The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GOTY Edition

Morrowind has to be my favorite RPG of all time, and I've probably got 5,000 to 10,000 hours into it over more than a decade of playing. The real star of this game isn't one of the heroes or villains, it's the world itself, and the deep and involved culture that Bethesda managed to create. There are better "video games" out there, but I have never found another "world" that comes close to matching what Morrowind offers. Despite the dated graphics (mods can do wonders to replace the graphical "textures", but the underlying animations are still clunky), the 24/7 standing or pacing back and forth by the NPCs, the primarily text-based dialog (with a few spoken greetings and taunts), and the "all or nothing" die-roll based hit or miss combat system, it's still a fantastic piece of work. Depending on your tastes for RPG elements versus "First Person Slasher" mechanics, you'll either love or hate it; there are few people who find it "so-so". Be aware that it takes a while to get past the initial 3-6 level "grind" to see what the game really offers. The deeper you dig, the more it seems there is to uncover, and what you THINK you know often proves to be only one heavily biased side of the story. The game frequently leaves room for different interpretations and perspectives for role-play. I have yet to tap this game out and see everything after more than a decade. The mods available for this game have to be seen to be believed: there are literally thousands, and many of them are of professional quality. Examples range from expanding the game world from the small island of Vvardenfell to cover almost the entire Morrowind province piece by piece (and still in progress), adding more NPCs and expanded dialog, introducing new races and factions, adding huge numbers of additional items such as clothing, weapons, armor, and alchemical ingredients, providing the ability to gather materials to craft weapons, armor, household items, edible food, and furniture, introducing hunger and thirst requirements, adding new magical effects and options, and generally altering the game do practically anything you want it to do. If you loved Oblivion and Skyrim for their combat, perhaps you should skip Morrowind, but if the open world and involved background lore was what drew you in, this may be just what you're looking for.

And here it is on gog, my favourite game of all times. I played it, when it came out. Morrowind has the best athmosphere i ever experiencend in a game. So many memorable moments, e.g. my first house i aquired in Balmora. There were many other houses, but the first, this small balmora house was my castle.

I personally love every single elderscrolls game but this is the one that got me started! The graphics aren't much to talk about but the game itself is massive! You can do pretty much anything you want too, character development really started here I think. Starting out the game is tough because you're weaker than a rat but as you lvl up and get weapons and armour. The things you can do with magic is the most freeing in all the games, as long as you have enough gold, you can make any spell, even fly across the map. It's a must if you like RPGs :)

This game in a sense reminds how I have aged. I remember in the late 90s reading about this game in magazines, scouring the internet for all the most up to date details before release, waiting long and hard till it finally came out, on which day I bought it immediately. I finished it years later, thanks in no small part the great mods that were released that enriched the game experience. Since then, Oblivion and Skyrim have come and I have enjoyed, yet 17 years later I have nonetheless decided not only buy the game again and have enjoyed it even more than I did back then... Why? Nostalgia is the least of it. There is an immense amount of replay value in and of itself. An unparalleled amount of freedome exploring the world and discovering parts of the world and details of the plot that you missed the first time. HOWEVER, the modding community in all these 17 years has remained active and have expanded the game into something that was originally promised... Tamriel rebuilt is adding and has already added large parts of the mainland outside of the island of Vvardenfell with amazingly detailed new cities, new quests that tie into the pre-existing guilds. A talented modder (abot) has added rideable guars (mounts, which was originally promised before release), transportation that you can actually experience rather than simply fast travel with (silt riders, gondolas, boats). Indybank adds a banking system to place your gold in and buy houses with.... and there's so much more... the Telvanni mods to increase the House experience... Playing Skyrim now isn't just like playing a game, it's ultimately like taking a holiday in a different world in ways that even Skyrim has not been able to match. If you love timeless RPGs that grow younger with time, Morrowind has to be experienced.

It's safe to say that The Elder Scrolls is my favourite franchise ever by far. It's also safe to say that Morrowind is my favourite game in this franchise (quite frankly, it's my favourite game of all time). It's lore and worldbuilding is, quite frankly, unparralleled. Michael Kirkbride and co. did such an incredible job making the world of TES feel like, well, an actual world from the truly weird to the downright bizarre. You start your journey as a prisoner (how original) released by Emperor Uriel Septim VII in Sayda Neen, tasked with contacting undercover Blade's agent Caius Cosades in nearby Balmora; though, as your journey unfolds, you discover you hold the burden of prophecy. Disregarding the worldbuilding (we'll get to that later), what I love most about this game is that it doesn't hold itself back. Right before exiting the Census and Excise office at the start of the game, you find a ring with a minor healing enchant on it. On a first playthrough, you might disregard this as an "early game magic/enchant tutorial", and move on to Balmora. Though if you end up speaking with Fargoth (right there in Sayda Neen!), you'll discover that it's _his_ ring (!), and you'll be given an opportunity to return it. What I truly adore about this game is that it doesn't _tell_ you this. You're not given a quest marker or anything like that; it's up to YOU, the player, to explore the amazing world around you. However, the gameplay isn't my favourite part about Morrowind (in fact, I think it's a bit of a sore spot (more on that later!!)). What _is_ is the world. I have so much to say about the world of Morrowind, and TES as a whole, that I truly can't think of a place to begin. I'm not going to go into too much detail, as I'd rather someone discovers this naturally (and also don't forget to go on UESP!! you won't regret it, truly), but what I implore you to do is Read The Books. The world of the elder scrolls is so wonderful and weird that I truly believe that you'll develop such a deep appreciation for it. There is a reason that I didn't give a 5/5 rating, though. My main and only sticking point is the combat. I know, I know, this point has been beat to death, but what can I say! I don't like dice roll combat; it's a matter of personal preference! But hey, it's a very minor "issue" (again, it's a matter of taste). When all is said and done, I don't want combat to be the reason to not play this game; however, I want you to be aware of it. Overall, this game is truly special and important to me, and I couldn't recommend it highly enough. PS: I would also implore you to use either OpenMW or the Morrowind Code Patch.