Summary
Though Akila City is arguably the most traditional Bethesda town in all ofStarfield, some players believe that it sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the game. Akila City joins New Atlantis and Neon to form the main hubs ofStarfield, with Cydonia and The Key serving a similar yet smaller purpose. However, compared to thecities ofSkyrim,Starfield’s hubs have often been described as underwhelming, where they feel less like an intricate web of NPCs, and more like theme parks that depict different sci-fi tropes.
New Atlantis inStarfieldwas an attempt by Bethesda to depict an urban hub on a grander scale, closer toOblivion’s Imperial City, rather than the smaller locations such as Whiterun or Diamond City. Billed as the capital of the United Colonies, New Atlantis purposefully evoked the more optimistic tone ofStar Trek– by contrast, Neon attempted to channel the dark future ofCyberpunk 2077orBlade Runner. Akila City’s aesthetic, on the other hand, aimed to replicate the visual language ofFirefly, a space western.
Unfortunately, the appearance of Akila City somewhat contrasts the lore presented by Bethesda, ultimately resulting in some confusion for quite a fair few voices from theStarfieldcommunity. As pointed out by Minnesota_1992 on the mainStarfieldsubreddit, Akila City’s walls look like they belong to a medieval fort rather than a futuristic town. Its role as the capital of the Freestar Collective hardly fits the backwater vibe that it’s purposefully attempting to channel. Despite being one of the oldest population hubs in the Settled Systems, its infrastructure not only lags behind the better-funded New Atlantis but also other locations within the Freestar Collective, such as Neon or even HopeTown.
While constructing a futuristic city to scale would have been a daunting task for Bethesda to accomplish, some players can’t help but wonder ifAkila City inStarfieldwould have been better off playing the role of a lawless town at the edges of Freestar Collective space. From a visual standpoint, it perfectly emulates the feel of Mos Eisley fromStar Wars, but its small size (compared to New Atlantis and Neon) breaks the immersion of some fans. That being said, otherStarfieldplayers feel that Akila City looks exactly the way a private city founded by a space cowboy should look like, and that the narrative dissonance works in its favor by adding depth.
Ultimately, where both sides find common ground is by praising Akila’s side quests, as the city most closely evokes the feel of entering a Bethesda town, slowly discovering the problems that face each individual citizen, and methodically solving them to become a local hero. Though Akila’s visual direction is already set in stone, hopefully, the city of Dazra will be suitably exotic and grandiose once Bethesda decides to tackle thestory of House Va’ruun inStarfieldproper.
Starfield
WHERE TO PLAY
Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.The year is 2330. Humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people. From humble beginnings as a space miner, you will join Constellation – the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy – and navigate the vast expanse of the Settled Systems in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game.
