The Best Stories From Bethesda Games

Bethesda Softworks has built a legacy of publishing immersive, story-driven games that send players into detailed worlds filled with complicated characters, moral dilemmas, and unforgettable stories. High fantasy worlds like The Elder Scrolls series and gritty sci-fi alternative history settings like the Fallout series all offer more than RPG exploration and combat—they weave together stories through player choices and fun gameplay.

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These games showcase great environmental storytelling and how to tell stories through an overarching narrative as well as random one-offs. The following is a list of the best stories from games that Bethesda has touched—either as a developer or a publisher—focusing on the overarching narrative and how much lore there is to experience.

10

Starfield

A Grand Space Odyssey Shrouded In Mystery

Systems

Released

September 6, 2023

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence

Starfield is a hard sci-fi game with a main storyline akin to 2001: A Space Odyssey. Taking place across several solar systems known as the Settled Systems, Starfield is set in the far future where humanity develops new factions and civilizations on other planets. Over the course of the main story’s journey, players follow a series of clues and assemble a collection of Artifacts in an effort to reach “the Unity,” concluding in a fun twist that makes a New Game+ playthrough more meaningful.

Though the quality of the overarching main story’s pacing has been debated, along with an emptiness issue on the hundreds of extra planets to explore, the game still exudes Bethesda’s quality of world-building and the freedom to shape the protagonist’s destiny. Side quests like “Operation Starseed” flesh out the universe and offer the entertaining offbeat narrative qualities represented in Fallout games.

9

Fallout 3

Chasing After Family In The Wasteland

Released

October 28, 2008

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs

Fallout 3 merged the gritty and absurdist portrayal of nuclear wastelands from the original Fallout games with a fresh open-world first-person experience. Set in the ruins of post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C., Fallout 3’s main story follows the protagonist’s search for their missing father and uncovering dark secrets surrounding the Vaults and the pre-war government.

While Fallout 3 may, in retrospect, not be as highly regarded as its successor, Fallout: New Vegas, it still succeeds in providing a rich world filled with moral dilemmas and memorable characters, as well as a few great DLCs that extend the story in exciting new ways. Moments like the decision of what to do with the live atom bomb in the center of Megaton or the final choice in the base game showcase the player’s agency in shaping the wasteland’s fate.

8

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

A One-Man Army Shaping Alternate History

Released

October 27, 2017

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus picks up immediately after the events of The New Order, with a story set in an alternate universe where the Nazis occupied America following World War 2. The campaign follows protagonist William “B.J.” Blazkowicz, who ignites a revolution against the Nazi regime. On top of high-octane gameplay, an epic story of deceit and resistance unfolds.

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Blazkowicz embarks on dangerous missions across a dystopian United States, sneaking through the irradiated ruins of Manhattan and underground military bunkers. His story of resilience culminates in bringing the resistance to Hollywood before a propaganda movie is broadcast to the world, and he begins a revolution that breaks out across the country.

7

Doom Eternal

A Blood-Soaked Story Of Vengeance

Released

March 20, 2020

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence

Developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks, DOOM Eternal takes place following the events of the 2016 version of DOOM, following the Doom Slayer on a mission to end Hell’s destruction of Earth. The bringer of Hell’s army, Khan Maykr, seeks to sacrifice humanity for her race’s survival, and the Doom Slayer proceeds to hunt her down and end the dangerous being known as the Icon of Sin. This story is an epic culmination of adrenaline-pumping action and complicated rivalries that extends across time and dimensions.

In The Ancient Gods DLC, demons still ravage all dimensions of reality despite the fall of the Makyrs and the Icon of Sin. The Doom Slayer finds out the Dark Lord was betrayed by the Makyrs, revealed as the creator of the multiverse and all demons. The Doom Slayer’s work is never done, and he charges into action once again to take down Hell’s ultimate forces.

Saving A World On The Brink Of Destruction

Released

March 20, 2006

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is set in the province of Cyrodiil during the Oblivion Crisis. The Planes of Oblivion have ripped open portals across the land, devastating local towns and cities. Players famously begin as a prisoner who unexpectedly crosses paths with Emperor Uriel Septim the 7th, witnessing his death and part of a prophecy, which tasks the player character with finding Martin Septim, the last surviving heir.

