The Elder Scrolls as a series has always been all about emergent gameplay. Rather than providing players with scripted sequences, Elder Scrolls games always give priority to player-made moments, and it’s a gameplay style that has always suited the series very well. However, many other games and franchises have mastered this art as well, especially in recent times, and one such game is the recently released Shadow of War.
Shadow of War was a really good game – you can read our review here – and I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said that around 70% of that was because of the game’s Nemesis system, which was even better and even bigger than the one we saw in Shadow of Mordor in 2014. And that got us thinking- what if we saw something similar in The Elder Scrolls in the future? How would such a system work- in fact, would it even work?
Well, it definitely would. It would fit very well with the emergent gameplay style that the series has had even since its inception. Player defined moments are always given priority over scripted ones, and the Nemesis system is the perfect tool to do that. But how would such a system even be included in a series like The Elder Scrolls? Obviously, we’re not suggesting that Bethesda go for something that is exactly the same.
Instead, maybe The Elder Scrolls 6 should have a similar system, but only for specific parts of portions of the game, and maybe something that isn’t as encompassing as the one in Shadow of War is. For instance, the faction wars in The Elder Scrolls series have always left a little to be desired (like the war between the Stormcloaks and the Imperial Legion in Skyrim), and the writers at Bethesda clearly can’t do their jobs well enough to be able to do that part of the series any justice. So maybe Bethesda should look instead at implementing something like the Nemesis system, so that the game writes its story itself and that each player has a unique experience?
Imagime recruiting your very own army which has the best soliders among all the races in the game, the best fighters amongst the various guilds and brotherhoods and then you go ahead and lay siege on enemy fortresses? That will truly be a sight to behold, right? Bethesda can also develop their own version of hierarchy among soldiers in a similar way as Shadow of War that uses Captain -> Warchief -> Overlord system. In fact, The Elder Scrolls series is better equipped to use this feature because it features a ton of races along with their own version of Orcs. Each of these races have their own set of abilities and skills such as magic which can really set this feature apart if used correctly and intelligently.
Have anything to say about this idea? Tell us in your comments below.
This article is part of our series on Bethesda’s next big entry into the world of The Elder Scrolls. Through this series we take a look at the possible new features that Bethesda can add into the next The Elder Scrolls game, based on what they implemented in the previous entries and player feedback.
