all we learn from the game’s ending is that the ultimate truth of the matter is beyond our comprehension.
Bethesda’s adherence to the NASA punk aesthetic is respectable, and in a way, I’m glad things didn’t delve too far off into the world of the weird in Starfield’s base game. However, past expansions for Elder Scrolls and Fallout games have gone to some unexpected places, so it would be interesting to see Starfield follow suit if it’s going to show us who designed the Unity, the Artifacts, and the Temples.
What’s Next For Humanity?
The Starborn being the next step in humankind’s evolution is an interesting concept that’s more or less ripped straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. So what happens when humanity is increasingly brought closer to the Unity as the Starborn presence expands?
One theory is that in becoming an entirely Starborn species, humanity will eventually build the artifacts, temples, and other Starborn equipment, such as their ships and outfits, themselves. This would create something of a paradox whereby past humans can only ascend thanks to the efforts of their future selves giving them the means to do so.
A multiverse filled with a more even distribution of humans and Starborn could be a bit too ambitious for an expansion pack, but it could provide the basis for a sequel.
Where are House Va’ruun?
Easily the game’s most interesting and mysterious faction, House Va’ruun is ripe for further exploration in future Starfield content.
In particular, one of the biggest mysteries regarding this faction is where the majority of its members have disappeared to during the time the game is set. House Va’ruun had attempted to enforce their religion upon the settled systems through acts of war. The death of Va’ruun’s leader and the succession of his son led the religion’s followers to give up on this path. Now their whereabouts are unknown, with only a few clues throughout the game offering any clues as to where they are. A
re they hiding in plain sight? Utilizing some kind of cloaking technology? Or perhaps they’ve discovered an unknown part of the universe or multiverse?
Is the Great Serpent Real?
If Starfield does decide to explore the weirder, Lovecraftian side of the universe and beyond, the existence of the Great Serpent would be a great starting place.
Worshipped by the followers of House Va’ruun, the Great Serpent is part symbol, part dream inhabiting god. Let’s assume that the Great Serpent isn’t just a figment of weary space travelers’ imaginations. It could just be another potentially psychic creature like the Terrormorph; or, perhaps it is a kind of Elder God existing outside of time and space.
YouTuber The Black Rose has an intriguing theory that the Great Serpent could even prove to be connected to the Elder Scrolls universe. A direct connection between the two is unlikely, but as The Black Rose contends, teases of a shared mythology aren’t entirely outside of Bethesda’s wheelhouse.
Why Is Each New Universe So Similar?
There’s an endless multiverse of possibilities out there. So why do we keep ending up in the same one?
Sure, there are little changes you can affect during your new game plus run, and sometimes you’ll find fun twists such as a Lodge overrun with children. For the most part though, everything still looks and feels the same as the previous universe. How come we don’t respawn in a universe where the Colony War never ended? Or maybe one where Terrormorphs have taken over the settled systems?
If there’s one aspect where Bethesda fell short in Starfield, it’s making our choices feel impactful. If so many things in the universe are fated to happen in every reality, then that significantly lowers the stakes of future playthroughs. Here’s hoping the Shattered Space expansion throws a proverbial wrench into things.
Where Did Sebastien Banks Disappear To?
Constellation moneyman Walter Shroud recites to us the last public words of the organization’s founder. They explain how the intrepid explorer planned one final venture out into the unknown — despite the insistence from others that he was too old to be taking such a risk.
Did he die out in the cold expanse of space? Is his story just one meant to instill the values of Constellation into others? A paean to humanity’s spirit of adventure and exploration? Maybe, but this seems like too much of a loose thread not to be picked up on down the line. Maybe the truth is out there already? Starfield’s universe is huge, and its secrets are many. Is his corpse out there waiting to be discovered on some planet nobody’s been to yet?
What is more likely from a storytelling perspective is the possibility that Banks found something out there that could lead us on a whole new adventure ourselves. I guess for now, we’ll have to wait to find out.
