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[JOEVIAL]

This is pure speculation of course. But it seems that way just from the tone/footage we've seen so far.

POLL QUESTION: Should Starfield be bound to a Teen rating? Or be more free with a Mature rating? Bethesda style answers

No gore, no adult themes, no language. Very little blood, only very small red mist hit markers like the Uncharted games do to hold a Teen rating. This really is the biggest tell that I can see. ESRB is very strict about depictions of blood in Teen rated games. It's changed over the years, but usually Teen rated games can only have little depictions of blood only as an impact marker. They typically do not allow blood splatter onto surfaces in Teen rated games (with violent depictions against humanoid enemies).

I would say the tone has been set... it would be rather strange if they all of sudden added blood/gore in future iterations. Just from this fact alone makes me thing they are aiming for a Teen rating (age 12-15 for European rating). What we've seen so far is very similar to the buildup and reveal of Destiny back in 2011-2013. Destiny turned out to be a Teen rated series, which in all likelihood was strictly a business decision to present the game to a broader audience. I really get that feeling from Starfield so far (it is too early to tell I know, but again this is all speculation).

Thoughts? Discuss!

Quick take: I think Starfield should be free under a Mature rating. More opportunity for creative writing in quests, and really creativity overall for the designers and artists.

And oh hey... I'm back to posting now I guess.

 

[Punished Miku]

I always got the impression they're going for a NASA / Carl Sagan vibe with the game. Wasn't expecting Event Horizon or anything.

I guess a T rating would make sense. I didn't think it would be rated M.

 

[JOEVIAL]

I always got the impression they're going for a NASA / Carl Sagan vibe with the game. Wasn't expecting Event Horizon or anything.

I guess a T rating would make sense. I didn't think it would be rated M or anything.

Yes another great point, spot on. I didn't want to clutter the OP with all the other reasons. Folks can list them on in this thread, but there are several other tells that this may in fact be a Teen rated game.

 

[ManaByte]

 

[Mephisto40]

I'd be surprised if this game has blood in it at all tbh

 

[Magic Carpet]

I always got the impression they're going for a NASA / Carl Sagan vibe with the game. Wasn't expecting Event Horizon or anything.

I guess a T rating would make sense. I didn't think it would be rated M.

Carl Sagan put a naked woman on a gold record and shot it i to space.
Lewd.

 

[Punished Miku]

Carl Sagan put a naked woman on a gold record and shot it i to space.
Lewd.

The 70s must have been crazy.

 

[ManaByte]

I'd be surprised if this game has blood in it at all tbh

I'm sure someone will mod that in for the edgelords.

 

[Ulysses 31]

I'd be surprised if this game has blood in it at all tbh

So no explosive decompressions?

 

[Kacho]

Won’t it catch an M rating for the FPS combat alone?

 

[Jennings]

It's still a work in progress. They haven't even nailed down acceptable smoke and dust particle effects during landings and take-offs, so don't fret too much. They'll figure it out. Besides, whether the game is Mature or Teen it can still be a massive success. Not every game needs Yennefer's naked soapy tits bouncing around while a decapitated monster flings mutilated organs about.

 

[Mephisto40]

Won’t it catch an M rating for the FPS combat alone?

Fortnite is getting an FPS mode, and it's teen rating isn't changing because of it, so I'm not sure that's a factor tbh

 

[Gudji]

I always got the impression they're going for a NASA / Carl Sagan vibe with the game. Wasn't expecting Event Horizon or anything.

I guess a T rating would make sense. I didn't think it would be rated M.

Nasa-punk vibe.

 

[tmlDan]

i don't care for the rating or whatever, i just wish the guns looked impactful and fun. You don't need blood/gore to make that happen.

At this point they look like they shoot out gas streams and the enemy reacts in a canned animation after a full clip went into their chest lol

 

[AV]

Hard to care when people will mod gore and tits in within a week.

 

[JOEVIAL]

I'd be surprised if this game has blood in it at all tbh

There already is from what I can see... little mist hit markers that appear and disappear very quickly like the Uncharted games... which again is probably the biggest tell that this may indeed be a Teen rated game.

 

[reksveks]

What was Skyrim and how graphic was it?

 

[JOEVIAL]

What was Skyrim and how graphic was it?

Mature. Graphic beheadings.

Won’t it catch an M rating for the FPS combat alone?

No I don't think so, unless ESRB has changed over the years. Used to be plenty of FPS games in the 2000's that had a Teen rating. Not so many nowadays though. Battlefield Bad Company is a famous example of a Teen rated game that was on the edge of a Mature rating.

