Short Thought - I’m Sick of Bethesda Games

I love RPGs; they’re one of my favourite genres. I like going on world-spanning adventures, either alone or with allies, taking every quest and looting my enemies’ corpses for their stuff. It’s why I was drawn into the Bethesda catalogue of games; Fallout, The Elder Scrolls… okay, only those two series, but I’ve played The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Fallout: New Vegas to death.

I was hooked into being a virtual murder hobo and I still kind of stick to that playstyle to this day, even when it comes to similar games like The Outer Worlds or The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Big, expansive worlds with tons of loot, quests, and enemies. What else do you need?

But, that was all back when I was a teenager, whose only access to games was whatever my parents or older brother bought. As an adult who can actually buy games themselves… I just don’t enjoy them as much anymore. And so I asked myself: why?

I think the answer is pretty simple: Bethesda’s big RPG franchises just feel too similar to each other. There’s barely any distinction between each of them, with the only difference between Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Starfield is if they have guns or not and even then, there’s a non-zero chance you’ll encounter a dragon-like creature who will bite your face off.

I’m not saying they’re low effort, despite their often glitchy nature. Each one has some incredible questlines and moments that really leave an impression on you long after you’ve stopped playing, but I can’t get over the feeling I’m playing a different iteration of the same game when it comes to them.

When I play similar games like The Outer Worlds or Atomfall, I feel great for a while before falling off eventually. I put hundreds of hours into these types of games, but nowadays, I feel like I’m pushing through to finally get to the real meat when I’m already consuming it. I don’t know, maybe my tastes are changing.