The Elder Scrollsis a series that spans multiple games and multiple decades. Starting withThe Elder Scrolls: Arenain 1994, Bethesda has continued to create new entries to the series as time went on,withThe Elder Scrolls 6currently in development.The games are action RPGs that takes place in large open worlds for players to explore. Each entry in the series has focused on a different region or setting within a high-fantasy backdrop that fans still replay to this day.
The last mainlineElder Scrollsgame to be released wasThe Elder Scrolls5: Skyrimon June 19, 2025 with a big marketing campaign known as “11-11-11.” Along with the visually pleasing release date, Bethesda’s marketing campaign also rewarded a family who named their baby after theprotagonist Dovahkiin born on the same daySkyrimwas released.The reward was a lifetime of free Bethesda games, to which Bethesda has kept its word, according to an interview with the family in 2018. Suffice to say, Bethesda sure knows how to make an impact when it comes to not only their marketing but also the quality of their titles.
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The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
2002 saw the release ofThe Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowindwhich ended up being a critical success.Though it is almost two decades old, if new fans of the series went to playMorrowindnow, they might have a tough time. This is becauseMorrowinduses game mechanics that are comparatively outdated today, and may leave fans of the newer titles feeling frustrated.Skyrimdoes borrow a lot from its predecessor titles while also streamlining many mechanics making it more accessible to the average gamer.
The combat inMorrowindcould be described as janky,to say the least. During combat, the player is not given much feedback with attacks, to the point where the player might feel like they’re doing something inherently wrong. InMorrowind,each attack is essentially a dice roll of whether the player is successful to hit or not. Players will need to build up their weaponry skills over time to leverage their chances of hitting. It’s a novelty game mechanic that simply doesn’t work with many of today’s gamers.Skyrim, on the other hand, allows the player to equip any type of weapon right away (knife, sword, hammer, etc.) and they will receive direct feedback.
InMorrowind,players will find that the open world isn’t very big when compared to modern open-world games, or even its own predecessor titles likeThe Elder Scrolls 2: DaggerfallandArena. In the mainlineElder Scrollsgames,Morrowindhas the smallest map size at 16 square kilometers, though the game makes up for it with interesting landscapes and rolling hills. The world ofMorrowindalso has dozens of handcrafted caves for the player to explore,which was quite a feat back in the day.Skyrimseems to borrow from the less-is-more mantra, not so much building the biggest game world, but the most interesting to explore.
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivioncame out in 2006 and, much likeMorrowind, saw critical success. The game improved on the mechanics thatMorrowindintroduced while also doing away with the dice roll for attacks. Instead, combat was more in line with howSkyrimimplemented it, where it relied more on player skill rather than a character’s stats. UnlikeSkyrimhowever, players inOblivioncould cast spells without changing their weapons,as well as the ability to create their own custom spells. The ability to create spells was a feature inDaggerfallandMorrowindthat did not carry over intoSkyrim.
When comparing map sizes,The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivionactually has a larger mapthan bothMorrowindandSkyrim. The open world that players can explore inOblivionis measured to be about 41 square kilometers, compared toSkyrim’s37 square kilometers. This doesn’t mean there is more to explore inOblivion, in fact it’s quite the opposite, as the overall landscape is quite bland in comparison. This is because many of the things to explore and see inOblivioncome in the form of the towns and dungeons, most of which take the player through a loading screen. As such players are less likely to explore the open world as thoroughly as they might withSkyrim.
Oblivionalso had the mechanic that allowed players to create their own custom spells, which was quite broken if players knew what they were doing. Though it wasn’t too complicated of a mechanic, to even get access to this ability required the player to go through the Mages Guild quests and gain access to the Arcane University.Skyrimscrapped this feature in exchange for a more diverse range of spells that the player had access to.Skyrimalso allowed the ability for players to dual-wield spells,though at the cost of having to put away their weapons first.
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The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
The world ofSkyrimmight be smaller in size compared toOblivionby a small margin, but it makes up for this with sheer content. There are countless dungeons and caves to explore, on top of a diverse set of biomes with ruins, monsters, and points of interest that a player could stumble across. Each of these areas, big or small, has little storytelling elements hidden throughout, a staple of Bethesda world-building that can be seen in other games such as theFalloutseries. It is certainly not boring for a player toexplore the world ofSkyrimif that’s what they wish to do,which helps add to the feeling of immersion.
Over the course of the last fewElder Scrollsentries,Skyrimhas streamlined the character progression processfrom complex character sheets akin to aDungeons and Dragonscharacter, in favor of a more direct approach. This is through the skill system that is more visually pleasing and easier to grasp for the average player. Bethesda seemed to have taken special care when it comes to not only the look of their UI elements, but also the game mechanics, and the world ofSkyrimitself.
This is only further proven with the re-release ofSkyrim Special Editionwhich is still one of the most played games today. Alongside the release of its special edition, it was released with VR support and for the first time ever on a Nintendo console. Suffice to say,Skyrim’sstaying power is immense, and hopefully the same will be said whenThe Elder Scrolls 6releases.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimis available now on PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One.
