Starfield NPCs keep getting bodied mid-sentence and it never isn’t funny to me

My favorite Bethesda game quirk is how the world keeps trying to kill and maim everyone while they have conversations.

My favorite Bethesda game quirk is how the world keeps trying to kill and maim everyone while they have conversations.

You probably already know what I’m talking about here: that thing where you’re in the middle of dialogue with an NPC, but the rest of the scene has chosen not to cooperate. It’s a common feature of RPGs, but it shows up extra often in Bethesda games, and of course has returned in Starfield. I can’t get enough of it.

My favorite example so far is the video embedded above, which tells the very brief tale of a chipper fellow who fails to watch his own back.

These mid-dialogue attempted murders come in lots of flavors, though. Sometimes it’s not a messed up bone-spider thing that ruins the NPC’s day, for example, but the player themselves.

Case in point: You never know when NPC dialogue is going to trigger, and the instinct to throw a grenade when you see a bunch of enemy-like figures standing around waiting for you is a strong one. It’s a habit that tends to rule out negotiation, but it does lead to funny moments.

Here’s one:

I’ve only been playing #Starfield for an hour and the literal funniest thing just happened. pic.twitter.com/5VxNvlYR9eSeptember 1, 2023

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And if that isn’t enough proof that we’re overeager with grenades, another player did exactly the same thing:

I’m sorry, I didn’t know that you wanted to talk first 😅😂 #Starfield #XboxSeriesX pic.twitter.com/6yWerYljwCSeptember 2, 2023

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I’ve also discovered a special third flavor of disruptively violent mid-dialogue behavior in Starfield: Sometimes the culprit isn’t a monster and isn’t the player, but is instead the player’s apparently malfunctioning robot companion. Make sure you check on Vasco’s state of mind now and then, because:

Vasco wtf man 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/PQ5lMa2fhbSeptember 7, 2023

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And here’s one more from the old-fashioned surprise monster attack category:

Sarah was giving me an earful for accidentally killing an innocent NPC. Maybe next time she should just let me do what I do best 🤭🤭🤭 from r/Starfield

Finally, I’ll leave you with a classic of the genre, recorded in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. Some things never change, and I wouldn’t want them to.

Farewell.

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