Ah Starfield, the game that left the collective consciousness long ago. In her review, Alice Bee (RPS in peace) said that it was such a large thing it ultimately felt "small, cold and unlived in".
I remember thinking the same. Would I have thought differently if it had copious amounts of gore? No. But would I have had a better time?
Probably yes. Well, a former senior artist at Bethesda has revealed in an interview with Kiwi Talkz podcast (cheers VGC for the spot) that they'd originally planned for it to have decapitations but decided against them in the end.
Dennis Mejillones, who worked at Bethesda for almost 12 years - was asked why Starfield didn't end up as bloodthirsty as other games in the back catalogue, like Fallout 4.
He explained that it had more to do with technical limitations than anything else, specifically "implications with the different suits" and how certain helmets might react to being cut and having the "meat caps for the bottom where the flesh is".