Despite the “adult” age rating, the space role-playing game Starfield turned out to be much less bloody than the previous works of Bethesda Game Studios. However, this was not always the case.
Image source: Steam (Kanonymous)
Former Bethesda senior artist Dennis Mejillones, who worked at the studio for almost 12 years, explained on the Kiwi Talkz podcast why Starfield doesn’t have the same level of visual violence as Fallout 4.
According to Mejillones, they were going to make Starfield a much bloodier game (for example, there was an option to decapitate enemies), but due to technical difficulties they decided that the implementation of the idea would take more than it would bring in return.
For example, developers would have to think about the visual component when dismembering for different cut angles, a wide range of costumes and their individual elements of detail.
Image Source: Game Rant
However, even if Bethesda decided to spend time and effort on developing visual cruelty, it is not a fact that it would suit the game. Fallout is more stylized in this regard, while Starfield is more down to earth.
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Bethesda fans also noted the lack of visual cruelty, so the corresponding mods appeared shortly after the release of Starfield on PC (Steam, Microsoft Store), Xbox Series X and S in September 2023.