Embark on a Celestial Saga: Starfield's Epic Quest Line Takes Cosmic Exploration to New Heights

Highlights

Starfield's Ryujin Industries Executive Level mission offers a unique experience, taking players into the cutthroat world of corporations, similar to HBO's Succession in space.

In Starfield, players have the option to join various factions, however, Ryujin Industries offers a unique experience by allowing players to ascend the corporate hierarchy and immerse themselves in a more lifelike environment. The pinnacle of the Ryujin Industries questline is the "Executive Level" mission, which draws inspiration from the TV show Succession. During a crucial stockholders meeting, players are tasked with making critical decisions and selecting a faction to endorse.

Role-playing games like Starfield offer a variety of ways to tell stories, but one of the most creative methods is through quests. These quests, which place the player at the center of the action, provide thrilling missions such as clearing out mines and outposts inhabited by pirates and spacers, and even establishing contact with unknown species. While a quest set in a corporate office, like Starfield's Ryujin Industries Executive Level mission, may appear dull for experienced players, it actually offers a glimpse into the competitive and high-stakes world of corporations, akin to the drama of HBO's Succession... in space.

Starfield, Bethesda's newest open-world role-playing game, introduces a space-themed setting to their successful formula of action-based combat and an extensive perk system. Players are able to freely align themselves with different factions by embarking on their respective questlines. Some factions offer experiences similar to the Thieves Guild in Skyrim or The Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 4, with the player becoming part of a close-knit group of lovable outlaws or a formidable team of enforcers. However, Ryujin Industries in Starfield deviates from this pattern by providing players with a more realistic experience: the climb up the corporate ladder.

How Starfield’s Ryujin Industries Missions Turn the Player into a Succession Character

Starfield's Ryujin Industries, similar to the powerful Waystar Royco from Succession, is a colossal corporation with vast influence and unimaginable wealth. Succession, a comedy-drama, revolves around the battle for control over the media conglomerate Waystar Royco as its founder and long-time CEO's health deteriorates. The narrative primarily focuses on the founder's children as they strive to secure their positions as successors against other family members and colleagues.

Within the Starfield universe, countless individuals can only dream of possessing the necessary experience and skills to join Ryujin Industries. Fortunately, players do not require such qualifications to kickstart their careers at Ryujin Industries. They have the opportunity to emulate the nepotism hires seen in Succession, such as Greg Hirsch and Tom Wambsgans, effortlessly securing a position.

While undertaking the Back to The Grind quest, the player is required to complete an application process. However, their responses will not result in failure during the exam and interview. Throughout the initial quests, the player is exposed to scenarios similar to those encountered by Greg, Tom, and other executives of varying levels in Succession. These tasks involve engaging in corporate espionage and sabotage. It is these experiences that instill within the player a relentless determination to advance in order to eventually earn a place at the chief executive table.

Starfield’s Ryujin Industries Executive Level Mission Feels Like an Episode of Succession

The final step in the Ryujin Industries questline, known as "Executive Level," encapsulates the true essence of its name. Throughout the journey, players have experienced alliances, betrayals, and even acts of murder to climb the chaotic corporate ladder of Ryujin. Now, the time has come to claim the coveted executive position that they have meticulously pursued. This mission bears a striking resemblance to an episode from the television series "Succession," as it demands the explorer to take a stand in a crucial stockholders meeting. Here, they must make a pivotal choice: sell the company to market Neuroamp, acquire Infinity LTD, or appoint Ularu Chen—exposed as a Ryujin Industries mole—as the CEO. As if that wasn't challenging enough, they must also persuade other board members to rally behind their decision.

The first two decisions will not significantly alter the faction questline. However, the final choice involves conspiring to overthrow the current CEO of the company and replace them with a mole who leaked information to the company's main competitor. This mission is reminiscent of the shareholder voting sessions depicted in Succession, where Kendall Roy often opposed the desires of his father, Logan Roy, the founder and CEO. In this instance, the player is similar to Tom or Greg in the finale of Succession, holding valuable information that could benefit either side, and now they must strategize wisely.

Starfield is now available for PC and Xbox Series X/S.