Starfield's NPCs keep procedurally jumpscaring players mid-conversation, and now I live in fear

The creepiest guy leans in front of an NPC mid-conversation in Starfield. — (Image credit: Bethesda Game Studios / Zealousideal-Tie4755 on Reddit)

While NPCs getting bodied in the middle of a chat with your Starfield character is plenty funny, I've a far less slapstick thing to be afraid of now. While this hasn't happened to me yet, now I know it's only a matter of time. After all, once is chance, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern.

The first incident comes from Starfield Reddit user welshscott5, who had an unwelcome visitor lean into view mid-sentence, then drift back into the ether with a look of raw disappointment. Starfield's NPC expressions can sometimes be uncanny, which makes the surprisingly true-to-life disdain on display here all the more hilarious. Maybe they stole his space sweetroll or something.

I was casually talking to an NPC when this happened, spent about 5 minutes in uncontrollable laughter from r/Starfield

Then there's this moment from ArduousAttempt, where Cora turns from likeable space-tyke to hallway girl from The Shining, staring death into the back of Sam's skull at the worst possible time. The lighting in this one's really doing most of the work, she looks like a spectre risen from the grave to punish him for his misdeeds.

Don't you worry Sam, your secret is safe with me. from r/Starfield

The hattrick in this trend of accidental jumpscares comes from user Zealousideal-Tie4755, whose NPC bonding turned into a complete horror show. I'm undecided as to whether this stare is meant to be warning the player away from self-confessed mushroom liker Muria Starkiewicz, or threatening them like a jealous lover.

this guy just sat down in between us mid convo from r/Starfield

What was at first an isolated incident is now, for sure, something that can just manifest mid-conversation. The comments in these threads are rife with people sharing their own experiences of NPCs butting in, which is both a delightful quirk of Starfield's real-time conversations and a quiet threat. I will be experiencing this eventually. It's inevitable, like the heat death of the universe or a meteor strike on Earth, and I'm unfortunately a big wimp who spooks easily.

Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.