Elder Scrolls Are there even Elder-Scrolls-like Exploration RPGs?

[Moaning_Clock]

This is mostly in regards to Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim.
I watched a video a couple of days ago where the bold statement was: there aren't really Elder Scrolls like games.
One thing I do enjoy a lot is the exploration in these games. If TES 3-5 would form a genre I would name it Exploration RPGs. I don't enjoy the main quest a lot but the exploration in these games keeps me going.

Are there other games which fulfill this? Or is this mostly TES 3-5 and Fallout 3/N? (didn't play 4 so I don't know)

 

[HoboForEternity]

there isn't really anything like them unless you count some shovelware that is bound to exist

 

[Zerth]

I don't know, but since you didn't mention TES II,perhaps Daggerfall Unity might be of your interest.

 

[deuxhero]

Gothic (actually predates MW)? Dragon's Dogma? Otherwise I'm stumpped.

 

[Mud']

Jank wise? Outward is all about exploration.

Enderal surpasses TES but its a mod for Skyrim, however the devs are going to make a standalone game.

Best exploration would go to Zelda BOTW but that is not a RPG, if you want ""RPG"" stuff with exploration you got Immortal Fenyx Rising.
However the only game that i can think off that has the bare minimum "RPG" elements like Skyrim would be Outward with character creation, dialogue options, factions, huge world to explore with dungeons and the like and so on.

Also yeah Dragons Dogma fits in nicely, Gothic you cant create your character but its reactive world blows Skyrim out of the water and i guess you have TW3 with the same dilema of Gothic.

 

[Drowed]

Well, it depends on how broad you want to go into your definition of "TES-like". Or rather, perhaps the ideal term is Bethesda-Like? Because the design of the world and dungeons of Fallout 3/4 is extremely similar to the world of the later TES games. And here it will depend on exactly which specific features of the exploration you like. It is worth saying that I am not stating that the games below are necessarily good, just that there is the exploration aspect in them.

Gothic is a series that no doubt comes immediately to mind, although in some ways it is more linear. The same goes for Risen. Elex no doubt also seems to fit the definition. Two Words. There are other games that also have an open world that can be comparable, but in a less strict sense. Witcher 3, in a way. Outward, though is a much more "empty" world. The Ubisoft games (the last three Assassin's Creed), Horizon Zero Dawn... Maybe others, but I don't really remember now.

 

[mkultra]

Best exploration would go to Zelda BOTW but that is not a RPG

Which is why exploration isn't any fun at all in that game, it's not like you're gonna stumble upon some cool loot, also the world is just empty.. In a Elder Scrolls game every drawer, every door etc can be opened, whatever you find in the gaming world can be picked up almost.

The closest games were Ultima 7 I and II and Gothic's + perhaps Divine Divinity (the only good game they've made).

 

[Poseidon00]

I heard there are a couple "in the works", there is one that is clearly trying and has potential but needs work, that's about it.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Realms of Arkania HD

 

[Drowed]

Zelda BOTW is the kind of game that makes a very different first impression from the impression you get after a few dozen hours of play. In the first two hours you unlock all your character's special abilities. (Not counting the 4 powers of the 4 real dungeons in the game but apart from Urbosa's Fury, the others are not so impactful, just useful) From that point on, 90% of the exploration is just to take you to (1) shrines (which are visually identical but have different puzzles) to increase your stamina/hp bar or (2) seeds that increase your inventory. Yes, you can buy armor and find various weapons here and there, but ironically, the equipment is far less impactful than in previous games in the series.

You no longer have effects like the Hover/Iron Boots, or the even the effing Hookshot (which sounds like something that would go great with the game), the Mirror Shield, etc. Technically, there are still rods (wands) and the boomerang, but "nerfed" to the point where it's not nowhere near the same. The interaction with the world is great without a doubt, the way the attacks and elements interact with the objects in the game and the ways you can use your powers. But most of what makes the game interesting are the items and powers you get by following the main events of the story - which is not even 10% of the game content - everything else seems superfluous. The exploration really feels like a strength of the game until you realize that, deep down, everything is just more of the same.

