If Starfield’s sci-fi ending left you confused, here’s a handy recap of all of its biggest story beats.
Bethesda Game Studios’ Starfield finally saw wide release on September 6 after years of waiting and speculation. One of the most mysterious elements of Starfield prior to its release was its story, as people wondered how realistic Starfield’s sci-fi universe would skew and if we’d encounter intelligent aliens, time travel, or other odd sci-fi concepts during the adventure.
Starfield is a lengthy game, and its narrative picks up in the back half thanks to some shocking twists, a memorable ending, and an interesting conceit that leads into “New Game Plus”-style replays. If you don’t know whether or not you’ll play enough to make it to the end of your Starfield campaign or just want to know what happens at the end of one of the biggest games of the year, here’s a recap of Starfield’s story and ending.
Note: This article contains major spoilers for Starfield.How does Starfield begin
Starfield begins with players mining resources on the planet of Vectera. While digging, though, the protagonist discovers a weird-looking artifact. After touching it, they experience a trippy vision that looks like it rushes through the entire universe. This eventually garners the attention of Barrett, who directs players to The Lodge in New Atlantis and an organization named Constellation. Constellation’s primary goal is to explore the universe and new frontiers for humanity, although its recent obsession has been artifacts that the player touched.
Learning that the hero had a vision after touching the artifact, Constellation leader Sarah Morgan inducts them into Constellation and sends them on a quest to find more artifacts and bring them back to Constellation’s base. This MacGuffin chase makes up a large portion of the game as players explore a variety of memorable cities, meet and learn more about Constellation members like Sam Coe, complete lots of sidequests if they want to, and even obtain mystical power.
Players settle into a routine of doing this for a while, but after recovering an artifact from a corrupt businessman in the drug-fueled city of Neon, a mysterious being in a futuristic-looking ship confronts players as they leave the planet. The being’s race is called Starborn and they demand the artifacts Constellation has. After this member of the Starborn, called The Emissary, leaves, Constellation members wonder if they just met alien life for the first time.
