Starfield Game Features Eerie Heaven’s Gate Cult Easter Egg

In an eerie nod to real-world tragedies, Bethesda’s expansive space exploration game, Starfield, includes a disturbing Easter egg related to the infamous Heaven’s Gate cult. This revelation came to light when a Reddit user shared their discovery of a “death cult” while adventuring through the game’s Settled Systems.

The Heaven’s Gate cult, notorious for a mass suicide in 1997 where members believed an alien spaceship trailing the Hale-Bopp comet would take them to heaven, finds a grim echo in Starfield’s universe. Players can stumble upon a spaceship named Clemen’s Truth, which served as the base for an in-game cult. The Redditor reported that upon their arrival, all members aboard the ship were already dead, a haunting outcome evidently orchestrated by the cult’s leader.

As players navigate the ship, they encounter an item called the “Orange Juice of Transcendence,” which ominously reduces health over time. This seems to be a dark reference to the Jonestown Massacre in 1978, where followers of Jim Jones consumed poisoned Flavor Aid, leading to the deaths of nearly 1,000 people. The term “Transcendence” and the setting of a spacecraft compound further align with the tragic narrative of Heaven’s Gate.

The gaming community has responded with a mix of horror and appreciation for the depth of environmental storytelling within Starfield. One player shared their unsettling encounter with a note discussing a man’s wish to bring his underage daughter into the cult, highlighting the game’s commitment to detail and narrative immersion. Others praised the game for its ability to weave in such a compelling yet disturbing storyline, with one player remarking that it was one of their favorite encounters in the entire game.

Among the dead crew members, players find invitations, hinting at their obsession with the “Star Child,” a concept possibly borrowed from various sci-fi and cult beliefs about a new era or consciousness linked to the cosmos. This inclusion in Starfield isn’t just a testament to the game’s expansive world-building; it serves as a reminder of the real-life tragedies that have occurred under the influence of cults, where charismatic leaders have convinced followers to commit unspeakable acts.

The Easter egg within Starfield opens a window to the darker side of human belief and the dangers of unchecked devotion. As players continue to explore the farthest reaches of the Settled Systems, they’re left to ponder what other secrets and stories lie hidden among the stars, waiting to be uncovered in this vast and intricate universe.