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ESO might actually be the best TES game
I'm not even kidding. Thinking back on my time with ESO these last several months, and for my times before that as well, it's been just absolutely superb. It took me a LONG time to come around, for what reason I do not know and/or don't want to get into as I don't have all day to be writing this, but I have now. Last week it dawned on me and it kind of blew me away because it's such a paradox. ESO would not AT ALL seem like the best TES game to any die hard TES fan who hasn't played it.
Of the 3 "modern" TES games,
- Morrowind is the GOAT. It was my first elder scrolls game and, before ESO, my favorite. However, it's honestly not a very fun game, especially in the beginning. And I could go on about its faults but no point.
- Oblivion is just... honestly it's the worst TES game. There's not even any valid argument there, it just is. I haven't played the remastered version, heard it's good, but I'm not interested in it.
- And Skyrim was made for ipad kids with 99% dumbed down game mechanics and it released on everything from your toaster to your Tamagotchi.
All 3 mainline TES games fall short in various different ways, and ALL of them have disappointingly small game worlds with only Morrowind succeeding, only marginally, at covering the Theme Park with the veil of suspension of disbelief. And Morrowind only succeeds at that by creating such a rich history and people and setting that you can look past that. Anyway.
In terms of graphics and "game world feel" (whatever you want to call it), ESO is like a TES 3.5 - Between Morrowind and Oblivion. If Morrowind looked like Conan the Barbarian, Oblivion looked like a whimsical cartoon, and ESO is just right. In terms of combat mechanics, ESO is like a TES 4.5 - between Oblivion and Skyrim BUT it makes up for combat simplicity with other things, like the champion point system, holy trinity role dynamic, and other things that add to the game as well.
I dunno man it's just a good game what else can I say lmao. Thanks for reading my 2 Septims, a currency that doesn't exist yet in the 2nd era!
Of the 3 "modern" TES games,
- Morrowind is the GOAT. It was my first elder scrolls game and, before ESO, my favorite. However, it's honestly not a very fun game, especially in the beginning. And I could go on about its faults but no point.
- Oblivion is just... honestly it's the worst TES game. There's not even any valid argument there, it just is. I haven't played the remastered version, heard it's good, but I'm not interested in it.
- And Skyrim was made for ipad kids with 99% dumbed down game mechanics and it released on everything from your toaster to your Tamagotchi.
All 3 mainline TES games fall short in various different ways, and ALL of them have disappointingly small game worlds with only Morrowind succeeding, only marginally, at covering the Theme Park with the veil of suspension of disbelief. And Morrowind only succeeds at that by creating such a rich history and people and setting that you can look past that. Anyway.
In terms of graphics and "game world feel" (whatever you want to call it), ESO is like a TES 3.5 - Between Morrowind and Oblivion. If Morrowind looked like Conan the Barbarian, Oblivion looked like a whimsical cartoon, and ESO is just right. In terms of combat mechanics, ESO is like a TES 4.5 - between Oblivion and Skyrim BUT it makes up for combat simplicity with other things, like the champion point system, holy trinity role dynamic, and other things that add to the game as well.
I dunno man it's just a good game what else can I say lmao. Thanks for reading my 2 Septims, a currency that doesn't exist yet in the 2nd era!
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Erickson9610✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭I love ESO, possibly even more than the singleplayer games. It's hard to imagine TES VI holding a candle to all that ESO has to offer. And I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a hardcore MMO fan.
If I had to choose between a singleplayer game focused on one region of Tamriel, or an online game that lets you interact with other players in any region of Tamriel, I'd choose the latter.PC/NA — Lone Werewolf
Werewolf Should be Allowed to Sneak Prowling added in Update 50!
Please give us Werewolf Skill Styles (for customizing our fur color) Added in Update 50!, Grimoires/Scribing skills (to fill in the holes in our builds), and Companions (to transform with).3 -
prof-dracko✭✭✭✭✭
✭In a way I do agree with you. There are threads on the forums here all the time about "ruined immersion" and how flashy and out of place the cosmetics and abilities are and every time I just think, "Is ESO too unrealistic, or were Oblivion and Skyrim just too generic?"
IMO the last few games haven't been weird enough, and it's kind of lackluster going back to them after actually reading and immersing in the lore. ESO isn't afraid to be just bizarre sometimes and I appreciate that a lot.4 -
AScarlato✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭As disappointed in ESO as I have been this year, it is for me - though I am a big MMO fan.
Oblivion and Skyrim didn't personally hold my interest overly long.
