A Retrospective on Elder Scrolls Games: What Made Bethesda Great

Have you played The Elder Scrolls games? The role-playing world was developed by Bethesda Game Studios. The action takes place in a fictional world called Nirn, which is reported to reside on the continent of Tamriel. 

Some people enjoy the simplicity of the games and others complain they’ve lost mechanics and customization over time. Still, The Elder Scrolls stand out when compared to Bethesda’s heavily criticized Redfall and Starfield. 

History of The Elder Scrolls Releases

The first game released in 1994 and the latest in 2014. Bethesda has announced an Elder Scrolls IV but the release date is yet to be determined. 

The Elder Scrolls: Arena 

The first game released in 1994, limited in graphics and gaming systems. It was initially released in March of that year for MS-DOS. The premise of the game is your player trying to uncover a plot against Emperor Uriel Septim VII. 

The role-playing game (RPG) was initially going to allow people to interact across different towns on the continent of Tamriel. However, side quests began to take shape and the scope of the game changed a bit. 

The first game won RPG of the Year from Computer Gaming World. It also set the tone for how future RPGs would function. 

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall

In 1996, Bethesda followed with the release of Daggerfall for MS-DOS. The new story is set in the same world but the player has a new mission. The goal is to free the ghost of King Lysandus and to find a letter from the queen of Daggerfall. Some people disliked the limitations in the new game, which limits the player to traveling between two provinces in Tamriel. 

Daggerfall gets a bit more detailed inside the towns and areas of the game. It also offers additional customizations, such as setting skills. The game sold about 700,000 copies, about seven times what Arena sold. 

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

The third installment of The Elder Scrolls released in 2002 for Xbox. The story for Morrowind takes players to an island in the Dunmer province. The island is called Vvardenfell. Those who love Dungeons and Dragons have compared the quests to D&D. 

The quests tie into the demigod Dagoth Ur, who wants to break Morrowind free from its royal leaders. Gameplay with Morrowind is more free form than in previous versions. Many people didn’t like that the game doesn’t follow the storyline as closely as the first two versions of The Elder Scrolls. However, Morrowind did receive rave reviews for the detailed graphics and new worlds to explore. 

Someone liked the game, because it sold more than four million copies. Bethesda also released two expansion packs for the game: Tribunal and Bloodmoon. 

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

In 2006, Bethesda introduced Oblivion. The game was available in multiple formats for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and mobile. They also co-published alongside 2K Games. The story follows a first-person player trying to stop a cult called Mythic Dawn. The cult wants to open portal gates to Oblivion, a demonic realm that will wreak havoc in the province of Cyrodiil. 

Oblivion has the same open-world structure as before, so players can travel to different provinces. You can play the main storyline or postpone it with side adventures. You’ll focus on adding to your skills. 

Some things that made this version unique included non-player characters having the ability to be more complex and make choices, more detailed terrains and high-dynamic-range lighting to create realistic light and shadows as you move around. Oblivion sold 9.5 million copies, although adding gaming systems and more people getting into gaming likely contributed to the rising sales over time. 

The developers also released expansion packs for Oblivion, including Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine. 

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is often cited as one of the best single-player PC games around. While people have varied opinions, you should try it for yourself and see what you think. 

The original release for Windows was in November, 2011. They subsequently rolled out Skyrim for: 

• Xbox 360 
• PlayStation 3 
• Playstation 4 
• Xbox One 
• Nintendo Switch 
• PlayStation VR 
• PlayStation 5
• Xbox Series X and S

The fifth edition of The Elder Scrolls jumps forward 200 years after Oblivion. Game play is in Skyrim, a northern province of Tamriel. The main character is the Dragonborn, who wants to overcome Alduin the dragon. 

The legend is that Alduin will destroy the entire world. Similar to Oblivion, players must improve skills and complete quests to move through the story. You can postpone the main storyline at will and move around the worlds.

Skyrim developers used Creation Engine, a platform they rebuilt for the game. The game is often cited as having better character development than previous versions. However, the game did have some technical problems when launching, seen during some of the dragon battles. 

What Was Great About The Elder Scrolls Games? 

What was so great about the various Elder Scrolls games? The ability to immerse yourself in a new world and freely move around to different areas gave players a taste of creating their own adventures based on actions. From Morrowind’s alien terrains to Skyrim’s frozen peaks, discovering new locations and hidden questions made the story come to life. 

The ability to level up in your combat means you can play with the style you most prefer. You can be an armed warrior or a hidden assassin. The Elder Scrolls focuses on leveling mechanics that let players explore possibilities and move forward in their game-playing skills over time. The game appeals to amateurs as well as expert RPG players. 

Nearly everyone who plays The Elder Scrolls enjoys exploring dungeons. Each features puzzles, enemies to battle and treasures to help you on your quest. Rare loot adds more layers to your game play. 

Audio may not be something you consider when initially looking at a game, but you’ll find high-level acting and music, such as the “Dragonborn” theme in Skyrim or unique character voices brought to life by actors. 

What Can Users Expect from The Elder Scrolls VI?

Several sources point to 2026 as the possible release date for The Elder Scrolls VI, but the developers say it could be later. Todd Howard, who helped develop previous Elder Scrolls games, is heading up the project. 

While no one knows for sure, people think installment six will likely: 

• Be set in Hammerfell, with tropical forests, beaches and mountains. 
• Will maintain open-world gameplay. 
• May feature even more customization than previous installments.

Microsoft acquired Bethesda, so the game may be an Xbox exclusive. The rest of the information on the game is still rumors and innuendo. It will be interesting to see how the game’s developers take role-playing to the next level with The Elder Scrolls VI.

A Game That Reinvents Itself

If one of your biggest gripes is that you finish a game too quickly and have to wait forever for the next release, you’ll love the ability to revisit The Elder Scrolls on various hardware. By participating in the open-world setup, you can create an entirely new game each time you play it. You can chase dragons, pick alchemy ingredients for potions and immerse yourself in a new world that expands with each release.