Summary
Starfieldfeatures an interesting city that goes by the rather simple yet apt name of “Neon.” Players will likely only make landfall on the planet it’s on, Volii Alpha, after they’ve logged quite a few hours on the game. As a result, the main scenario quest that players will run into once they get there will test their persuasion and combatant skills before many fans have a chance to attend to any ofNeon city’s other activities.
The activities Neon offers aren’t the only thing notable about the location, however. Likemany ofStarfield’slocations and aesthetics, the brightly lit town is playing homage to a few key niches of sci-fi media, namely the classic “cyberpunk” genre. However, to add a bit of spice to the situation, some blacklights and almost retro arcade-like vibes are thrown in to end up making Neon its own unique location.
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Examining the Retro Aesthetics of Neon’s Astral Lounge
When it comes time for players to claim an Artifact on Neon, they have to team up with resident rich man of Constellation Walter to purchase the item from a rather shady seller. This results in fans making their way to the Astral Lounge, a premier nightclub in the city, as a VIP customer. Players are surrounded by purple, pink, and blue walls as the entire place is just as neon as the city outside, but almost in reverse as the entire location looks and feels covered in blacklights. The Astral Lounge name is on the walls as cybernetic shapes gives the corridors to the VIP rooms character, and chiptune music is being played to a crowd ofAurora-dosed dancers.
Interior design like this in places such as nightclubs, or even arcades, may be dying out, but in the 80s and 90s, blacklights creating neon floors and rooms was rather common. It brings to mind the concept of “Cosmic Bowling,” where some bowling alleys would turn the lights off and allow blacklights to make everything in the vicinity glow. While not entirely associated with science fiction media, many gamers might know these types of locations, and it’s clearStarfieldis trying to bring some sort of comfort with the vibe via the use of retro, chiptune music in the background.
How Neon City Looks Back at Classic Cyberpunk Vibes
The Astral Lounge isn’t the one thing that should make up players' opinions of Neon, however. Outside the lounge is a mechanical, grungy, and cold city that gives off a completely different vibe to where the main objective storyline takes Constellation. Not to be confused withCD Projekt Red’sCyberpunk 2077, as the sub-genre is how the game and franchise got its name, Neon harkens back to age-old cyberpunk aesthetics, a form of science fiction all its own that is associated with high-tech and dystopia.
Neon’s main scenario quest may keep players in the Astral Lounge for quite a while, but it’s made perfectly clear that the harsh but brightly lit metallic world outside where players can explore Bayu Plaza and Ikuchi Market is the real Neon city underneath. Not even Walter himself tries to hide it, despite being the player’s way into the cushy, almost nostalgically comforting lifestyle the city offers. In his more frustrated moments, Walter admits that Neon is run on money above all else. It’s moments like these that helpStarfeld’smany NPCscome to life, as they help build the planets and universe they live in to make the game’s experience even more real.
It’s clear that once the main objective quest goes a bit awry that the juxtaposition between both sides of Neon are on purpose. The Astral Lounge is meant to tease a false sense of security to fans, but as they overhear Aurora-junkies as they dance, and eventually watch as the deal for the Artifact has to end with some force. The nostalgic vibesStarfieldportrays fall away to petty theft, and players learn in real-time that Neon is not a place to let their guard down in.
Starfieldis available now for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
