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Staying up and "bingeing" Starfield "literally saved" this player's life

"If I hadn’t been up bingeing Starfield, I would have been asleep, and we would have all died."

starfield character looking at ringed planet from surface of a mountain on another planet
Image credit: Eurogamer/Bethesda

A Starfield player has credited the sci-fi game with saving their life after they stayed up late to play it and was awake when their apartment complex caught fire.

u/Tidyckilla took to Starfield's subreddit over the weekend to report their amazing escape, saying that if they hadn't been awake "bingeing" the game when the fire broke out, the player and their wife would likely have "died to smoke inhalation".

Let's Play Starfield - HIGS IN SPACE! The First 3 Hours Of Starfield XBOX Series X Gameplay.Watch on YouTube

"Starfield literally saved mine and my family’s life on 1st September," the player explained, appending a photograph of an apartment fire to his post.

"I have waited for this game since the trademark rumours of 2015-2016. In anticipation, I preordered the premium addition, waiting to play this game. On the night of 31st August, I decided to stay up and play as long as possible to experience this new universe.

Starfield saved me and my family’s life
by u/tidyckilla in Starfield

"At 2:26 in the morning, while playing the game, I heard an explosion from my downstairs neighbour's apartment," they added. "I paused my game to see what was happen[ing]. When I opened the door, I saw flames rising up our stairwell to our apartment."

Tidyckilla said that because they were already awake, they were able to quickly rouse their wife and grab the family cat, escaping the fire with "only minor burns". The OP returned to the thread later to confirm that it seemed the incident was caused by a neighbour smoking near oxygen tanks, and whilst they'd heard the explosion whilst awake, it hadn't been loud enough to wake their wife as "multiple rooms and floors" separated them from the site of the original explosion.

"If I hadn’t been up bingeing Starfield, I would have been asleep, and we would have all died to smoke inhalation," they conclude. "I want to thank this game [for] saving my family and me from a horrible fate. PRAISE GODD HOWARD."

"You now have permission for the rest of your life to stay up late gaming," said one commenter.

ICYMI, Starfield included a heartfelt tribute to – and from – a fan who died before the game was released.

Six months ago, Alex Hay posted on the Starfield subreddit that despite "following this project for years", he probably wouldn't live long enough to play Starfield following a lung cancer diagnosis at just 36 years of age.

Sadly, Hay died shortly thereafter, and to honour him, Bethesda included a note from Alex for all explorers to find.

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