You see something that looks interesting from far away on the map, and oh, it looks like a maze, you go there and start to think that there is going to be something really interesting there and... Nope, here's another Spirit Orb. Like the other 119 of them around the map. Yes, the puzzle in each Shrine is sometimes different and may take you by surprise for a moment, but in the end it is just another Spirit Orb for your collection. But hey, it's not like that's essentially all that different in Skyrim. Exploring in a new dungeon will usually just get you a scaled-down level loot. (Or a Shout, which you probably won't use anyways.) In a way, it's not fair to criticize BOTW's exploration much since, in essence, any criticism you make of it you can apply to 99% of other open-world games. Maybe it's because Zelda is a series that has so many interesting items that it makes you expect more.

 

[the mole]

fallout 3

 

[SlightlyRadioactive]

Kingdoms Of Amalur takes heavy cues from the TES world design

 

[lukaszek]

gorasul, explore your inner dragon

 

[Wunderbar]

KCD is the closest you can get, and even then it doesn't have a character creator/magic/different types of enemies.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Are there other games which fulfill this? Or is this mostly TES 3-5 and Fallout 3/N? (didn't play 4 so I don't know)

If you specifically mean Open World exploration-focused RPGs, then it seems that despite the success of Morrowind and the even greater commercial success of Oblivion, it wasn't until the stupendous sales of Skyrim that other developers began copying the formula, to some extent.

Outward (2019) is a relatively low-budget attempt at adding survival gameplay elements to enhance exploration, and aside from being divided into four non-contiguous zones it's Open World with a number of dungeons, albeit relatively small ones.

Dragon's Dogma (2012/2013/2016) was initially intended to be an Open World game influenced by Oblivion, but the size of the world was cut drastically early in development for budgetary reasons, and the end result is only superficially Open World (great combat, though!)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018) has a fully Open World environment, but the gameplay has a much larger emphasis on cinematic plot cutscenes than is typical for this kind of game and there aren't any dungeons to explore.

Ghosts of Tsushima (2020) is similar to KCD in being an historical Open World experience, but it has much less in the way of character-related RPG elements (I wouldn't classify it as an RPG).

The Witcher III (2015) is CDPR's take on an Open World version of their Witcher series.

Faery Tale Adventure (1986) is a distant 2D ancestor of the 3D Open World genre, developed by one person in seven months on a new type of computer released late the previous year. The isometric sequel, Halls of the Dead: Faery Tale Adventure II (1997), is also Open World.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

FTA is such a beaut.

 

[Tavernking]

Avowed.

 

[Piotrovitz]

fallout 3

joke's aside, but New Vegas fits the OPs requirements.

 

[Moaning_Clock]

thanks for all the recommendations! Kingdom Come Deliverance, Outward and Gothic (something I really should have played years ago) sound interesting!

TES II,perhaps Daggerfall Unity might be of your interest.

I'm currently playing it but it is very different from the feeling. The world feels really empty in a lot of ways - I really like the massive dungeons even though sometimes it can be a bit frustrating.

 

[Falksi]

Serpent in the Staglands.

Underrail.

 

[Tavernking]

thanks for all the recommendations! Kingdom Come Deliverance, Outward and Gothic (something I really should have played years ago) sound interesting!

TES II,perhaps Daggerfall Unity might be of your interest.

I'm currently playing it but it is very different from the feeling. The world feels really empty in a lot of ways - I really like the massive dungeons even though sometimes it can be a bit frustrating.

Avowed should be much more similar to TES 3-5 than those other games, just FYI.

 

[Moaning_Clock]

It certainly looks cool and it seems like Skyrim but I don't think it will be released before 2023, maybe 2024 + the typical wait for the first patches. But thanks, I will keep an eye on it!

 

[Lord_Potato]

Serpent in the Staglands.

Underrail.

...have nothing in common with Elder Scrolls-like exploration.

Two Worlds 1&2 though offer an interesting alternative.

 

[Mud']

The closest games were Ultima 7 I and II and Gothic's + perhaps Divine Divinity (the only good game they've made).

I thought OP wanted a literal TES-like, for me its a game with character creation, ability to open and steal everything in chests or drawers, huge world to explore, NPCs with scheduels, first person/third person, dialogue options and so on.

Now that i think about it, KCD fits everything but character creation. Larian keeps wet dreaming of making a Ultima 7-like game and i hope some day they reach that.

 

[Molina]

You want morrowind vibes ? Cave of Qud or Kenshi.