Are there aliens in Starfield?

[Update – September 7 @ 4:10 PM CT] This article was updated to include examples of specific creatures you can find in Starfield.]

Exploring alien worlds serves as the central premise of Bethesda’s recently released sci-fi RPG Starfield, so it stands to reason that players will come across a variety of alien creatures. And considering that Starfield boasts at least 1,000 planets to explore, the chances of coming across unique life forms during your travels would seem fairly high. But does Starfield actually allow you to meet aliens at any point in your journey? And if so, how many of those aliens can be classified as intelligent life?

Can you encounter alien life forms in Starfield?

If you want the short of it, then yes, Starfield does feature various alien life forms that inhabit the game’s dizzying number of explorable planets. However, the way in which Starfield handles its extraterrestrial beings may not have turned out how you expected or hoped.

From what I have seen online, the only aliens you can encounter come in the form of “non-intelligent” creatures. Or at the very least, not intelligent in the way that humans are. Although many of these creatures will attack you if agitated, they will often simply mind their own business as long as you leave them alone. The Kreet Stalker, a crab-esque creature that normally scurries away if you get close, serves as one such example.

Of course, other alien life forms pose a much bigger threat, particularly the Hunting Thornmantis, a high-level creature that can attack with its powerful preying mantis-like limbs. However, if you utilize the Xenosociology skill, you can get more hostile creatures to fight enemies for you as a safer alternative to direct combat. When used on a creature as powerful as the Thornmantis, you can really turn the tides of battle in your favor.

As for so-called intelligent life, aside from humans, you won’t find any to speak of no matter how thoroughly you search the cosmos. Having said that, Starfield does hint at the existence of intelligent aliens through various artifacts you can uncover as you play. These artifacts appear to point toward the existence of an alien civilization that may have resided somewhere at some point in time. If you choose to delve further into the main story, you might discover more about this civilization and what it may have been like.

Image by Bethesda