Every Elder Scrolls Game, Ranked by Gameplay Experience

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Every Elder Scrolls Game, Ranked by Gameplay Experience

We can’t talk about the RPG genre without mentioning the Elder Scrolls series. Since its beginning in 1994, Bethesda’s fantasy universe has captivated RPG fans across the world. It’s a simple setup in every Elder Scrolls game: a highly detailed world with player choices that shape the world of Tamriel.

Even though it’s a legendary series, Bethesda has only given us five mainline entries and a few spin-offs. Every entry we’ve seen so far has a difference in terms of gameplay as Bethesda always pushes the boundary to switch up combat, exploration, progression, and immersion.

We know that Elder Scrolls 6 is still years away from hitting the shelves. Todd Howard and his team are taking their time to craft yet another masterpiece. So, it’s a good time to take a look back on the series and rank every single game based on its gameplay experience.

6. Elder Scrolls: Arena

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

was the founding stone for the RPG franchise. (Image via Bethesda Game Studios)

It’s the game that kicked off everything for the Elder Scrolls franchise. Released all the way back in 1994, the Elder Scrolls: Arena was originally conceived as a gladiator-style game where players battled it out in ‘the Arena’, and explored the world of Tamriel between the battles. However, as the development progressed at Bethesda, it shifted to the vast, open world itself.

Eventually, all the Tamriel we know now became the true ‘arena’; a massive world where survival meant going through a map of over 9 million kilometers filled with towns, and procedurally generated dungeons.

Gamers had never seen anything like this before in the 90s. It was one of the first titles in the entirety of the video gaming industry that brought us full day and night cycles. We saw merchants showing up in the middle of the day, and hide around during the night when bandits and thieves are on the loose.

Its plot can be said to be the most basic one in the franchise, but that’s not a surprise considering its time and the limitations of the era. It’s a story of betrayals and alternative dimensions, providing an incredible framework for future entries. The game also has a bad reputation for its difficulty levels; it can drive you truly insane at times.

If you manage to adapt to its clunky mechanics and leveling system, you’ll have a game on your hands that’s enjoyable for hundreds of hours.

5 Elder Scrolls Online

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

is a perfect experience for MMORPG fans. (Image via Bethesda Game Studios)

For years, fans had been demanding an MMORPG experience in the world of Tamriel. Bethesda listened to its community for once and came out with Elder Scrolls Online in 2014. Lore-wise, it’s a prequel to the beloved series, as it takes place somewhere in the Second Era. This was truly a chaotic time as we had multiple factions battling it out to get control of the Ruby Throne.

You might be surprised to know that Elder Scrolls Online wasn’t received well by the fandom at launch. However, the development team didn’t give up due to the average reception. They worked hard to bring tons of expansions and updates that have seriously overhauled the game in the last decade. We’ve had tons of new characters, regions, creators, and even settings from the mainline single-player games, which can also be found in this MMORPG now.

If you’re looking to get into Elder Scrolls Online, the base game will give you access to a set of regions in Tamriel. Once you purchase the Chapters and Crown Store DLCs, you’ll unlock different areas that have their own narrative to unravel. Even in 2025, the game is constantly getting new updates, and switching to a seasonal content path, just like other MMOs out there. It’s never been a better time to jump into Elder Scrolls Online.

4 Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

2: Daggerfall was a successful sequel. (Image via Bethesda Game Studios)

Arena was an incredible step in the Elder Scrolls franchise, but it was Daggerfall where things started to pick up. It was an ambitious sequel where players are tasked to assist King Lysandus’s ghost and track down one of the letters he sent to a former queen of Daggerfall.

There were tons of new features that became the mainstay of the franchise later, such as spell-creation, reputation building, and even transforming into a Werewolf or a Vampire. The sequel continued the clunky-mouse-based combat of the original game, but that really just added to the experience. You could find books to read, take on new quests, and customize your characters. Bethesda really pushed the limits of what can be done to the absolute limit.

The reason why Daggerfall is so low in this list is that 95% of its world doesn’t contain anything. Until the release of No Man’s Sky, Daggerfall stood as the largest open-world title out there, as it boasted a map size of 161,600 square kilometers. Outside of towns, there’s nothing but wilderness, and the whole world just feels empty.

That’s not the only issue, either, as without the Unity mod, the game really doesn’t feel like a gem. Although there’s no denying that Daggerfall was truly a revolutionary game when it debuted in 1996.

3 Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

4: Oblivion has its own share of ups and downs. (Image via Bethesda Game Studios)

It’s been almost two decades since the release of the Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, and it’s still a breathtaking experience. Placed right after the assassination of Emperor Uriel Septim VII, gamers are tasked with locating the king’s last son so they can truly save the world. It’s the most crucial title in terms of lore as it affects the history of Nirin.

