The Elder Scrolls

2022-12-15

The Elder Scrolls is a game series very close to me. I find it very fun and fascinating. In no other game have I felt as immersed as in Oblivion, or having come so far from the beginning as in Morrowind. Even Skyrim brings me joy. These games aren’t perfect, and even mods cannot fix all problems, but they are so very amazing. Here is my ranking of the TES games.

1. Morrowind and Oblivion - I cannot really decide between the two. Oblivion is more immersive and tangible, but Morrowind has better combat and more flexibility.
2. Skyrim - Skyrim is fun, but it feels much more restrictive than the other two. It has less heart but it is more easily moddable. I wish there were still attributes and classes though.
3. Daggerfall - Daggerfall is old, but Daggerfall Unity makes it easily runnable and adds more modding functionality. It is the largest TES game by far, but it is very dull. A lot of the randomized locations, quests, and NPC’s feel exactly the same. I do think with advances in neural nets and procedural generation there will be something with similar vision to Daggerfall, but better execution. Just prepare to have a massive drive.
4. Arena - Arena is the odd one out of the mainline TES series. It lacks custom classes and attributes, but it is decently fun. The wear and tear of time does not shine favorably on Arena. It is not bad, but it is not very good compared to the other titles in the series.

I remember the first time I played TES. I started up Oblivion on Steam and designed my character. It was amazing. I am an avid player of RPG’s of many kinds, and Oblivion felt like a campaign where I didn’t need anybody to DM or play with me. I could relax away from socialization. Oblivion makes you feel like a true hero, who wasn’t born into their role, but was chosen for their skills. I loved rushing through gates (seriously, if you speedrun them they aren’t as bad as you’d think) and finally destroying Mehrunes Dagon, and everything else after that. Oblivion requires the least modding, which is convienent because there are fewer mods for it. When I played Skyrim, it felt a lot different. Every dungeon was the same, every person just another passerby. Skyrim takes itself too seriously and so loses the animation the characters in Oblivion have, while not substituting with a compelling narrative like Morrowind. It was still very fun, and it does landscapes very well. I felt like a chosen champion in Skyrim, for better or for worse. I wanted more classic TES, which is why I got Morrowind. It was a struggle to get used to at first, and I will not lie to anybody by saying that the lack of compass markers or inaccurate directions or lack of easy fast travel make the game better. The secret is that Morrowind does have easy fast travel. You need to use alteration and restoration to jump, levitate, and fortify your way through the skies, but make sure you use the alchemy exploit to reach your full potential. Morrowind made me feel like I was learning the whole time and it was very satisfying to master the game and show Dagoth Ur how stupid he is. However, I needed more, so I got Daggerfall… Unity. It’s so very customizable and my character is my character. I doubt I will ever meet someone who has made the same Daggerfall character as me. The best thing about Daggerfall is becoming stronger as you cooperate with Daedra and different nations to choose who will come out winning in the Warp in the West.
After TES, I have become very different. The types of video games I look for are mainly RPG’s, but I cannot find anything to exactly fulfill my desire for more adventures in Tamriel. I tried Gothic, but it is not very high quality and gives little in the way of customization. I am on my way to find other things that satisfy my desires for RPG’s. A game I’d suggest to people yearning for TES like me is Dread Delusion, made by Lovely Hellplace and published by DreadXP. It is quite similar to TES, though of course not exact. It is still in early access and may not ever have official mod support, but I have faith in it. I will one day find more to fulfill the desire for Elder Scrolls, but I will never leave Tamriel behind.