Bethesda Game Studios gives an overview of Starfield’s first major DLC in a nine-and-a-half-minute video.
Bethesda Game Studios loves Starfield’s massive open galaxy, but they knew early on that they wanted to introduce some more secluded and handcrafted locations, similar to what we’ve seen in their previous expansions. There’s so much mystery to the House of Va’ruun, and because they’re so isolated, it made them the perfect faction to explore in a completely self-contained experience. From the moment you arrive on Va’ruun’kai, the story never sends you off the planet. You’re free to leave at any time, but the story revolves entirely around life on the Va’ruun homeworld. Everything you discover, every place you visit, every side mission you seek out, all tell the story of what happened here and how the Va’ruun people survived being cut off from the comforts of the settled systems and the rest of humanity.
One of your main themes throughout the base game is humanity’s quest for knowledge. Starfield Shattered Space is still about that quest, but it’s also about what happens when it goes too far. It’s a very extreme quest, and it has backfired horribly for the people of House Va’ruun. Prior to the start of Shattered Space, a secret experiment with grav-drive technology went horribly wrong, resulting in a massive rip in the fabric of space-time that swallowed a significant portion of the Va’ruun capital city of Dazra. You arrive just a few weeks after the Vortex incident. It’s still very fresh in everyone’s minds. There’s a massive crater in their city, nothing has been rebuilt, and people are still searching for missing loved ones. The Scaled Citadel, the seat of the Va’ruun government, is now trapped in a strange energy field. Among the missing is Anasko Va’ruun, leader of the Va’ruun people and spokesman for the Great Serpent. In his absence, the smaller houses that are all part of House Va’ruun are all vying for control of the faction’s future.
Va’ruun’kai and Dazra City are like no other place in the core game. From its inception, the House of Va’ruun has been driven by a singular, unique vision. As a result, Va’ruun’kai has a very distinct visual identity. The developers say it’s very “alien. You’ll see this in the alien landscape, gravity anomalies, and more in Starfield Shattered Space. Va’ruun’kai is in the Kavnyk system, and it’s not the friendliest environment. They believe that the Great Serpent led them to Va’ruun’kai, and their only purpose here is to await its return. It’s a dangerous planet, and many of the people have retreated to Dazra to survive and protect their culture and way of life.
You’ll find areas of the planet that have been abandoned and taken over by Zealots, Spacers, and the Crimson Fleet. And humans aren’t the only danger in the planet’s badlands. As the line between reality and the Vortex breaks down… creatures from the other side can slip through, like the Vortex Horror. If you disturb the barrier between our world and theirs… they can sense it, creating these truly terrifying ambush scenarios. In the base game, there was a lot of focus on ranged combat. You can engage in a firefight from a great distance. In Starfield Shattered Space, the developers wanted to close that distance. They wanted to focus on the mystery and the horror. Space is scary. Part of getting that across is ramping up the aggression and chaos of combat. As you explore the city of Dazra and the surrounding planet, you’ll learn the truth of what happened, become embroiled in the political feud between the smaller houses, and ultimately decide the fate of House Va’ruun.
Starfield: Shattered Space will be released on September 30 for Xbox Series and PC.
Source: WCCFTech