That said most of my memories came from the very strong RP community rather than storylines in the game itself. But as a setting, the RP tools ESO has makes this a great place for that.0 -
Castagere✭✭✭✭✭
✭WOW, I agree with the OP on this. Morrowind is the GOAT. Oblivion was weak, and Skyrim was the kiddie game. To me, if your first time playing a TES game was Skyrim, then you don't get it. I remember many late nights in Morrowind. Getting caught in an ash storm at night in the middle of nowhere, not seeing two feet in front of you, being attacked by mobs. All the while trying to get to a safe space to log out for the night. No fast travel at all. You had to learn how to use the map. And when you came upon a village or city, you really felt the journey getting there. Man, I lived in that game and played nothing else for two years. I had to discover everything. Getting a water-walking spell and have you character run across the ocean to see how far it could go because the game had no walls. This is why I now play ESO like a single-player TES game. No PVP or Group content. It's the only way I can play ESO now. I wish we could get some kind of stormy weather effects in the game.3 -
spartaxoxo✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭I want to argue with you because I loved the single player games so much but honestly no game has captured my interest and playtime as long as ESO.1 -
BretonMage✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭For me the single-player games had more emotional impact for a variety of reasons, the most obvious being that having a lot of players around necessarily takes away some of the immersiveness, but yeah, ESO is my current favourite TES game and is the only TES game I play. Morrowind and Oblivion were both fantastic but are now too dated, and Skyrim isn't really that interesting without mods. But modernity aside, I'd say that ESO is in some ways objectively better because it is so vast, and the gameplay is much more fun than in the SP games.
I don't know what TES6 will be like, but unless it revolutionises gaming in the way Morrowind did (and without AI), I foresee myself continuing to spend a lot of time in ESO.1 -
Above300pinginKoreaSoul ShrivenDon't forget Daggerfall. Although it is a somewhat experimental game, it forms the magnificent foundation of this world.2 -
OgrimTitan✭✭✭It's definitely better than Oblivion or Skyrim, but then again, it's not a hard thing to achieve, despite this inflated reputation of "BEST OPEN WORLDS" of Bethesda games, which in truth are sandboxes of 100 dungeons so boring and repetitive, they make hack'n'slash games feel like an action movie. Morrowind mostly had the same problems, but it's art design, plot, characters and setting were redeeming and elevating it.
ESO has actual mechanics, actual bosses, challenging fights, where you have to devise a strategy. PvP and duels fall in the same category. Also, a lot of good lore, both new and adopted from out-of-game sources (Mnemoli origin, Yokuda sinking, Nord pantheon, left-handers, bosmeri horns, list goes on..).2 -
Gagoimaliu✭✭✭ESO is not the best TES game, that would be Daggerfall in my opinion, but it is the best (and only lol) modern TES game and a pretty ok MMO
It is compared to a lot of older MMOs, simplified. It's not a swiss army MMO like Warcraft or SWTOR or XIV where you have 30 abilities available to you at all times, it was part of what I think was started by GW2 where MMOs condensed abilities down into 5-8 slot bars, but I do think it's a good change
As an MMO its like every game got its clunky (combat) parts, but in its defense, I don't think any game has ever managed to be as snappy and responsive (and generally slick) as Warcraft was, even in 2004 technology, the game was like a Ferrari compared to MMOs of the time1 -
Ordinator199✭✭✭Sorry but no,
Morrowind was so ahead of what was available at the time that it is mind blowing it fit on 700mb cd
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Gagoimaliu✭✭✭Ordinator199 wrote: »Sorry but no,
Morrowind was so ahead of what was available at the time that it is mind blowing it fit on 700mb cd
Morrowind is a great game and absolutely foundational for the lore and worldbuilding (so is Redguard and everyone forgets that game) but Daggerfall (especially Unity with MODS) is the closest you can come to actually living in Tamriel, and Morrowind with mods comes second place, but Daggerfall even has systems that Morrowind for some reason doesn't (rip climbing)
Morrowind came out around the same time as KOTOR, Gothic, Baldurs Gate, the first Deus Ex, Masquerade Bloodlines, Arcanum, Arx Fatalis, it had a lot of competition and it lived up and even SURPASSED some of them, which for a Bethesda that was going bankrupt was actually a deus ex machina basically1 -
Ordinator199✭✭✭Gagoimaliu wrote: »Ordinator199 wrote: »Sorry but no,
Morrowind was so ahead of what was available at the time that it is mind blowing it fit on 700mb cd
Morrowind is a great game and absolutely foundational for the lore and worldbuilding (so is Redguard and everyone forgets that game) but Daggerfall (especially Unity with MODS) is the closest you can come to actually living in Tamriel, and Morrowind with mods comes second place, but Daggerfall even has systems that Morrowind for some reason doesn't (rip climbing)
Morrowind came out around the same time as KOTOR, Gothic, Baldurs Gate, the first Deus Ex, Masquerade Bloodlines, Arcanum, Arx Fatalis, it had a lot of competition and it lived up and even SURPASSED some of them, which for a Bethesda that was going bankrupt was actually a deus ex machina basically
nty imo1 -
OgrimTitan✭✭✭
Of all the languages this person chose the language of facts.Gagoimaliu wrote: »ESO is not the best TES game, that would be Daggerfall in my opinion, but it is the best (and only lol) modern TES game and a pretty ok MMO
[snip]
[edited for inappropriate content]Edited by ZOS_Icy on 5 September 2026 11:581 -
tixiyweter✭✭I only play TESO and did not play other games (I play only MMO games now) so i can not compare.
