they peaked with Morrowind .... Oblivion was OK, but had severe balance issues.
Part of the reason Morrowind is so beloved is that the balance is completely unhinged.
Comment on Starfield Is Bethesda's Lowest-Rated Game On Steam
ComradeWeebelo@lemm.ee 1 year ago
It shouldn’t be surprising given that Bethesda had all of their staff working on Fallout 4 in the GECK and they still barely managed to come up with a MVP in time for launch.
Bethesda of today just isn’t what they used to be. For Elder Scrolls, they peaked with Morrowind when they were near bankruptcy and were forced to throw all their chips into the ring. Oblivion was OK, but had sever balance issues. The storytelling was alright, but you could tell that Bethesda had already started their formulaic approach to the series by this point. Heck, that may have even been the case going from Daggerfall to Morrowind. I won’t even talk about Skyrim. They’ve milked that game for so long, its honestly just shameful at this point.
And for Fallout… Well, Bethesda has never made a competent Fallout game. I realize its their IP now, but they don’t get what the original vision of the series was when Interplay held the rights to it. They butchered the lore with Fallout 3 and couldn’t even create a coherent or compelling story in 4. The only reason NV is so beloved is because Obsidian developed it and at the time, they were employing former members of Interplay.
My issue with Starfield is that they attempted to enter into the sci-fi genre by basically copying existing works. A lot of the mechanics are basically ripped straight from No Mans Sky or Star Citizen. The story isn’t really compelling. And somehow, the dungeon design has gone even more downhill. I won’t even address the fact that they attempted to make a space sim in the now extremely old creation engine. The creation kit is so buggy, you need to use two different versions of it just to record voice lines for mods.
Jaysyn@kbin.social 1 year ago
jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 1 year ago
The balance in Morrowind was often unhinged in favor of the player. Oblivion and Skyrim tended to be unbalanced against you and fun. “oh you leveled speech and acrobatics? Well now the dungeons have mega-liches. get fucked”. Or “congratulations on finishing the dungeon. Here is your level appropriate reward” instead of anything interesting or surprising.
Renacles@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Morrowind, the game where there is an enemy that lowers your max carry weight and picking the wrong race locks you out of boots and helmets. I think you are cherry picking.
Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 1 year ago
So you harbour nothing but contempt for all Bethesda games published in the last 20 years? Cool, cool, your opinion is enjoyable.
BigBananaDealer@lemm.ee 1 year ago
i think this is revisionist history. morrowind, oblivion, fallout 3, and skyrim are all highly regarded games and critically acclaimed. i think people shit on them now due to playing them for decades and the ever increasing expectations gamers have
CaptainEffort@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Skyrim, while praised, has always been critiqued for being as wide as an ocean and as deep as a puddle. And the diehard Morrowind fans have always had valid complaints with the game, even from day 1.
And Fallout 3… while yeah it was critically acclaimed, it also has had valid criticism regarding it from day 1. This isn’t something that’s just started happening recently.
You should check out hbomberguy’s video, “Fallout 3 is Garbage, And Here’s Why”. Despite the title it’s a crazily well put together video, and he perfectly articulated all of his points.
As for Oblivion, I’m not sure what you mean. Yes, people love it, but issues like with its balance have always been criticized. Even by critics.
Shurimal@kbin.social 1 year ago
I think most people who say Skyrim is shallow never dived below the surface (story/questlines, roleplay and combat mechanics), only fast travelling and rushing through questlines. Thing with Elder Scrolls is, all the games are shallow on the surface. But they all get bonkers if you have the patience to really observe the world (many of the stories are told via the environment), read the in-game books and seek out answers. For example, I don't think many people have given any thought to the Sleeping Tree near Whiterun and very few have an actual understanding of what it actually is. Without spoilers, Ysolda tells you the lead but dismisses it as a silly rumour. You'll find the answers in Infernal City and Lord of Souls.
CaptainEffort@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Unfortunately I disagree. It’s embarrassing but I have around 3k hours in Skyrim, split between the original 360 version, the PC version, and the PC version of SE. I’ve done every single quest multiple times and know virtually everything about the game.
That being said, I’d still call it shallow. Most mechanics are only surface level and don’t actually affect much of anything at all outside of combat, if even that. Quests don’t have choices, and how you interact with the world and those within it have no bearing on anything at all. Skyrim is effectively an action sandbox, with any rpg system being shallow or nonexistent.
I love Skyrim to death, albeit mostly for its modding scene, but even I can admit that it’s not some super deep game.
BigBananaDealer@lemm.ee 1 year ago
ive seen that fo3 video, and its garbage. i think the response video is 10x better. hbomberguy has the most nitpicky “flaws” and acts like theyre game ruiners
CaptainEffort@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
No worries! I’m not forcing you to not like these games, like I still I love Skyrim despite it flaws. I’m just pointing out that people have had these opinions for quite some time, and that this isn’t “revisionist history”.
Hbomberguy’s videos really are top tier tho, it’s a shame you didn’t like it. Especially when that response video was… not very good.