Morrowind. Oblivion. Skyrim. The Elder Scrolls games are pinnacles of modern fantasy gaming. They are massive, intricate, epic, personal, and all things in between. While each of these games is great as a standalone title, one cannot help but wonder what if they were combined? What if instead of exploring just the land of Skyrim, or just Morrowind, or just Cyrodiil, there was the chance to adventure across the entire continent? What if you got to explore all of Tamriel?
NOT AN MMO
To any Elder Scrolls fans reading this, you might be thinking that this game already exists. The Elder Scrolls Online does allow players to explore most of Tamriel. However, ESO is not the type of game I am proposing. ESO is a massive multiplayer online (MMO) game, similar to World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic. While these games are fun, my idea has more to do with traditional Elder Scrolls gameplay and a focus on a single player experience.
IT CAN BE DONE
At first glance, one might think it would be too difficult to create something so large while keeping the intricacy of the series’ design. But let’s remember that Skyrim, as of 2020, is nine years old. Not only is this old by gaming standards, but gaming technology has advanced significantly since then. And compared to some other, more modern titles, Skyrim, as vast as it may seem, is actually quite small.
In terms of map size, the last two major single player releases in the series, Oblivion and Skyrim, would be about the same as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild if they were combined. For reference, Breath of the Wild was released in 2017. If you want to go back even further, Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim combined are about the same size as the entirety of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, a 2015 release.
So, isn’t it about time that we Elder Scrolls fans finally got a traditional Elder Scrolls game that takes place across the entire continent? It wouldn’t even have to be a total open world. It could be like Witcher III in which there are loading screens between different large areas. With the next generation of gaming consoles upon us, I hope that Elder Scrolls 6, whatever it might be, allows its players to really explore all that Tamriel has to offer.
Would you like to see a massive Tamriel game in the near future? Do you think such an undertaking would be too big, or is it now time? Feel free to share your thoughts below!