Starfield has an absolutely massive galaxy to explore, so it was only a matter of time before players started discovering Easter eggs and subtle nods to other sci-fi franchises that came before it. Recently, a certain habitable planet in the Eridani system has fans convinced it’s a recreation of a rather unfortunate world in the Halo series.
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Players have discovered that Starfield’s version of the Epsilon Eridani star system, a real star system that’s also a major part of Halo lore, includes a planet that bears a striking resemblance to that of Reach, where 2010’s Halo: Reach took place. Described on Halopedia as featuring “towering mountains, deserts, and weather-beaten forests,” Starfield’s Eridani II has similar terrain to Reach. Sadly, no one’s discovered any weird ostrich-like birdies.
And like Reach, Eridani II is the second planet in the Eridani star’s orbit.
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As mentioned, Eridani II is a real star system out there in the void. It was first written about in Ptolemy’s Catalog of Stars, which listed over 1,000 worlds, as well as other Islamic works of astronomy. In the 1900s, it was estimated to be about 10.5 light-years from our solar system. Early on, SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence project which scans the skies for signs of other civilizations) took interest in Epsilon Eridani and Tau Ceti—which is also in Starfield and featured in Marathon, another Bungie shooter—as a likely spot for habitable planets, either featuring extraterrestrial life itself or possibly proving a good candidate for future space travel.
How to find the Halo: Reach Easter egg in Starfield
If you’d like to visit Eridani II in Starfield, you can do so very early on in the game. Starting from Alpha Centauri (home of The Lodge and other early story moments in Starfield), go down and to the left on the star map and you’ll find the Eridani star system, which is only a mere 19.11 light years away.
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Once there, simply navigate to Eridani II and touch down on any of its biome regions for comfortable weather and mountainous terrain. As some fans have pointed out, Eridani II’s locations are closer to what’s seen in the Halo: Reach level “Tip of the Spear” than its more lush, grassy areas shown in other points of the game’s campaign. This is a prime location for Halo fans to build their first outpost (and you won’t have to deal with the challenges of extreme environments).
You also won’t have to deal with, you know, Covenant.