Summary
For allegedly being an advanced city, a player pointed out that New Atlantis inStarfielddoesn’t even keep the lights on at night for any of the buildings that dot the urban landscape. While the consensus seems to be thatNew Atlantis inStarfieldlacks Riverwood’s charm, it’s been difficult for the community to pinpoint a concrete list of reasons why the city feels flat compared to the major hubs that players can come across inSkyrim. Though the lack of a proper map does dampen the overall enjoyment of New Atlantis from a technical standpoint, it’s the lack of immersion that ultimately causes most fans to pick Akila City as their favoriteStarfieldsettlement instead.
Bethesda’s towns have famously been little more than a simple web of streets and houses, populated by NPCs in a complex set of intertwining schedules. Manyplayers still debate their favorite city inSkyrim, and even though mods have attempted to increase their scope with varied levels of success, it’s ultimately the memorable NPCs going about their day (independently of the player) that remain the biggest strength of Bethesda’s town design.
In the attempt to make New Atlantis bigger, Bethesda had to compromise on some of the key features that it perfected over the years, as New Atlantis is not only littered with lifeless NPCs, but they also don’t have the complex schedules that gave past Bethesda cities their charm. However, as pointed out by Andresc0l on the officialStarfieldsubreddit, what makes New Atlantis so eerie is also the strange fact that its buildings don’t have night lights. Despite its reputation as one of the most populous places in the Settled Systems, the screenshots almost give New Atlantis a desolate aura.
While the developers should be commended on trying to break away from the Bethesda formula withStarfield’s cities, the results have ultimately seen a lukewarm response from the community. A few players pointed out thatOblivionmods which added night lights to cities already existed fifteen years ago, and that Bethesda’s oversight couldn’t be so easily excused. Others took a more neutral stance, stating thatStarfieldmodswould fortunately fix most of the game’s shortcomings once the Creation Kit tools release in early 2024.
Ultimately, withShattered Space coming forStarfieldin the near future, Bethesda most likely has another shot at designing a city for its latest title. With many players hoping for a House Va’ruun-themed DLC, Shattered Space could allow the developers to design a more traditional Bethesda hub of Va’ruun emissaries, diplomats, citizens, and clerics. New Atlantis, on the other hand, will likely be elevated byStarfield’s modding community.
