Summary
Oblivion Remasteredlit a fire under The Elder Scrolls community, igniting age-old debates (if you count 2006 as ‘age-old’), while also ushering newcomers down some of the series' more bizarre rabbit holes. What’s more, it enticed new and veteran fans alike to revisit the classics. Just look atMorrowind, which came a Netch’s breadth away from beating a 12-year-old record thanks to Virtuos' revamped take on Cyrodiil.
For context, in 2013,Morrowind hit an all-time peak player count of 1,396, and earlier this week, it was just 75 players away from finally topping that figure. In the days since, it’s been hovering at a 24-hour peak of roughly 1,030 players: the gap is widening as we edge further away from Oblivion Remastered’s release. But I have faith that the fans can rally together and make up that smidge of a difference.
If you’ve played Morrowind before: play it again. Do you really need an excuse? If you haven’t,be warned that it’s a much different experience to Oblivion and Skyrim. Firstly, there are no quest markers, and NPCs vary from blisteringly rude to wholly unreliable. You’ll be given vague, awkward directions that you scribble into a journal, not a quest log, and it’s up to you to figure out what they mean. You have to really soak in the world and pay attention to every little detail, which, depending on the person, is either the most engrossing thing an RPG can do (seeElden Ring), or just off-putting.
Half-Life fans were able to smash Blue Shift’s peak player count last year.
Combat is also far less intuitive than later games, as it’s based on invisible dice rolls. If you design a build around using a longsword, then try and heave a giant, two-handed axe at an enemy, you’ll probably miss. That might make it sound impenetrable, but Morrowind also has one of the most intricate and unique settings, not just in the series, but in fantasy as a whole.
There’s really no better time to get stuck in than when everyone is excited to talk about The Elder Scrolls again, since the lore getsweirdin Vvardenfell. There’s a magical barrier called the Ghostfence surrounding a volcano (which also houses what is essentially a cult), a surviving Dwemer palling around in the ashy wastes, and a Tribunal of living gods, one of whom writes poetry. And that’s just scratching the surface.
I don’t know if I’ll entice 300 people to boot up Morrowind and break the record, but if just two people give the game a try, that’s great. It’s only 1.06 GB, and you can grab it for $14.99 on Steam, so it’s easy enough to get stuck in. Granted, it’s a bit janky without mods, but that’s Bethesda for you — if you’re on PC, you’re probably used to that by now.