Some in the community believe that Oblivion is the best of the Elder Scrolls series. It brought us faction quests, voiced dialogues, spell crafting, and the best of all, Vampirism. That’s not all; the RPG introduced players to fast travel and a really vibrant color palette that we hadn’t seen in the previous entries.

That’s really as good as Oblivion gets. There are tons of downsides to this title, one of them being its level-scaling and progression system. They’re so broken that you’ll always have to be careful that you don’t end up breaking it. The switch to fully voiced NPCs led to characters being played by the same actors.

Higher graphical fidelity led to segmenting towns with loading screens. Its features looked absolutely peak in marketing, but ultimately ended up harming the depth and overall immersion of the game. However, Oblivion‘s Shivering Isles expansion was a banger. Bringing an experience that’s filled with odd characters and towering mushrooms, where a god wants you in his next mythic cycle, is something you won’t see in any other RPG.

If you’re someone who’s looking to jump into Oblivion, but are afraid to give it a shot due to its outdated visuals, there’s some good news. Recently, Bethesda shadow dropped Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered. It’s a complete overhaul of the classic game, and features far more realistic character models, textures, and lighting. It doesn’t get rid of the Bethesda jank that we’re all still deeply in love with, either.

2 Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

took the franchise to new heights. (Image via Bethesda Game Studios)

We all know about the legend of Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. It’s the most recent entry in the beloved RPG franchise, released in 2011, and still the most popular Elder Scrolls title out there. It takes place centuries after the events of Oblivion, where the player is a prisoner sentenced to death in the icy northern province.

Just as death nears, a long-extinct dragon reemerges, fulfilling a prophecy foretelling the times. As this ancient threat looms, gamers must go on an adventure through a realm that’s right on the brink of a civil war, and rally the divided Jars to stand together against the impending crisis.

We can go for hours praising Skyrim, from wide snowy tall mountains wide marshes, and dungeons, the game’s landscape is a beauty. The RPG is packed with a bunch of interesting characters, every corner of the gameplay, diverse guilds, and engaging storylines. There’s some mystery, and adventure waiting for you at every location. You can also choose to ignore everything, and just take a vacation in the world of Skyrim to enjoy the scenery.

Skyrim was undoubtedly a game-changer upon its release. However, there’s no game out there that doesn’t have its flaws, and it’s the same story with Skyrim. As much as you can adore it, some things just don’t feel right. All the excellent spell crafting we saw in the previous titles was abandoned in the game. Guilds aren’t that unique or interesting and can be easily dominated.

Even the storylines in Skyrim feel quite short. It’s an aspect that’s not quite visible due to how many of them there are to play with. The majority of the player choices don’t add to the overall narrative, and even after beating Alduin, everything continues as if nothing happened before. It’s not a deal breaker, but something that feels underwhelming.

Let’s not forget the constant re-releases of the game that have been dunked upon by the community. Still, though, Skyrim is an incredible game that elevated the franchise. Once you start exploring the modding side of things, every playthrough will become more memorable than the last.

1 Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

is as good as the series gets. (Image via Bethesda Game Studios)

Finally, we arrive at the classic and the apex of the Elder Scrolls franchise for many, Morrowind. The RPG was truly worlds apart from its predecessors, which were clunky and simplistic in nature. The integration of a character creation into a story, and casting players as pardoned prisoners arriving in the world of the mysterious lands of Vvardenfell, was truly a new era of Elder Scrolls.

Want to take a break from the main quest of the game? You can go around in any direction. You’ll always come across some area that will present an unforgettable adventure and cool rewards. You simply don’t need a map or directions to help you get through. Morrowind is the only entry in the franchise that rewards players who explore.

Considering it was released all the way back in 2002, it does show its age in rough graphics and mechanics. However, don’t make the mistake of underestimating Morrowind for those reasons. The game still holds its ground when it comes to the spectacle and depth. All the cities in Morrowind are huge and take into account your choices more than any other Elder Scrolls game out there.

It comes with a fantastic guild system that even surpasses Skyrim. There are powerful spells and bizarre creatures all around the game that will help balance out all the point-blank misses you’re bound to have during the early stages of the game. Morrowind also boasts the most compelling villain we’ve ever seen in the franchise.

Although the leveling mechanics and traveling system might exhaust you, once you get used to them, Morrowind can prove to be the most unique RPG out there. It’s a game that requires planning at every step to get through quests and encounters, and that’s an aspect RPG fans definitely enjoy.

It’s a shame that Bethesda hasn’t given Morrowind the remaster treatment yet. It’s a game that brought the franchise into the mainstream audience, and definitely deserves some love. Let’s hope Howard and his team can give the game the remake it deserves in the future.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Elder #Scrolls #Game #Ranked #Gameplay #Experience

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

For verified travel tips and real support, visit: https://hopzone.eu/