Starfield: How Does Romance Work In the Game?

Character romance has always been a thing in RPG games. Whether it be romancing your crewmate in Mass Effect or your companions in Baldur’s Gate 3, lovemaking has always been available in RPGs. With Besthesda’s sci-fi RPG Starfield launching, many gamers are now left wondering if the game will allow romance with companions. Their question is genuine; it’s a Bethesda game after all, and its past titles have had romance options. So, in this article, we answer whether Starfield supports romance options or not.

Can You Romance Companions In Starfield?

Let’s not waste time and jump into the good news. Yes, you can get into romantic relationships with your companions in Starfield. The game features multiple companions living in various human colonies on different planets. As such, bonding over shooting space punks and rival factions is a natural development for you and your companions.

During the Starfield Deep Dive in June 2023, Starfield Game Director Todd Howard confirmed that the game will allow you to romance the companions in-game. However, remember that Todd Howard said it is only for the companions who join your team during the story. Hence, we are unsure if you can romance anyone outside of your party in the game.

Another thing to remember is the nature of the romance in Starfield. Bethesda games are not known for pulling off relationships between a player and an NPC. Be it Skyrim or Fallout 4, the romance has always boiled down to doing companion quests and lines of affection later in the story, somehow making the NPC fall head-over-heels for you, followed by a black screen. So, don’t expect Baldur’s Gate 3 level depth to the romance encounters. Check out our Karlach romance guide for Baldur’s Gate 3 for reference.

It is also worth pointing out that since Starfield will be moddable, we can expect some modders to project their inner desires and create a romance mod. It happened with Skyrim, so expecting the same for Starfield is all but natural. You all know what I am talking about, right? I don’t think I need to expand upon this (wink-wink).

Companions You Can Romance in Starfield

Of course, to romance in a game, you will need people. And in Starfield, you have your companions to fall back to. As mentioned by Todd Howard during an episode of Kinda Funny Games podcast, you can romance the four companions in-game. This means the ones who join you during your journey through the galaxy. Here are the three companions that are confirmed to be romanceable in Starfield. The fourth one is still shrouded in mystery.

1. Sarah Morgan

• Likes: Exploration, Science, Diplomacy, Scientific Responses
• Dislikes: Under-the-table tactics, Vigilantism, Mindless killing

A colony war veteran, Sarah Morgan is the current leader of the Constellation, the faction you go on an expedition for. As per the official description, Sarah devoted her life to exploration in Starfield. In the trailer, Sarah is one of the main character’s love interests. Because of her past United Colonies Navy background, Sarah Morgan has a high amount of lawful morality.

As such, partaking in any dishonorable actions will upset her. If you want to impress her, try to take diplomatic solutions to problems, and take her with you to explore planets and space.

2. Sam Coe

• Likes: People helping others unconditionally, people respecting his daughter, people supporting Freestar Rangers, looting part off of dead creatures
• Dislikes: Siding With Jacob during a mission, and doing dishonorable things like looting and killing citizens

The descendant of the Freestar Collective founder Solomon Coe, aka Sam Coe, is an ex-space cowboy proficient with a gun and spaceships. As per his description, Sam has a knack for space exploration and has devoted his life to it. Coe is another companion that the developers specifically showcased during the romance section. An ex-Freestar Ranger, Sam Coe likes people who help others without expecting anything. Additionally, since Sam explores the space with his daughter, Cora, caring for her makes him happy. On the flip side, because of his strained relationship with Jacob Coe, his father, siding with him during the main mission will make him dislike you. Furthermore, looting and killing Freestar Rangers and citizens will upset him.

3. Barrett

• Likes: Light-hearted response
• Dislikes: Dishonest actions like pick-pocketing, ship stealing, etc

Barrett is one of the first Constellation members, devoting their life to space exploration. Before joining the organization, Barrett worked as a United Colony physicist. He uses his scientific knowledge to quench his exploration thirst, searching for answers in the vast space. Barrett is a light-hearted individual, who appreciates cohorts who have similar tastes and are light-hearted and fun.

So, light-hearted responses are always appreciated by him. What he dislikes is dishonest actions. So, if you want to steal something or pick-pocket some money, keep him away from yourself for a while.

4. Andreja

• Likes: Bold and cheeky responses, straightforward answers
• Dislikes: Stealing from companions and citizens, harming citizens, asking for credits after work

A house Va’arun member with her past life shrouded in mystery, Andreja is another member of the Constellation who partakes in covert ops for the group. Calm and collected, we first meet her during one of the main story missions. And to have the chance to recruit Andreja in Starfield, we have made a handy guide.

Andreja is a collected individual. As such, she prefers if you answer boldly or cheekily. Furthermore, showing care towards your crewmates and fellow Constellation members will net you good points. Andreja is also okay with you performing some shrewd tactics like lock-picking. If you ever misbehave and harm your crewmates or citizens or even try to steal from them, Andreja will dislike it. Moreover, being shrewd after finishing work also gets on her nerves.

How Does Romance Work In Starfield?

As mentioned above and in our Sarah Morgan romance guide, Starfield’s romance is pretty lengthy. You decide who you want to date and bring them to the adventures. From here out, perform acts that the person likes, and it will open up unique conversations at random intervals in-game. Successfully finishing and flirting with them will bring up a unique character-specific quest. Complete it, and you will get the option to romance and even marry them.

This is in line with what Todd Howard, the game director of Starfield, said in an interview with Lex Friedman. The talk starts at 52:06, where Howard goes in-depth about the system. We don’t want to transcribe the whole talk from point to point and suggest you watch the brilliant interview with Lex. However, to give you a brief, Howard stated that while the romance in Starfield isn’t “super-complex,” it is a more complex system compared to previous Bethesda titles.

The companions can be in love with your character, hate something you did, and then come back to love you. Previous Bethesda titles saw us working through the bottom of the ladder, impressing our favorite NPCs to fall in love with our character. This time, it will be a bit more intimate and lovely. This is what Todd Howard confirmed in the interview. So, do you have any companions you plan on romancing in the world of Starfield? Let us know in the comments below.