Bethesda confirmed that a sixth Elder Scrolls game isn’t happening any time soon- that for now, they will be focusing only on the upcoming Fallout 4. It makes sense, and it also is in line with how Bethesda has acted in the past- for instance, full development on Fallout 4 did not start until Bethesda finally ended official support for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in 2013.
This kind of focus on one game at a time lends a unique feeling of progression to Bethesda’s games, where each new game seems to clearly imbibe the previous one, taking on its best qualities, and adding to them with iterations and innovations of its own. We can see it with Fallout 4, where it is a progression not only on Fallout 3, but also on Skyrim; so the obvious question that arises here is, what can we expect The Elder Scrolls 6 to take from Fallout 4?
It’s an interesting question, because a lot of what Fallout 4 does that is causing such a stir – base building, weapon customization, the new perks based leveling system – all seems to be an evolution of similar mechanics in Elder Scrolls, and specifically Skyrim. The two things that Fallout 4 right now seems to be doing far better than Skyrim are, however, important, and things that The Elder Scrolls 6 could stand to learn from- atmosphere and combat.
Combat was one of the weakest points in Skyrim, so much so that a full bevy of mods intended just to fix it still could not bring it up to par. On the other hand, Fallout 4’s combat seems to have some weight, and it appears as though it is finally where Bethesda get a handle on good real time combat- this is absolutely something that The Elder Scrolls 6 needs to do.
Equally important is the atmosphere. Fallout games have always had a great atmosphere, literally transporting you to a post nuclear world, and Fallout 4 looks to be no different. While Elder Scrolls games, and specifically Skyrim, did atmosphere well too – I felt transported to the game’s vision of a Nordic fantasy – I still daresay that Fallout’s mastery in this area remains to be beaten.
So those are the two areas that I would say Elder Scrolls needs to learn the most from Fallout. Of course, when Fallout 4 releases, we may discover yet more amazing mechanics or features that we want in Elder Scrolls 6.
What would you want Elder Scrolls to learn from Fallout? Sound off in the comments below!
