It’s no surprise Elder Scrolls developer Bethesda is already hard at work on the next Elder Scrolls game. Despite winning numerous awards (including the GDC GOTY award) there were numerous issues in the game which disappointed long-time fans as well as newcomers. Here at MobiPicker, we have selected some games which we believe Bethesda should take inspiration from for its upcoming RPG. Skyrim was a near-perfect RPG and a juggernaut of an adventure game in 2011 and still hold popularity to this day. Suffice to say, if the next Elder Scrolls turns out to be the same, it will be a disappointment like the new Fallout 4 was.
Here are the top 5 games we believe should influence the design of the sequel:
1. Dark Souls: It is a hardcore RPG with insane difficulty. Easily one of the hardest video games right now, it puts players in a fantasy setting with all manners of bizarre monsters and occult hounding you throughout the game. Of course, it would be unfair to have Bethesda make a game completely similar to Dark Souls but they can definitely take inspiration from the setting and develop a better storyline and characters.
2. Deus Ex: Square Enix’s new RPG just had another game released and it looks as promising as ever. Although the cyber-punk setting of Deus Ex has little in common with the fantasy/ medieval setting of the Elder Scrolls, the game can still borrow some features for their upcoming game. The stealth in Deus Ex is one of its strong points and it was something definitely lacking in Skyrim. If Bethesda can successfully implement a stealth mechanic it will make their game more appealing.
3. Planescape Torment: Planescape Torment is considered one of the greatest computer RPGs of all time. The setting and characters of Planescape Torment make it one of the most memorable games in recent times. Bethesda should definitely take inspiration for some of their side quests from this game if they want to enhance the open-world experience their games are known for.
4. Mass Effect: BioWare’s successful RPG uses memorable characters and a story-driven campaign that requires players to make difficult choices. One of the weak points of Skyrim was the lack of decisions that had a huge impact on gameplay. Sure, you can join different factions and do jobs for them but it didn’t make much of a difference. You ultimately had the choice between the Imperials and Nords but that wasn’t enough to make the game’s story diverse and decision-oriented. Also, there was a distinct lack of dialogue options that made a considerable impact on the player experience. Bethesda can definitely take inspiration from BioWare to implement that.
5. Diablo: No game does dungeons better than Diablo. The frenzy involved in clearing randomly generated dungeons is unparalleled and Diablo 3 was proof of it despite its technical issues. The new Elder Scrolls game can definitely benefit from randomly generated dungeons. Adding lots of dungeons is also okay but the developers need to realize that after a certain point the players would most likely have beaten all of them. So, it makes sense to have randomly generated dungeons or have the same dungeons change significantly after a period of time.
Bethesda has yet to announce the new Elder Scrolls game. At the moment Todd Howard wants to implement VR for Fallout 4. That is also something that would add value to the upcoming Elder Scrolls game. For more news on Bethesda and their games stay tuned to MobiPicker.