Kinda a weird take, because BG3 is just Larian recycling their old tricks, and Elden Ring is just FromSoftware recycling their old tricks. Seems gamers don’t have too much of an issue with companies making similar games in a niche.
Think the issue is more that Bethesda has never had a clear vision for Elder Scrolls as a series and changes the formula up for each game, as opposed to iterating. Elder Scrolls has lost more mechanics than its added over the years. I think Elder Scrolls 6 would be a lot more interesting if old tricks like spellmaking and levitation were brought back.
Hell, even Divinity Original Sin 1 would put the storytelling and roleplaying aspects of Elder Scrolls on the floor.
Then again, Bethesda learned nothing from FO76, which resulted in Starfield being what it is (devoid of meaning, story or anything other than space dungeons). I doubt they learned anything from it, either.
BG3 might not be a healthy reference for videogame development for different reasons, but it’s definitely remarkable how nothing has made me less excited for ES6 than Starfield.
I can’t predict how long it’ll take until it releases, but I’m doubtful it could be enough to fix whatever mess is already making its way through production—if they even planned to fix it, that is.
As far as characters & engagement goes, I think it’s fair to now want more from the Elder Scrolls than their typical surface-level cutouts they’ve given players so far.
I play games for the characters and environments. Sure, good ol’ Bethesda doesn’t have to copy BG3 as a template, but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t raise my expectations for them now, after seeing what other games have shown what can be achieved. Y’know?
The release of BG3 makes absolutely cackle to think about how the Elder Scrolls series can’t get away with recycling their old tricks anymore.
Kinda a weird take, because BG3 is just Larian recycling their old tricks, and Elden Ring is just FromSoftware recycling their old tricks. Seems gamers don’t have too much of an issue with companies making similar games in a niche.
Think the issue is more that Bethesda has never had a clear vision for Elder Scrolls as a series and changes the formula up for each game, as opposed to iterating. Elder Scrolls has lost more mechanics than its added over the years. I think Elder Scrolls 6 would be a lot more interesting if old tricks like spellmaking and levitation were brought back.
Hell, even Divinity Original Sin 1 would put the storytelling and roleplaying aspects of Elder Scrolls on the floor.
Then again, Bethesda learned nothing from FO76, which resulted in Starfield being what it is (devoid of meaning, story or anything other than space dungeons). I doubt they learned anything from it, either.
BG3 might not be a healthy reference for videogame development for different reasons, but it’s definitely remarkable how nothing has made me less excited for ES6 than Starfield.
I can’t predict how long it’ll take until it releases, but I’m doubtful it could be enough to fix whatever mess is already making its way through production—if they even planned to fix it, that is.
As far as characters & engagement goes, I think it’s fair to now want more from the Elder Scrolls than their typical surface-level cutouts they’ve given players so far.
I play games for the characters and environments. Sure, good ol’ Bethesda doesn’t have to copy BG3 as a template, but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t raise my expectations for them now, after seeing what other games have shown what can be achieved. Y’know?