Starfield speedrunners discover a new skip in the humblest of places

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Catch a ride

New Atlantis from the air
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Starfield's speedrunning community has been turned on its head thanks to a humble YouTube comment. 

Speedrunners have been giving sci-fi RPG Starfield their best shot since its release back in September, with the current 'Glitchless' record standing at 115 minutes and 53 seconds. However, it looks like a new timesaving technique has been discovered by YouTube commenter Foxtrot_67, which allows players to skip the cutscene that occurs when they use the public transit system in New Atlantis (via GamesRadar). 

"I hadn't watched any Starfield speedruns before but I'm surprised you didn't skip the train leaving the station animation[.] I found out how to do that accidentally while playing and thought for sure it would be used in speedruns," read Foxtrot_67's comment, which was later reposted to Twitter.

This revelation will help speedrunners of all kinds shave precious seconds off of their completion times. Foxtrot_67 herself was shocked at the extent of her contribution, saying in a Tweet "I'm still so happy I could share knowledge of a skip that wasn't known before. I almost didn't leave the comment because I was certain this was a known thing but it actually wasn't."

YouTuber dmrzl has already put the skip into action, showing that Foxtrot_67's skip can easily be replicated. You can watch the clip for yourself below. 

Starfield has enjoyed a mostly positive reception with fans and critics, with our own editor in chief Jake Tucker praising the game's "endless amount of things to explore", "deep skill system", and "excellent starship combat" in our review. However, he also found that "Starfield has no sense of character, and the story lacks impact." 

The "fake smiles" of the game's NPCs have garnered a negative response from gamers as have the game's dodgy Irish accents. In fact, Bethesda has even taken to responding to negative reviews of Starfield on Steam directly, presumably to mitigate some of the more critical responses to the sci-fi RPG.  

That said, these flaws haven't stopped the game from being Europe's biggest current-gen Xbox launch and from impressing us with its starship builder. 

Want to find new worlds to explore? Check out our lists of the best RPGs and the best MMO games.

Cat Bussell
Cat Bussell
Freelance contributor

An editor and freelance journalist, Cat Bussell has been writing about video games for more than four years and, frankly, she’s developed a taste for it. As seen on TechRadar, Technopedia, The Gamer, Wargamer, and SUPERJUMP, Cat’s reviews, features, and guides are lovingly curated for your reading pleasure.

A Cambridge graduate, recovering bartender, and Cloud Strife enjoyer, Cat’s foremost mission is to bring you the best coverage she can, whether that’s through helpful guides, even-handed reviews, or thought-provoking features. She’s interviewed indie darlings, triple-A greats, and legendary voice actors, all to help you get closer to the action. When she’s not writing, Cat can be found sticking her neck into a fresh RPG or running yet another Dungeons & Dragons game.