Starfield’s Open World Has an Upside Elder Scrolls 6 May Struggle to Match

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 12, 2024 4 Views 6 Min Read
Starfield's Open World Has an Upside Elder Scrolls 6 May Struggle to Match

Starfield hasn’t been the universally beloved success that Bethesda Game Studios was probably hoping for, but eyes are still on the horizon for The Elder Scrolls 6. While there’s virtually no concrete information available about the game, which is early in development at the time of writing, there are strong hopes that it will evolve the formula of The Elder Scrolls, modernizing the “Bethesda-isms” that many of Starfield‘s detractors argue are outdated.




One of the greatest points of contention regarding Starfield at launch was the total absence of land vehicles; it was seen as rather transgressive and counterintuitive for Bethesda to design a game explicitly about roaming vast, barren planets without any sort of expeditious transportation. It was arguably regressive as well since, while a game like Fallout 4 may have also lacked land vehicles, Skyrim and Oblivion both allowed players to ride horses, making locomotion much easier and quicker. Luckily, Bethesda heeded the criticisms of its players and added the REV-8 in a long-awaited post-launch patch. While it’s not perfect, the REV-8 is definitely an experience-enhancer, and The Elder Scrolls 6 may struggle to live up to this newfound standard.

A werewolf and Lord Harkon from Skyrim over the Elder Scrolls 6 trailer

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The Potential for Land Vehicle In The Elder Scrolls 6 Is Smaller

One of the biggest reasons why the absence of land vehicles in Starfield was so baffling is the context of the game’s world. After all, no one would reasonably expect a post-apocalyptic franchise like Fallout to have automobiles, but the advanced, copacetic vision of the future displayed in Starfield should be replete with different modes of transportation, easily accessible to the masses.

It should go without saying, but this is not the case with The Elder Scrolls. The high-fantasy franchise derives its aesthetic and world-building elements from typical medieval fantasy IP like Lord of the Rings: modern technology is virtually nonexistent. Horseback riding is the only lore-friendly way for Elder Scrolls players to get around, aside from walking, and it’s tough to make this form of transportation as engaging as driving an automobile (see: GTA V‘s driving vs. Red Dead Redemption‘s horseback riding). Now that Bethesda Game Studios has set a precedent for high-speed transport, players may be looking for something similar in The Elder Scrolls 6.


How The Elder Scrolls 6 Could Provide Lore-Friendly Vehicles

For better or worse, The Elder Scrolls 6 has some lofty expectations to live up to, as it’s the direct successor to what many consider one of the greatest action-RPGs ever made. As such, and considering the common criticisms of Starfield, Bethesda Game Studios shouldn’t shy away from being bold and inventive, delivering an experience that fans of its games have come to expect while also being unpredictable and novel.

One way that the studio could accomplish this is via unique traversal options. Specifically, The Elder Scrolls 6 could leverage Dwarven lore for this end: Dwarves/Dwemer in the world of TES were a technologically advanced race, able to create steampunk-esque contraptions and even automatons. Given what players have seen of Dwarven technology in previous games, it wouldn’t be inconceivable for their technology to yield some sort of automobile. Perhaps players can come across a Dwemer survivor, doing favors for them in exchange for this advanced machinery and, eventually, upgrades for it.


Alternatively, The Elder Scrolls 6 could lean into its more high-fantasy roots and allow for different types of mounts, some of which are faster or more capable than a standard horse, but this would be a bit more pedestrian and by-the-numbers. Evoking underexplored aspects of the series lore, though, could deepen players’ appreciation for the game world while helping The Elder Scrolls 6 measure up to Starfield‘s transportation features.

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