Summary
When it finally comes out,The Elder Scrolls 6has some big shoes to fill. For all its faults and many, many re-releases,Skyrimremains one of themost fondly remembered RPGsof the last few console generations, offering players a vast open world to explore and navigate. Dungeons, caves, ancient ruins, and temples litter the entire map, just waiting to be discovered and plundered for loot. And while it’s been many years since the game dropped, millions of fans remember their first time exploring the land of the Nords.
WithThe Elder Scrolls 6coming out (at some point), there’s still time for Bethesda to correct one ofSkyrim’s biggest shortcomings in terms of its exploration. For a title that prides itself so heavily on its seemingly endless supply of places to see and things to do, there’s a massive chunk of the map that’s more or less dead space. And there’s more than a few cool things Bethesda can do with all that free real estate.
Elder Scrolls 6 Needs More Fleshed Out Oceans
What’s in The Oceans in Skyrim?
To the north of Skyrim lies a vast, deep, and confusingly empty ocean. Despite stretching the entirety of the map from Solitude to Winterhold, there’s really nothing in the water. Of course, there’s the occasional treasure chest scattered here and there, but for a game as ambitious asSkyrimwas at the time, the lack of content on/under the sea seems like a missed opportunity.Skyrimisn’t the only Bethesda titlewith this specific issue.
It’s not just playable content either; there’s ashocking lack of visible wildlife in Skyrim’s oceanas well. It doesn’t take a marine biologist to know that oceans, be they on Earth or Tamriel, are teeming with life of all sorts. The most ocean life found in Skyrim’s section of the Padomaic Ocean is some seaweed at the bottom and some mudcrabs and horkers that stick to the shoreline.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Can Learn From Subnautica
Ocean exploration games are a genre to themselves, and the great blue sea has always been a bit of a blindspot forThe Elder Scrolls, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. If Bethesda wants to be truly ambitious and groundbreaking with its next fantasy RPG, taking some notes fromSubnauticadevs Unknown Worlds might just be the way to go. ThoughSubnauticais a completely different beast than a game likeThe Elder Scrolls, Tamriel’s oceans should be more in line with the oceans of Planet 4546B: an abundance of underwater caves and caverns, plenty of sunken treasure/shipwrecks, and plenty of interesting, strange, and frightening sea life.
Fantasy settings likeThe Elder Scrollsare ripe environments for underwater dangers. Sea monsters and undersea horrors are no strangers toElder Scrollslore; all Bethesda has to do in its next entry is to dip into that well and create an experience that cantrigger any gamers’ thalassophobia. A sea monster would make for an excellent late game boss, especially if it’s something players have to go out of their way to track down and slay. A titanic ocean-bound enemy could beThe Elder Scrolls 6’s answer to the Ebony Warrior, who only appears after the player character reaches a high enough level, presenting himself as one last final challenge to a Dragonborn who’s conquered everything the game had to throw at them.
More Underwater Exploration Can Make Waterbreathing Actually Useful
An expanded underwater element toThe Elder Scrolls 6can make certain redundant features fromSkyrimrelevant again, like the underwater breathing ability. Enchantments and options that let the player breathe underwater sound cool on the surface, but when faced with the stark reality of how little there is to see and do down there, bothering with water breathing magic can seem incredibly useless. That’s a real shame, because it’s one of thecore benefits of playing as an Argonian inSkyrim.
Ultimately, the best reason for Bethesda to pick up the slack with its water environments is becauseThe Elder Scrollsgames are about exploration. And there is no greater, more exciting, or more dangerous place to explore than the open seas. There’s nothing more exciting in a game than finding something new in an unlikely place, and those first few intrepid gamers to brave the depths should be rewarded with some of the most unexpected surprises of their gaming careers.
