The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GOTY Edition

I have yet to buy the game on GOG but I own a physical copy and I have it on Steam. I can tell you right now that Morrowind is absolutely stellar. I consider it to be the greatest sandbox RPG ever made and even though I love the entire series (and Oblivion is my favorite in the series overall), no game has really matched this one's balance of limitless freedom and fantastic story/world building. Sure, Daggerfall had a sandbox world that's larger than the UK but what it lacked was world detail and deep storytelling. Morrowind has a drastically smaller game world but as a result, it's impeccably detailed and the story is perfectly woven with its world. Morrowind is my ideal realization of what a roleplaying game should be about. It's a game that does all that it can to accentuate the fact that you, as the player, are living another life in another world. You're not just playing through an adventure, you're CREATING an adventure... but don't make the mistake of thinking there isn't story, because this game has one of the most complex RPG stories ever made, involving deep series lore, political squabbles, prophecies being fulfilled in unexpected ways and so forth. I can't think of another RPG that makes it quite as rewarding to get to the end of the main quest as Morrowind. You start off as an incredibly weak outlander and eventually end up becoming a veritable godlike legend that leaps across the game world ruining every enemy in your path... and it's all by your own merit, all because of your adventure, rather than just some relatively arbitrary main quest that bumps your power unrealistically. Sure, the game has its quirks, no one can question that. However, the amount of freedom that the game allows, combined with a ridiculously detailed world and truly epic storylines really does make the flaws seem trivial by comparison. If you like RPGs, Morrowind is a must... and even if you can't get past those quirks, mods exist to whittle them down. Grab it now!

The opening music still gives me goosebumps to this day. This game is an absolute labor of love and an inspiration to all game developers. First, the world of Morrowind puts unique spins on the usual medieval RPG tropes. The land feels lush and almost alien, with massive mushrooms and bizarre creatures dotting the landscape. The lore and history of the world is deep, with a plethora of government bodies, religious sects, and cultures to discover. Exploring Morrowind is totally engrossing, and the story is quite creative. Second, you have unparalleled freedom. You're set loose to your own devices after the first few minutes. It can be overwhelming for some players, but I find the lack of "go to this marker right now" to be liberating. Indeed, there are no markers or waypoints to tell you where you "need" to go. It is completely up to you to pursue what you find the most compelling, for better or worse. That extent of player agency lends itself to some unique world-building. Characters give you real directions to places, and it is up to you to follow them... or not. Often you will be distracted by caves and other places to explore along the way. Most important details will be tracked in the journal, but it may be difficult to find old entries if you strayed for too long. The lack of way markers may make it frustrating at times to find items or people of interest. The skills system is vast and perhaps overwhelming. Unlike most RPGs, in Elder Scrolls your strength is not just based on a single level; your proficiency in each skill is independently tracked and leveled. Unfortunately, this means if you start the game with poor combat skills then fighting becomes tedious. You will find yourself "missing" enemies often, which is unintuitive and not an issue in later Elder Scrolls games. Most playstyles are viable, and your playstyle affects which factions you can join. Eg. You must be a decent mage to excel in the mage's guild. Must try at least once.

So much freedom in this good old open world rpg! You can make your own weapons, your own spells, wear different gloves on each hand with crazy enchantments on each of them! You could learn the levitation spell or find some crazy jumping scrolls (wink, wink) and make your way straight to the freaking main antagonist 10 minutes into the game and get your ass handed to you! Or you could be a potion seller, sign up with the local church and make an exhausting pilgrimage through the whole huge world, making offerings to the gods and trying to survive the journey. Or you could be a common thief. Or you could work for one of honorable Houses, or maybe become an assassin and get paid for killing people, or maybe get in the imperial legion and uphold the law or something. Or you could spend a few hours reading some awesome books(!!!) you will find in the game! I could go on for 10 more pages but no one's going to read that much. Also there are so many awesome mods for this game they alone are worth the asking price. So if you don't mind the visuals definitely try it out.

I couldn't get into Morrowind for a long time, and I expect it will take a while for anyone buying it at this point to do the same. This game really does define the Elder Scrolls series, though, and its place in fantasy. Everything in the game is built around the societies of the native Dunmer and their Great Houses/Temple, the Imperials and their Empire, and everything in between. It's easy to pick up a book or talk to an NPC and start learning about it all immediately. The main quest is the high-point, putting you in the middle of all that conflict. Exploring Vvardenfell and all of the other landmasses added by expansions and mods is probably my favorite thing to do, especially interiors which are often quite expansive. The leveling feels right and the loot feels more rewarding than any of the other games. There is an incredible variety of weapons, including spears which haven't shown up in the series since, a respectable set of skills, and an expansive magic system with all sorts of effects like levitation, swift swim, and slow fall that didn't make it past this game. The combat is often critiqued, and while it's certainly not appropriate for an action RPG like Skyrim, it's not an endless series of misses like people say if you pick a relevant race and class, and most of all raise your skills and level up. Probably most important though are the mods. The modding community apparently gets bigger each year and is actually bigger than Oblivion's now. Patch for Purists is the equivalent of the unofficial patch and Morrowind Code Patch or OpenMW will fix nearly all engine-related bugs. The more recent MWSE is making all sorts of mods possible like UI overhauls, sheathed weapons, poison crafting, and even a quick loot menu similar to Fallout 4's. Tamriel Rebuilt and the Project Tamriel mods, Skyrim: Home of the Nords and Province: Cyrodiil, continue to fill in the game world with the mainland of Morrowind, and eventually the entire province of Skyrim and Cyrodiil.

Live Another Life.... That is how the box advertised this game. That was some 20 years ago by now. I never forgot my first journey into the rich, immersive, and extremely well made world of Morrowind, and I assure you, future buyer, neither will you. From the shores of the starting town to the edges, mountains and ash valleys- Morrowind is filled with story and lore- but above all choices!!! Yes, choices, and with 0 hand holding. No, no one will mark things for you on a map...and you have no magic compass to guide you either. No, you will have to discover everything, by actually playing the game. This game, future buyer, gives you the freedom to do what you want, be what you want, and best of all, have fun while at it! So much fun that, by the time I visited one of the main story NPCs back in 2002, I had already played over 80 hours, made several "alts" and still had soooo much to do! My first character was a mage, then a warrior then....eventually i made my own classes! Yes, future buyer- the game allows YOU to be ANYTHING you want! And guess what? My first mage, had his OWN spells. Yes- the game allows you to make your OWN spells, enchantments etc. This way, your character, your spells, weapons and armor are yours. Live another life indeed. I spent over 1000 hours playing Morrowind- before getting into mods. Before the expansions came out. I could write multiple essays, books etc and still have more to say about this game. But it is better if you, future buyers, get to experience this masterpiece on your own. So, go ahead, buy this game, cancel all plans, and live another life in Tamriel.