The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Early Thoughts and Reflections on a Classic

Having thoroughly enjoyed Skyrim in the early 2010s, I was blown away when I recently redownloaded the game and gave it another go. Of course, the play through was nothing like the first. The first was magic - similar to how I felt playing the early installments of the Legend of Zelda Nintendo series. The game completely transported me into Tamriel. Perhaps there is some obscure argument for latent epigenetic memory. Perhaps it is the innermost desire to explore and adventure. Perhaps it was just the art. Likely it was all those things combined. I had loose memories of the characters, plot lines, side quests, the various guilds, amongst the rest. But that did not matter. It still stands up against the monotony of modern games centered around Royale combat or even sleek, polished RPGs. After defeating Alduin, Miraak, Harkon, finishing the guilds, and mastering most of the main things “to do,” I still found myself wanting to explore the minor quests - asking the innkeeper for rumors, spurring along another quest. After many rounds of questing and general immersion in the environment of Skyrim, ultimately, the slight malaise crept in, and I had to hang it up for awhile. This left me wondering - was Oblivion as good? How about Morrowind?

I skipped the Oblivion remaster to try out Morrowind - the fabled game that people have noted “saved” Bethesda from collapse. Admittedly, the game has a steep curve to overcome. It is clunky. The environment and art generally is dated, but beautiful in its own right. Yet, after an hour or two I found myself in Balmora and that small feeling of wanting to complete quests took hold. I completed several fetch quests related to the main storyline and even some side quests for the mages guild. The combat feels atrocious for the first five to ten hours. Yet, as you slowly chug along, and get more of a feel for Morrowind, there is some satisfaction. Two main features that really immersed me into the alien world where it takes place were the lack of sophisticated directions and the communication format. You really have to search - read road signs - and it is a lot of trial and error finding points of interest. The map system is horrible - but that allows some curiosity to come through. Similarly, the communication system demands you read. Haha, yes, read. A skill most have lost, started to lose, or is severely diminished due to technological advances, a changing use of free time, or otherwise. Yet, like picking up a decent book and eventually getting back into it, the same is true of Morrowind. If you allow yourself to read the simple paragraphs and dialogue boxes, there is genuine satisfaction. If your brain is too fried to engage in curious travel, reading, or dated combat - Morrowind is not for you. I think it is worth trying out, but you will have trouble getting over the curve. Honestly, I barely did, and the tragedy is I was only able to do it while listening to podcasts or radio shows. Is this a bad practice and does it highlight how rotted my own brain has become? Yes. While a sad truth, I found, like the simple joy of reading Dune or an engaging book, Morrowind satisfied me in my ten“ish”hours I have put into the game so far. Let the game immerse you as much as possible and you may find that small feeling again.

Still waiting for the much anticipated Elder Scrolls: VI, I’ll slowly spam-jump around in the Morrowind game, taking the story in doses. In a world of hyper-realistic Unreal Engine development and games being churned out much more rapidly than in the last three decades, some old finds are gold. I cannot guarantee you’ll find gold in your Morrowind play through, but it feels promising. I will circle back with thoughts as the journey progresses.