The Starfield Direct presentation at the recent Xbox Showcase revealed new footage of some of Starfield's major space cities, including the desert-style Akila City. In Bethesda's upcoming action RPG Starfield, one explorable pocket of space is the independent coalition of star systems known as Freestar Collective Space, with Akila City sitting as its capital in the Cheyenne System.
Bethesda has previously revealed some short footage and animated Akila City concept art for Starfield. However, the recent presentation showed off some additional footage of Akila City's streets alongside notable landmarks with striking similarities to the well-known desert planet of Tatooine in the Star Wars franchise. Many Star Wars fans and Starfield enthusiasts may be keen to see more of Akila City and what explorable areas and opportunities it might hold for players, especially with the Starfield Direct teasing Akila City's Ranger faction opportunities. These have some serious space cowboy vibes that are equally reflective of Star Wars' take on classic Westerns.
Starfield’s Akila City’s Star Wars Tatooine Aesthetics
Tatooine is one of the most well-recognized and iconic Star Wars planets that features widely across the franchise, with recent appearances in Disney's The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Its popularity is perhaps partly due to it being one of the first settings audiences see in Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope.
Perhaps one of the most obvious Tatooine parallels is Akila City's mix of round and square-shaped buildings and landmarks that line its dusty streets. Another feature is the market-style vibes showcased during the Starfield Direct, where it's easy to imagine haggling for robot or ship pieces as any fast-talking Smuggler might negotiate for droid parts.
Additionally, Tatooine has a secret history as a relatively barren desert planet that became awash with crime. Starfield also seems to lean into creating Akila City as a city with an intriguing backstory. Starfield's Twitter account previously described Akila City as "a diverse populace bonded by a belief in personal freedom" but that "Outside the walls…that’s another story". It will be interesting to learn more about what particular circumstances unite its people and the creatures beyond its walls that players may potentially have a hand in defending against, particularly with Starfield's additional tease of Freestar's Rangers at Akila City.
Starfield’s Akila City Cowboy Vibes Prevalent in Tatooine and Its Red Dead Redemption Flavor
The presence of Rangers also indicates a possible need for law and order in or around Akila city, as one of Starfield's factions revealed so far. Footage shown of the Rangers so far gives some serious cowboy and Western vibes, something which the Star Wars franchise also leans into.
Tatooine includes some of Star Wars' most prominent space cowboy vibes from its desert landscape to its classic cantina scene where Han shoots Greedo saloon-shoot-out style. The Starfield Direct presentation also revealed footage of Akila City's bar, The Stoneroot Inn, which one of the developers described as "an Akila City fixture". Although pure speculation, it's possible this building could act as a saloon-style hub for the Ranger faction, which the presentation also teased with a space-cowboy-style desert showdown.
Red Dead Redemption is another comparison that might come to mind from the recent Akila City footage, which also features the player character walking its streets looking very much like the space cowboy with a traditional cowboy hat. Interestingly, Bethesda's Todd Howard compared Starfield to Red Redemption 2, and cowboy-dressed companion Sam Coe also featured more in Starfield Direct's presentation newly revealed as romanceable. It will be interesting to see more of Akila City once Starfield launches and how it feels to explore, especially as a Ranger looking out for the people.
Starfield launches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.