Starfield: The Settled Systems Animated Anthology Introduces Three Major Cities

Today Bethesda posted a surprise trilogy of animated shorts titled The Settled Systems. Running under three minutes each, the videos introduce three of the major cities in Starfield, offering a glimpse into the daily lives of the people who reside in them.

The first video, Supra Et Ultra, takes place in New Atlantis, the capital of Starfield’s largest government, the United Colonies. It depicts a courier pilot named Kent who joins the United Colonies Vanguard and ascends the ranks as a fighter pilot. It seems likely that the Vanguard will be a joinable faction in Starfield, but we don’t know for sure. Either way, this short gives us a sense of the ideals that drive the people of the United Colonies: duty, patriotism, and adventure.

The second video, Where Hope is Built, is set in Akila City, the capital of the Freestar Collective, the other large government faction in Starfield. This video follows Vanna, an orphan of the Colony Wars, as she works to repair her broken ship. We see a flashback of the war that killed her parents, and then watch Vanna knock down an armed man who was threatening a fellow citizen. The man she rescued offers her a credit chip, but she instead locates the part she needs and uses it to repair her ship. The short highlights the spirit of independence and grit that seems to be the hallmark of the Freestar Collective.

The third and final video, The Hand that Feeds, takes us to Neon, the Settled Systems’ major pleasure city run by the Ryujin Industries corporation. This time we follow a pair of street rats, Ada and Harper, as they steal from the city’s wealthy visitors and then get into a scuffle when Harper wants to shoot a man who won’t give up the goods. Ada shoots Harper, and the man she saved gets her a job working for Ryujin Industries, presumably as security. It’s a peek into the lawlessness of this corporate capital and how the company manages to keep control in a city riddled with crime.

After several delays, Starfield is set to release on September 6th. Be sure to check out our coverage of last month’s Starfield Developer Direct for in-depth look at the game.