On April 27th the time has come. No, then The Elder Scrolls 6 will not appear yet, but that would be too good to be true. But on this day, the end of the Bethesda Launcher begins, releasing the migration of user accounts towards Steam. You can read more about the forthcoming change here:
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Bethesda stamps its own launcher: All information about the Steam change
What does this have to do with The Elder Scrolls? For years, Bethesda has been offering the first two parts of the RPG series, namely Arena and Daggerfall, for free download via their launcher. Anyone who feared that this free offer would disappear due to the switch to Steam can breathe a sigh of relief: You will also find the classics on the Valve platform keep playing for free be able!
This news is all the more gratifying because the affected Bethesda games have not even been available for purchase on Steam so far. So if you feel like a pinch of nostalgia and want to relive the beginnings of the legendary role-playing series, you can soon put this into practice.
Looks like it is, Arena had some gorgeous graphics for 1994 though!
It all started here. Of course, no one could have guessed at the time what a popular series The Elder Scrolls would one day become. At first glance, nothing reminds you of Oblivion, Skyrim and Co. The interface takes up a large part of the lower edge of the screen and you run through a randomly generated game world full of opponents who send you either in close combat or with magic spells on the mat can.
You may have already guessed: The very special atmosphere of the Elder Scrolls games can already be felt in Arena. Our Tamriel experts think so too, so they sat down at the microphone to chat about it:
GameStar Podcast
Episode 38: Fascination The Elder Scrolls
What’s the matter? The battle mage Jagar Tharn kidnapped Emperor Uriel Septim VII. into the realm of Oblivion and ascended the throne himself. Your task is, who would have thought it, the liberation of the fallen regent and the professional disposal
of the Usurpers.
Already knew?
- The Dark Brotherhood, one of the most popular groups in the Elder Scrolls series, already appears in Arena. But you can’t join the dark contemporaries yet, that was only possible in later parts.
- Arena has a feature that even modern spinoffs lack: the game uses an internal calendar to check if Tamriel is currently on a holiday. If so, the NPCs even react to it and hold appropriate festivities, such as summoning a Daedra.
- In the first Elder Scrolls there is still the magic school of thaumaturgy, i.e. miracle work. Which sayings fall under this? It’s best for you to find out for yourself!
Almost exactly 2.5 years after Arena, on September 20, 1996, the second part of the role-playing series appears.
Big, bigger, Daggerfall. If you think that the game worlds of Elden Ring, GTA 5 or Skyrim are big, then you are very wrong. The second Elder Scrolls entry thinks itself Hold my beer
! and quickly inflates to a size of 487,000 square kilometers, which is roughly twice the area of Great Britain.
Apart from that, the game principle remains similar to the predecessor. You create a hero, steer him through the fantasy world and become stronger and stronger by completing quests and defeating enemies. Sounds great fun, doesn’t it? That’s what our author Mario Donick thought too, whose last trip to Daggerfall wasn’t that long ago:
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Why Daggerfall 2021 is more fun than ever
What’s the matter? The (now rescued) Emperor Uriel Septim VII sends you to the city of Daggerfall in the province of Highmaul on a personal mission. You should find out why the spirit of the former king Lysandus is still roaming the city and causing trouble. It is also important to find a letter with highly explosive content. Depending on how you decide in the course of the story, you can expect one of six different endings.
Already knew?
- werewolves? vampires? Bah, that’s yesterday’s news! In Daggerfall you can even make acquaintance with Werebern. A boar on two legs? Have fun running away!
- Words have power: Not only does a small band from Berlin know this, but the developers of Daggerfall were already aware of this at the time. You can even invest skill points in the Centauric, Impic and Daedric language talents. This makes it possible to end fights against these creatures entirely without using weapons. Nice, isn’t it?!
If you just can’t get enough of The Elder Scrolls and have an Amazon Prime subscription, you’re in for a treat: in April you’ll be able to dust off Oblivion for free!
Will you take a closer look at one of the two role-playing oldies or are you simply too put off by the ancient technology? Let us know in the comments!