As Daedric forces invade the land through Oblivion gates, tensions rise and the Daedric Prince of Destruction, Mehrunes Dagon, threatens all of Tamriel. The player must fight to halt the advance of Dagon and his armies, close the Oblivion gates, and save Cyrodiil from total destruction.

Ancient Magic And Becoming Dragonborn

Released

November 11, 2011

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is an epic step up from Oblivion, with a main narrative that twists around political drama and world-ending dragons. After narrowly escaping execution, the player character, the Dragonborn, witnesses the return of Alduin, an ancient dragon foretold to bring about the end of the world. Guided by the Greybeards, the Dragonborn embarks on a quest to uncover their destiny.

On top of this overarching epic, political drama unfolds across Skyrim in an ongoing civil war between the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks. Other unforgettable stories arise from the Mages Guild questline and the Dark Brotherhood, revealing major events that shape the history of Skyrim forever.

4

Prey

A Mind-Bending Sci-Fi Thriller That Defied Expectations

Released

May 5, 2017

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood, Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence

Prey is a spooky sci-fi game that takes place aboard the abandoned space station Talos 1, where players assume the role of Morgan Yu, who wakes up with no memory and discovers the station has been overrun by strange alien creatures called the Typhon. These aliens are made up of a shimmering grey-black substance which allows them to change shape rapidly, mimicking both inanimate objects and people.

This mind-bending story unravels the dark secrets left behind from a failed experiment, with Yu forced to learn from the station’s failed experiments. It is one of the most interesting combinations of sci-fi and horror since Dead Space, offering a unique twist on the horrors of the unknown.

3

Dishonored

A Stealth-Driven Steampunk Revenge Story

Released

October 9, 2012

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language

The story of Dishonored explores a conspiracy-ridden steampunk city called Dunwall. Players see this world through Corvo Attano’s eyes, a royal bodyguard framed for the murder of Empress Jessamine Kaldwin. Corvo seeks to clear his name and find revenge by assassinating key figures involved in the Empress’ death.

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Through stealthy gameplay and player choices, the outcome of the story’s branching narrative depends on the path Corvo takes. The more destructive Corvo is during his missions, the more chaotic the world grows, making this one of the coolest examples of choices that define what ending the player gets.

A Brooding Fantasy Epic That Redefined Player Choice

Systems

Released

May 1, 2002

ESRB

T For Teen due to Blood, Violence

The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind’s lore and environmental storytelling are at the forefront of the game, with a relatively straightforward main story that is slightly altered by player choice. It’s a richly textured world with in-depth dialogue between several factions and characters, each with their own lives apart from the player’s journey. The main plot of Morrowind revolves around prophecies from the nomadic Dunmer people living in the Ashlands, predicting the course of actions taken by the Nerevarine who goes on to defeat the god-like villain Dagoth Ur.

Players assume the role of the Nerevarine, who uncovers a dark twisted past littered with deceit, centered around the legitimacy of the demigods, who are praised and upheld by the Tribunal. How the Nerevarine goes about dealing with the triumvirate of demigods is up to player choice—-restoring the weave of fate or persisting in the doomed world they’ve created both come with their share of morally ambiguous consequences.

1

Fallout: New Vegas

The Gritty And Morally Complex Wasteland

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs

Released

October 19, 2010

Fallout: New Vegas is one of the best Fallout games ever made, featuring one of the best intros and an awe-inspiring amount of things to do, with stories lying in every corner of the world. As the Courier, the player is left for dead following an ambush during a job to deliver a platinum chip across the Mojave Wasteland. After surviving this attack, the Courier sets off on a quest for revenge that leads to them being tangled up in conflicts of all scales.

The factions in New Vegas game are very memorable, like the Roman Empire cosplayers known as the Legion, who flex military power and culture on the world, or the New California Republic, who act as a democratic republic attempting to bring law and order to the Wasteland. The main story twists and turns through a cat-and-mouse adventure and leads to an unsettling realization of who controls New Vegas.

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