Summary
Taking a place of prominence in the marketing forStarfieldin the months and years leading up to its release, the city of New Atlantis stands out as one of the game’s most immediately recognizable locations. Spread out over an area evenlarger thanSkyrim’s Whiterun, New Atlantis is the biggest city to ever appear in a Bethesda title. With its eye-catching architecture and an overall design that perfectly blends the built world with the natural surroundings, the futuristic city initially appears to be a utopia. As players learn more about New Atlantis, though, they’ll discover that the gulf between the city’s haves and have-nots is depressingly immense.
Serving as one ofStarfield’s three main hub cities and the capital of the powerfulUnited Colonies faction, New Atlantis is one of the first areas players will visit as part of the game’s campaign. The sprawling, sci-fi city makes a powerful first impression, with futuristic buildings reaching high into the skies above the verdant surface of the planet Jemison. But hidden far below the hustle and bustle of New Atlantis in the depths of the area known as The Well, the city plays home to a downtrodden population who live in squalor as the citizens above benefit from the fruits of their labors.
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The Depths of The Well Hold New Atlantis’ Dirty Secret
While life in New Atlantis appears to be largely carefree, with its citizens peacefully enjoying the breathtaking views and unmatched amenities of the high-tech city, life in The Well is decidedly less idyllic. Located deep underground beneath the bustling streets of the city,The Well inStarfieldis home to an unseen underclass whose toil makes the leisurely life of those on the surface possible. The dark and dingy undercity offers players a glimpse of the unsightly reality behind the carefully cultivated image the United Colonies presents to the outside world.
With a societal structure that draws some immediate parallels to bothFritz Lang’s classic filmMetropolisand the gorgeous 2010 anime of the same name, much of the work that allows New Atlantis to thrive is carried out by those living in The Well. Much like the citizens ofStarfield’s sea-straddling city of Neon, those who call The Well home spend nearly all of their existence indoors. Unlike in Neon, though, where entertainment and opportunity await around nearly every corner, New Atlantis’ unsightly undercity provides few chances for its inhabitants to improve their lot in life.
Despite The Bleak Surroundings, Hope Thrives in The Well
Even though the dingy surroundings of The Well would seem to leave little room for optimism, many of those who reside there have managed to carve out a fairly comfortable life for themselves. Just likethe city of New Atlantisfar above it, the underground hub plays host to a wide variety of shops and services designed to make life for its inhabitants at least somewhat more bearable. From Kay’s House, where the proprietor gives her clients an escape from the grim surroundings with delicious food and drink, to the UC Surplus store where military equipment of questionable providence can be purchased with no questions asked, a literal underground economy thrives in The Well.
One ofStarfield’s most predominant “religious” orders also does its best to aid people living in the underground city. While the supposedly pious and charitable Sanctum Universum is headquartered in an opulent building in New Atlantis, The Well is home tothe House of the Enlightened. Made up of altruistic atheists, members of the Enlightened offer charity and assistance to the downtrodden masses living deep below the streets of New Atlantis.
At first glance,Starfield’s New Atlantis seems to offer a thrilling glimpse of a world where humanity has learned to live in balance with its natural surroundings. But by looking below the surface of the gleaming city of tomorrow players will soon discover that, even in the sci-fi world ofStarfield, all that glimmers isn’t gold.
Starfieldis available now for PC and Xbox Series X|S.
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