According to a new interview with an artist at Bethesda, Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, Starfield is tame by comparison. It portrays a far more utopian world than Fallout, although it does suffer from a lot of the same issues with class divide. And the intergalactic wilderness of Starfield is a lot more forgiving than the wilderness of The Elder Scrolls, where you might encounter everything from wolves to dragons to Daedra.

But apparently, according to an interview with former Bethesda senior artist Dennis Mejillones on Starfield was initially set to be "much gorier" per Video Games Chronicle. Apparently, it was set to include a decapitation/dismemberment feature somewhat akin to a similar system in Fallout. If enemies were killed under certain conditions, they would fly into bits - in particular, headshots would likely have caused their heads (still inside helmets) to take off into space.

Bethesda Was Set To Include Decapitation In Starfield

What A Former Bethesda Artist Says Was Cut From The Game

It seems hard to imagine based on the current state of Starfield, but according to Mejillones, the decapitation mechanic was once very real. It's certainly nothing new for Bethesda, which included a similar mode of dismemberment throughout the Fallout series. In Fallout 3, New Vegas, and 4, you can take a perk called Bloody Mess that basically has the exact same effect: at random, some enemies would explode into a cacophony of blood and viscera once defeated.

It's no surprise that Mejillones, who also worked on Fallout 4, may have been aware of a similar mechanic due to be incorporated into Starfield. Says Mejillones, "Fallout is very stylized in that regard, that’s part of the tongue-in-cheek humor." But of course, it didn't make it into the final version of Starfield, as anyone who plays it can see - so what happened?

Why Did The Gore Get Cut Before Launch?

Mejillones Explains Why Starfield's Decapitation Mechanic Was Removed

According to Mejillones, this kind of violence was eventually removed from the game for two reasons: technical limitations and tone. For one thing, the sheer number of spacesuits included in Starfield - and their myriad cosmetic attachments - would've made it difficult to create decapitation effects for every possible combination. Body type also posed a problem, as the diversity in character customization available in Starfield would have created even more difficulties.

Besides that, Bethesda ultimately decided that this kind of wanton violence didn't work with Starfield's tone. Says Mejillones, "I think for Starfield it was definitely meant to be more low-key and realistic. We were inspired a lot by things like The Expanse and Star Trek, stuff like that, so I think it just didn’t fit thematically." In short, Starfield is a lot less cartoonish than Fallout, with a basis in science and exploration, and sci-fi TV series with heavy, philosophical themes. Decapitation just didn't have a place in that world.

So, while a little more wanton violence might not have saved Starfield, it would have at least given it some much-needed personality. Still, it's probably best for the developers' vision that it was cut. To include it would distract from the kind of story Starfield was trying to tell, if not outright fly in the face of its themes.

Sources: Kiwi Talkz/YouTube, Video Games Chronicle