It’s been six years since the reveal of Elder Scrolls 6, and fans continue to wait for the game to hit the shelves. Considering the fact that Elder Scrolls is one of the best western RPG franchises out there, with Skyrim still dominating the charts, it’s no surprise that the anticipation is high.
However, Bethesda’s magic formula for creating RPGs has been under fire in recent years, especially after the release of Starfield. While it’s confirmed that the next Elder Scrolls 6 will use the same-old Creation Engine 2 as Starfield, I’ll be quite shocked if Bethesda hasn’t learned anything from the failures of the space-RPG.
Starfield‘s biggest flaw that Elder Scrolls 6 must avoid
Even though Starfield is considered to be generations behind when it comes to graphics and presentation compared to its competitors, that wasn’t always the case. When the game was revealed at the Xbox 2023 showcase, fans absolutely loved the visuals and action that was produced with the help of Creation Engine 2.
Bethesda had been working on Creation Engine 2 for years, as it was a necessary upgrade for the future of the studio. While chatting with Kinda Funny Gamescast, Howard opened up about the new game engine, and the dynamic quest system, where multiple quests run at the same time without interrupting missions.
You can be on dozens of these at once, and that creates a lot of chaos sometimes in our games, we’re aware of that, but it also creates these magic moments that we just love and our players love and I think that’s what is really really special about it.
At the time, Howard and his team thought that the new quest system might be chaotic, but it would elevate the immersion and give us all those “magic moments” that define Bethesda’s RPGs. However, I don’t think Howard anticipated the negative reception this implementation would bring.
One of the biggest problems with Starfield was its multiple side quests. Whenever the main story set up high-stakes situations, such as saving factions or unraveling mysteries, the game would push you to complete side quests.
It ruined the pacing and broke the immersion when the character, who was supposed to be on a crucial mission, spent hours running errands, mining resources, or something else. Multiple side quests are a good way to bring more content into the game, but they actually lead to a gap in story depth and reduce its emotional weight for players.
As Elder Scrolls 6 is using Creation Engine 2, it’s inevitably going to feature the dynamic quest system. However, it’s crucial for Bethesda to take note of the feedback and bring the right fixes; otherwise, its story will be doomed from the get-go.
Elder Scrolls 6 must take a different path
It’s not just the terrible multiple-quest system that needs to be addressed in Elder Scrolls 6; there are tons of things in Starfield that simply didn’t hit the mark.
Even though Bethesda promised Starfield to be a revolutionary title that would last as long as Skyrim with its 1,000 planets, the game felt outdated right from the launch. Most of the space within the game is empty or stuffed with the same copy-pasted combat encounters.
Creation Engine 2 was supposed to allow Bethesda to elevate the RPG formula, but that clearly didn’t happen. Starfield features the same core ideas that gamers have been witnessing since the days of Oblivion. In-game characters have terrible dialogues, forced into invisible boxes as they dump endless information.
What’s even worse are the loading screens, NPCs acting like robots, and the overall faction system. Basically, Starfield is just Fallout 4 in outer space without the special worldbuilding that has defined the studio’s previous games.
Starfield‘s failures prove that gamers are simply sick and tired of Bethesda recycling its decade-old formula. So, it’s crucial for Elder Scrolls 6 to bring something new to the table, not something we first played in 2006. The RPG must be more than that; otherwise, Bethesda is doomed.
With that said, do you think the dynamic quest system needs a change for Elder Scrolls 6? Let us know in the comments below.
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