Saying goodbye to Skyrim, or how Witcher 3 ruined Bethesda games

I was chatting with some of my writing buddies a little wild back and the topic of Bethesda games, and how they are somewhat lacking in writing strength. It got me thinking about the nature of writing in games and how my perspectives changed as I got older.

I am not the first to admit that I loved Skyrim. The beauty of exploration and discovery was and still is brilliant. But I would be lying if the writing was good or strong. The absolute freedom of movement and exploration is normally the arrow in the knee of the RPG. I have nothing against this model when Breath of the Wild/Skyrim etc use it, but it needs a light story to work. You are there to explore, not necessarily to find an engaging story.

I would be saying this as a blanket statement, but I can’t ever since I played Witcher 3.

CD Projekt Red’s masterpiece Witcher 3 elevated the open-world RPG standards by a country mile. Not just because of its great combat system, engaging open world filled with fun characters, and fascinating history. But it also offers engaging stories both in the sub-stories and in the main story.

There is a narrative reason for the Gerelt to be exploring the area,he is a monster hunter after all. He needs to make money, it also fits into the episodic nature of the books. Geralt gets into little adventures throughout each book, building to the big major tale. It makes adaptation sense.

Meanwhile, Skyrim has some gormless chosen one's get involved in major events because the plot says so. You are the almighty dragon born destined to destroy the god dragon.

Skyrim indulges in the worst tropes of fantasy writing, chiefly chosen ones, power scaling and peasant boys rising to their own property in all of Skyrim (Truly the main fantasy of that game).Skyrim’s world feels empty and atmospheric, but most certainly empty of life or engaging people.

Maybe it’s the fish eye look common in Bioware games or just the empty illusion of life within Skyrim. Big like a country, deep like a paddling pool in its characters, and the player's ability to meaningfully engage with said characters. Witcher 3, and more recently BG3, offer more living worlds. People work around their own lives with hopes and dreams.

It also helps that neither of the games mentioned here involves the chosen one. Geralt, it could be argued, is protecting the chosen one, Ceri, from the wild hunt. But he isn’t the chosen one.

The world doesn’t revolve around him. Unlike the Dragonborn, Geralt is superhuman, but he isn’t the savourer of the world. BG3 is about a group of horny (and very attractive) idiots who inadvertently become chess pieces in a much larger game.

The world is threatened, but you are not the chosen one to save it. You save it for your selfish gains of not being infested by worms anymore. The chosen one narrative is hard because it is difficult to have stakes and an engaging reason for the protagonist to be involved. It is also easy because of the same reasons. The problem is that if writers cannot make chosen one narratives interesting, be it through twists, unreliable narrators or fallen saviour narratives (among others), they will make for a less interesting, less relatable protagonist.

Maybe this is why I can’t relate to the Dragonborn in the same way as I can relate to The Warden, Geralt, or the horny idiots in BG3. I think silent protagonists are often more unreliable than fully written protagonists. This might be a problem as to why I find Geralt more interesting than, say, the Dragonborn or The Warden. Tav seems to be an exception to the rule. Maybe it’s because I love the role-playing opportunities BG3 offers. It also shares the quality of writing you would find in Dragon Age Origins, where the player character is the least interesting member surrounded by fully fleshed characters.

I think this might be another problem with Skyrim. The characters are simply not interesting. The writing is bland and the characters have a flat monotone whenever you speak to them. They don’t even react when you put buckets on their heads!I know you might say that it’s unfair to compare Skyrim to Witcher 3 and BG3 for upscale in quality, some games age badly, etc. That is true, BG3 and Witcher 3 have merely increased the standards of writing in RPGs.

They have innovated while Skyrim has become a norm, from the AI to the interactions. There is less repetition in BG3 or Witcher 3’s NPCs as opposed to Skyrim’s. They feel more alive in the former than in the latter, again, mostly because of the innovations in those fields and more competent writers in Larian Studios and CD Projekt Red.What on earth is this ramble about? I suppose I am writing my thoughts down on nature, innovation, and time. Not everything ages well, be it the first TV or video games.

Nostalgia is a powerful tool of the mind.

I love Jazz Jackrabbit 2 despite the fact it’s a rough unfinished game. I love all of its goofy charms and 90s attitude, even if it is too easy and rough around the edges. Skyrim isn’t as rough and lacks the charm of Jazz Jackrabbit, but it is rough enough to reveal how shallow the world is once you explore it enough. How powerful you are, concerning everything else. You are living a power fantasy.

The story is secondary and lacking in stakes because of the open-world sacrifice. Witcher 3 is one of the very few open-world games where the sense of tension and scales are better handled. Skyrim is not alone in the pacing problem endemic to open-world-level design.

From basically every Ubisoft game to even most EA RPGs, pacing is a big issue for tension and stakes within the given narrative. Witcher 3 and BG3 can avoid this by simply having the side quests be well-written side hustles that are often built into the main quest. Be it to help increase the chances of winning or just to have a better ending.

Additionally, these quests do not involve dumb fetch/MMO-style tasks where you have to go and kill/gather a specific number of items. Dragon Age Inquisition is very guilty of this to the point of infamy. Funnily enough, that game, much like Skyrim, was one I used to enjoy more than I do now post Witcher 3 and BG3.

I find myself somewhat saddened by this realisation that some games and media that I used to gobble down have lost their lustre. It’s like how I remember how I used to eat sweets and drink fizzy drinks with wild abandon during my childhood and teens.

Once I started getting healthy, once I eased on the sugar (I started getting rather fat) I realised how unappetizing most mass-produced confectionery items were. I miss that time when I could just eat as much as I wanted, how delicious all of it was. Perhaps it always was as band and plastic as it is to me now. Maybe I am looking back on my memories with nostalgia?

That’s how I feel about Skyrim, a game that might have been great back in the day when I was younger, less experienced, and not as exposed to the best of the genre’s potential. A more innocent time when I could just get lost in the vast world of Skyrim and ignore the weird animations and questionable writing. Same with how I could ignore or just forget the flaws in Jazz Jackrabbit 2.

I didn’t have the life experience to understand what a really good platformer looks like. I still love it now, despite everything. Perhaps it’s because Skyrim came into my life in my teens, during a time when I was losing my innocence and letting go of childhood. Jazz Jackrabbit 2 made me happy while I was a kid, and Skyrim helped me escape from the struggles of being a teenager. Maybe because once I was free of the shame and the hatred that marked my teenage life, I could have the strength to challenge myself, look for something better.

I didn’t need to escape anymore. I think that might be the case; I grew up and Skyrim no longer served the purpose that I needed it to. My demands changed from pure escape to that of exploring rich worlds and stories with engaging characters.

Something that Skyrim doesn’t have. Well, that was a lot of talking…how on earth should I end this? I suppose…don’t worry about not liking something you used to enjoy. We are all changing, and life is an ongoing journey. The piece of media you used to like gave you joy and helped you through a difficult time. That is something to be happy about.

A piece of media can carry you toward the good times.

Let’s celebrate that!