The Elder Scrolls: Arena

One of the first open world RPG games. Very hard to learn, but after mastering the game mechanics, a true gem among early RPG games

I started playing TES games with Daggerfall, back in the 90s. I loved it. I always felt there was something special about it - the huge open world, the many ways to explore and to play with the character. It felt like I could create my own adventures within the game, just by wondering off to find some dungeon or whatever. I never really thought that Arena would be able to bring a lot of those feelings. I dabbled with it once or twice over the years, never leaving the first dungeon. That was the problem - I never really saw what the game had to offer in those few moments. I've been doing a full playthrough recently, with a Redgard Barbarian, and it's been a revelation! I'm really enjoying the game and what it has to offer. Even now I know I've barely scratched the surface (I'm up to the final Staff piece, but I haven't tried much broader exploration yet). It's super clear to see based on my playthrough so far that this game set some very deep roots for The Elder Scrolls series that have been nurturing the games ever since. There's so much here that you'll recognise if you've loved playing any of the other main-line TES games. It's a gem. I love it.

Didn't expect an older game to be this big. Been enjoying it.

It's amazing how a game 30 years old is better than most of the cr*p that is released today as AAA titles...

Though a dated game and lacking the detail and fleshed out lore of its sequels, Arena is still an impressive and ambitious beginning to the Elder Scrolls series, especially given its 1994 release. Its spell crafting system is arguably even the best in the series (and a feature sadly missed from Skyrim), with great flexibility and levelled powering allowing a mage character to go from apprentice to god levels...