 

[The Cockatrice]

I'm sure someone will mod that in for the edgelords.

I want blood on a penis.

 

[UniformDeliverance]

I’d be fine with that honestly. Releasing a fallout game without those moments of horror, gore and bloody mess perks would be a problem.

But a new ip? Fair game, I have no issue with it being available to a wider audience.

 

[Bernd Lauert]

I don't need gore but some blood would be nice. There's gonna be blood mods day one anyway.

 

[elliot5]

Lol didn't a dude get blown up from his jackpack going haywire in the trailer? I'm not expecting Fallout style gore but I doubt it will be Teen. For language probably, alone.

 

[reksveks]

Mature. Graphic beheadings

Want to say that I don't remember it but then just realised it's at the start of the game.

I don't remember that game being so graphic but ehh.

I personally am here for the systems

 

[chromhound]

I want to see some heads explode

 

[Bartski]

I don't have an issue with it being T/PEGI12 rated, not sure if gore would fit the tone I'm seeing

 

[Stitch]

But even if it gets a teen rating, modders will put gore in it. also penises

 

[JOEVIAL]

Lol didn't a dude get blown up from his jackpack going haywire in the trailer? I'm not expecting Fallout style gore but I doubt it will be Teen. For language probably, alone.

No he didn't, dudes jet pack went off and his intact body went rag-dolling up in the air Bethesda Style... another reason why I think this game might be Teen. There was no language in the trailer at all. Bethesda has not been shy about including that in their trailers in the past... yet another reason why I think this game might be Teen rated.

 

[Doom85]

Wasn't expecting Event Horizon or anything.

See, that’s how Todd Howard is going to get you. You think you’re playing a nice sci-fi adventure, and ooh, what’s this video tape here? Let’s pop this bad boy in and take a look!

Spoiler

Punished Miku: …….

 

[RaZoR No1]

Just hide everything 18+ related after the tutorial.
All/most reviewers only play for some minutes.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

Have any of you people actually seen footage of real people getting shot with real firearms? People don't explode into pools of gore when they get shot with a sub machine gun.

 

[oldergamer]

stop over analyzing the game people.

 

[killatopak]

Have any of you people actually seen footage of real people getting shot with real firearms? People don't explode into pools of gore when they get shot with a sub machine gun.

No, I haven’t seen people get shot by futuristic guns from the space age in real life.

I don’t need to see people turning into goo and being vaporized by lasers to think that it looks cool in Fallout either. Beheading dragons with a sword looks cool.

 

[Razvedka]

Have any of you people actually seen footage of real people getting shot with real firearms? People don't explode into pools of gore when they get shot with a sub machine gun.

Depends on what they're shot with. I've absolutely seen people cut to pieces by gun fire and (certainly) explosives.

I personally am hoping for an M rating.

 

[Craig of War]

Game has full mods support on PC & Console so whatever detail that BGS don't add your average modder will
That why i have zero concern for this game

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Is not 'hard' sci-fi...without 'hard situations'

 

[German Hops]

Is not 'hard' sci-fi...without 'hard situations'

Avatar and username checks out

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Avatar and username checks out

 

[teezzy]

I hope they go for a teen. No interest in gore or cursing personally, I'm not 13.

 

[Andodalf]

The games have never been hard M. no real nudity, not too much crazy cursing, violence relatively selective. heck Oblivion used to be T.

 

[Warablo]

The FPS combat was lacking some punch.

 

[SteelCurtain 59]

I can't think of an example of a game where it being Mature changed my opinion of it in any capacity, in fact I pretty much never look at ratings anymore and couldn't tell you the rating of most games I've played over the past decade. And none of the main 3 reasons for an M rating are all that appealing to me. Language is whatever, I only notice it when it's painfully excessive in which case it's a bad thing. Sex/Nudity doesn't add anything of note for me, because I'm not playing video games to get turned on. And gore really only has the potential to be a negative for me, but 99% of the time it's irrelevant, it's only negative when it's super excessive or if the setting of the game revolves around it (like "gore horror" for lack of a better word)

EDIT: So if Starfield targets T or M is irrelevant for me

 

[Batiman]

Teen would probably fit

 

[Pallas]

Has Bethesda games ever been anything lower than a M rating?

Traditionally speaking their games have been rated M and it wasn’t just because of blood.

Which makes me wonder since it hasn’t been mentioned yet if there’s gonna be some sort of romancing option, since Skyrim and Fallout 4 had companion/intimate relationships, with Skyrim even going as far as marrying a npc.