But TESO is realy good.0 -
emilyhyoyeon✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭The concept of Skyrim being better than Oblivion lolIGN @ emilypumpkin
Tullanisse Starborne altmer spellsword battlemage & scholar of the ayleids
Qa'Rirra khajiit assassin & dancer
Seliwequen Narilata altmer necromancer & debaucher1 -
AzuraFan✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭Absolutely not. Don't get me wrong, ESO has held my interest for a long time. But in terms of exploration and freedom, it doesn't hold a candle to the SP games.4 -
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katanagirl1✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭As a console player, I have only had access to Oblivion and Skyrim, and enjoyed both, though Oblivion has always been my favorite of the two. I just love Cyrodiil. I played through most of the remaster recently.
ESO is my comfort food video game though. I log in, do my crafting dailies and surveys, work on PvE quests and other overland activities, and PvP later on. There is always something to do and a ton of areas to visit. I had hoped one day to see the map filled out but am not sure that will ever happen now.
PS5 NA0 -
katanagirl1 wrote: »As a console player, I have only had access to Oblivion and Skyrim, and enjoyed both, though Oblivion has always been my favorite of the two. I just love Cyrodiil. I played through most of the remaster recently.
ESO is my comfort food video game though. I log in, do my crafting dailies and surveys, work on PvE quests and other overland activities, and PvP later on. There is always something to do and a ton of areas to visit. I had hoped one day to see the map filled out but am not sure that will ever happen now.
morrowind is/was a console game too. Not nitpicking just saying
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katanagirl1✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Glorious_Platypus wrote: »katanagirl1 wrote: »As a console player, I have only had access to Oblivion and Skyrim, and enjoyed both, though Oblivion has always been my favorite of the two. I just love Cyrodiil. I played through most of the remaster recently.
ESO is my comfort food video game though. I log in, do my crafting dailies and surveys, work on PvE quests and other overland activities, and PvP later on. There is always something to do and a ton of areas to visit. I had hoped one day to see the map filled out but am not sure that will ever happen now.
morrowind is/was a console game too. Not nitpicking just saying
It is not available on PlayStation.
PS5 NA0 -
Dojohoda✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭I guess it depends on what one likes in a TES game. ESO is pretty awesome but it's an MMO. TES single player games have advantages, imo, in that they offer actual immersion and exploration. MMO allows for groups and socializing but ruins immersion in most areas. I enjoy both types, but I lean towards single player TES games being more satisfying on a higher level because of the immersion.Fan of playing magblade since 2015. (PC NA)
Might be joking in comments.
-->(((Cyrodiil)))<--0 -
I guess it depends on what one likes in a TES game. ESO is pretty awesome but it's an MMO. TES single player games have advantages, imo, in that they offer actual immersion and exploration. MMO allows for groups and socializing but ruins immersion in most areas. I enjoy both types, but I lean towards single player TES games being more satisfying on a higher level because of the immersion.
Fair enough and agree to disagree heh. I feel like their game worlds are tiny. Whiterun has 7 houses.. that's the opposite of immersion. When you and the "army" go out from Whiterun to fight the dragon it is legit like 6 guards that go out with you and it's supposed to be the full force of the city's military might. It takes you 10 minutes to walk from 1 settlement to the other. In a real fantasy world it be a multiple day journey. It would take you months, maybe years, to walk across the full distance of Skyrim, but in the game you can do it in 1 hour or so. Same for Oblivion, same for Morrowind. Only like 150 people live in Vivec "city"
I'm not asking for much but did it have to SO small? An hour? AT LEAST make Skyrim 4x larger. Oh the game files would've been too much for people to fit on their harddrives! So?? Use lower resolution assets. Not everything has to be next freakin gen graphics.
But the execs are right of course. Flashy = Sales. Not believable game worlds.
Like idk. It's hard not to hate the games for how little they actually tried on their environments. Once you see it there's no going back lol. Because all they actually need to do is create the thinnest possible illusion. A videogame is like a multi-million dollar way to create something that could've just been created by a halfway decent author. But instead of it being art it's just a product.
But you still try to find appreciation where you can despite that. It is true for ESO too but it makes up for it by the size of the whole continent.0 -
Zodiarkslayer✭✭✭✭✭
✭I think OP has a point as long as you only consider vanilla games.
I take a (heavily) modded Oblivion or Skyrim over ESO anytime, though.No Effort, No Reward?
No Reward, No Effort!0 -
katanagirl1✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Zodiarkslayer wrote: »I think OP has a point as long as you only consider vanilla games.
I take a (heavily) modded Oblivion or Skyrim over ESO anytime, though.
That’s what I have heard about mods for the single player games, that quests are added and lots of stuff. On PS though, once you’ve done everything the base game has to offer, you’re done. You can walk round and enjoy the scenery, fight the same mobs, but that’s about it.
PS5 NA0 -
Zodiarkslayer wrote: »I think OP has a point as long as you only consider vanilla games.
I take a (heavily) modded Oblivion or Skyrim over ESO anytime, though.
There aren't any landmass mods that just increase the size of the original skyrim map, like the scale. There are "new lands" mods, but those are adding new places, not increasing the size of Skyrim. It still takes 3 minutes to walk from Riverwood to Whiterun0
