Who knows if the much teased Oblivion remake or remaster is happening, but a glossy makeover risks missing the point. Morrowind, meanwhile, is ripe for it.
Morrowind was definitely the superior elder scrolls. Want to kill the witch? Sure go east and turn left at the scrawny tree. The entrance is behind the boulder that looks like like a generic boulder. Good luck see, you in a month. Want to know what’s at the top of that mushroom tower? Sell half your gear for a levitation potion, fly up and die at the hand of a busy sorcerer whom you bothered in his study. I’m still not fully recovered from the burn after getting that ashlander an egg he suggested I get him. I’m pretty sure that one guard I possess off is still looking for me in Vivec.
I loved Morrowind’s vague directions, they felt so authentic - like visiting a small town and getting directions from a local. Even a basic fetch quest felt like a journey since you had to check your journal and follow what the questgiver said or you’d get hopelessly lost.
Navigating by landmarks needs to be in more games. There have been a bunch of games since that let you turn off quest markers and item glows, but without any instructions all that leads to is the player wandering randomly until they stumble upon their destination.
I’ll never forget the distrust morrowind taught me when, 30 seconds after leaving the starting town, a dude falls out of the sky and dies, and you can loot levitation scrolls that will just as quickly kill you at your current level if you try one. It was immediately trying to trick you into dying, and it was great
Morrowind was definitely the superior elder scrolls. Want to kill the witch? Sure go east and turn left at the scrawny tree. The entrance is behind the boulder that looks like like a generic boulder. Good luck see, you in a month. Want to know what’s at the top of that mushroom tower? Sell half your gear for a levitation potion, fly up and die at the hand of a busy sorcerer whom you bothered in his study. I’m still not fully recovered from the burn after getting that ashlander an egg he suggested I get him. I’m pretty sure that one guard I possess off is still looking for me in Vivec.
I loved Morrowind’s vague directions, they felt so authentic - like visiting a small town and getting directions from a local. Even a basic fetch quest felt like a journey since you had to check your journal and follow what the questgiver said or you’d get hopelessly lost.
Navigating by landmarks needs to be in more games. There have been a bunch of games since that let you turn off quest markers and item glows, but without any instructions all that leads to is the player wandering randomly until they stumble upon their destination.
I’ll never forget the distrust morrowind taught me when, 30 seconds after leaving the starting town, a dude falls out of the sky and dies, and you can loot levitation scrolls that will just as quickly kill you at your current level if you try one. It was immediately trying to trick you into dying, and it was great