The Elder Scrolls 6is still a long way off, and there’s still any concrete date onStarfield,which is Bethesda’s next big release. While Bethesda does have some pretty long development cycles, evenTES6news is confirmed to still be years away. With the hype that’s going to surroundTES6,it’s likely that Bethesda is going to want to take its time to make sure the game lives up to that hype.
With that said, many may be wondering what exactly isThe Elder Scrolls 6going to look like. The comparison that everyone on the planet is going to draw is, of course, toThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. One big issue thatTES6that will need to consider is how it’s going to need to be a different enough game toSkyrimto subvert/meet expectations, while still being similar enough to be recognizable as a game in the same series.
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TES6 Will Need To Be Familiar To Skyrim Without Being Derivative
TES6is going to be under a magnifying glass immediately upon release, and it’s going to have some serious shoes to fill. Practically every timeSkyrimreleases again, it becomes one of the top-selling games on the platform. That kind of long-term success is unusual for a single-player game, and that means that Bethesda is going to have to look atTES6as a game that will actually last 10 years.
WhileThe Elder Scrolls 6should embrace the franchise’s formula, it’s going to need to surpassSkyrimin some kind of way in order to be seen as a success. The technological gap between these two games will definitely be of some help:Skyrimcame out in 2011, withTES6definitely coming out more than a decade after. Players did get theSkyrim Special Edition, which updated the graphics somewhat, and the modding community has been hard at work ever since release improving the graphics of the original game, but the point remains.TES6is going to be a more graphically impressive game thanSkyrimbecause of the technological advancements made in the years sinceSkyrim’srelease.
Overhauling Skyrim’s Gameplay
But graphics are far from everything in a game. Gameplay and worldbuilding are what’s going to keep players coming back, and these are going to have to take some steps forward fromSkyrim,as well. Todd Howard has said that theBethesda game engine has received its biggest overhaulsinceOblivionwhich is good news forTES6,andStarfield,for that matter, but the exact impact remains to be seen.
Skyrim’sgameplay, and in particular its combat, were acceptable when it was released, but compared to many games today, it would be found a bit lacking.TES6is going to need toimproveSkyrim’scombatwith some more depth, and possibly some more options, as well.
TES6could really use an overhaul of the magic system, as well. Magic inSkyrimwas fun and did have a surprising bit of variety to it, but at the end of the day, most of what players did was simply launch fire, ice, or electricity at their enemy. Instead, there are a ton of possibilities when it comes to magic in these games. Bethesda has created (and published) some of the most free-form and inventive games out there, and it could go further than any game has yet withTES6,especially consideringTES6’smap size has some interesting implications for magic.
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TES6could also do a lot to improve traveling through the world, as compared toSkyrim.WhileSkyrimhad a sizeable and interesting world to explore, it wasn’t necessarily a super immersive world when it came to resting a character. There was no worthwhile benefit to finding a place for a character to sleep for the night, making most players' characters a sleepless lunatic that survives on violence and questing alone.TES6could make travel more excitingif players had to actually plan out their travel, ensuring that there will be a place(s) to stop along the way to rest up before completing their journey.
Starfield May Give Fans a Glimpse At What To Expect From TES6
A game that could give fans a hint at Bethesda’s evolving gaming ideas will likely beStarfield.Fans haven’t gotten a glimpse at how Bethesda plans to structure a single-player game sinceFallout 4in 2015, and while these two games aren’t likely going to be similar on every front, it’s probable that there are going to be some similarities that show through, such as theprocedurally-generated map inStarfieldandTES6.
Starfieldcould act as a proving ground for some new stuff that Bethesda wants to use in its games, but isn’t as sure about including inTES6.That’s not to say Bethesda cares less aboutStarfieldthanTES6,asStarfieldis a game that could change Bethesda forever, just that it probably has some new ideas that it wants to include inStarfield.And if it works out, those ideas could be refined and perfected forTES6.
Starfieldis also going to give players a glimpse at how the Creation Engine has progressed sinceSkyrim.It’ll be the first Bethesda game on the PS5 and Xbox Series X, giving us some kind of idea of what Bethesda is capable of achieving on the new engine and hardware. WithBethesda’s recent acquisition by Microsoft, it’s given Bethesda quite a bit more resources to put into its future work. For fans ofSkyrimand those looking forward toTES6,that’s an exciting prospect, indeed.
The Elder Scrolls 6is currently in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
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