Summary
- Flirting with multiple crewmates in Starfield is possible without damaging relationships, allowing for a slow build-up of multiple romances.
- However, as relationships progress, crewmates will eventually seek exclusivity and offer special missions to unlock romance options.
- While it is possible to pursue multiple relationships in one playthrough, it is best to eventually choose a favorite crewmate and commit fully to that relationship.
Romance is one of the interesting possibilities available when progressing relationships with Starfield's crewmates, but attempting to flirt with more than one character can be a daunting proposition. In a vast RPG focused on interplanetary exploration, finding someone to share a bed might not seem like the highest stakes. The possibility of damaging a budding courtship with one crewmate thanks to a dalliance with another, however, is often enough to make a "better safe than sorry" approach seem like the wisest course of action.
Starfield features four core crewmates with romance options: Sam Coe, Sarah Morgan, Barrett, and Andreja. Each of these companions is recruited through a different mission, but all feature fleshed-out personalities and storylines that outstrip many of the more minor NPCs, like the Oblivion throwback The Adoring Fan. Like in previous Bethesda games, crewmates with enough affinity essentially act as followers, tagging along for missions and offering aid in combat. Sam, Sarah, Barrett, and Andreja are far from the only options in this regard, but they are the most central figures and the only ones who can be properly wooed.
Flirting With Multiple Starfield Characters Is Possible
Building romances in Starfield is principally done through the [Flirt] option that sometimes appears in dialogue. Although this isn't the only factor that plays into crewmate approval, it is the step that starts to seriously drive more intimate relationships forward. It's possible to start flirting with multiple crewmates without destroying relationships, making it easy to overcome the lower levels of building a foundation. This approach can work fairly deep into the game, as Starfield crewmates don't tend to leap into relationships without first undergoing a requisite slow build up to the big questions.
Starfield Crewmates Eventually Want Exclusivity In Romances
In the end, however, flirting can only go so far, and it's past that point that romancing multiple Starfield companions starts to fall apart. Currying good favor and flirting with a crewmate can eventually lead them to offer the protagonist a special mission that can properly unlock romance options. Beyond this, an ultimate quest can be undertaken to get formally married to a Starfield crewmate. In these later stages of romance, characters will no longer take kindly to attempted two-timing, although it's possible to end a relationship and pursue another without any underhanded methods. Multiple relationships can consequently be pursued in one playthrough, but only by accepting dissolution first.
Starfield strives on the whole to represent relationships with at least some accuracy, diverting slightly from a fully linear path of building a romance to allow for minor setbacks or reasonably amicable departures. Nonetheless, the system is ultimately oriented around building a singular partnership at the time, so there's no clear end goal for attempting to romance multiple crewmates simultaneously. Flirting up a storm is on the table in Starfield, but past that point, it's best to pick a favorite among the four possible crewmates and commit completely to the relationship.
