Starfield’s ESRB rating is full of sex, drugs and DLC

While ESRB ratings usually mean little to gamers who don’t have to convince their parents to buy them a new game, these ratings occasionally reveal new details about upcoming titles. For example, starfieldThe “mature” ESRB rating of has just been announced and seems to confirm that the RPG will be a bit more obnoxious than we previously thought.

It should come as no surprise that the bulk of the starfieldThe ESRB rating of focuses on the violence of the game. Most of Bethesda Game Studios’ RPGs feature some level of violence starfield is no exception. In particular, the ESRB warns us that attacking enemies “can result in blood splatters” and that “screams of pain” can often be heard when using “futuristic weapons, lasers, axes, and explosives.” We’re assuming you’ll be able to sneak around or talk your way out of such conflicts as well, but gorehounds won’t be missing, apparently.

The more interesting details can be found below in the review description. The ESRB, for example, warns us of this starfield contains a fictional drug called Aurora. Interestingly, the description that Aurora is “prominent in the game” is disturbing. Prominence in this case seems to relate both to the quantity of the drug (it can be “obtained by stealing or buying it from dealers”) and to its role in the narrative. Most notably, there seems to be a section of the game where players have to work in an “illicit drug lab”. That description probably fits a mission, but it would be fascinating to learn that there’s some kind of Aurora side business that we can partake in.

Functionally, Aurora seems to work Elder Scroll‘s Skooma or Stand out‘s Chems. The ESRB says that consumption of Auroa “results in a distorting effect on the screen”. At this point, however, there’s no word on whether the drug grants any type of debuff or buff effect upon consumption. However, given the history of recent BGS titles, I’d bet the on-screen effect is purely cosmetic.