In What Order Should I Play The Elder Scrolls Games?
The Elder Scrolls is a franchise of role-playing games (RPGs). The Elder Scrolls video games are known for their open world gameplay, atmospheric game worlds and immersive role-playing experience. Many of The Elder Scrolls video games, such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, are widely regarded as some of the best video games of all time.
The Elder Scrolls video games are often praised and remembered for their beautiful landscapes, epic soundtracks and immersive game worlds. In my opinion, one of the qualities of The Elder Scrolls video games is the immersion achieved through the various game systems such as day-and-night cycle, dynamic weather system, and non-playable characters (NPCs) schedules. In The Elder Scrolls video games, NPCs often talk to each other and follow unique schedules, features which contribute to the immersion of the player in these game worlds.
What Are The Elder Scrolls Games Like?
The Elder Scrolls video games are known for featuring open worlds in which the player character can adventure, meeting non-playable characters (NPCs), fighting enemies, finding better equipment and completing quests in order to progress through the game storyline. While The Elder Scrolls video games feature typical RPG elements, their defining characteristic is the open world that these games present. Since the first The Elder Scrolls game, The Elder Scrolls: Arena, released in 1994, The Elder Scrolls video games have been known for being open-world RPGs. These games are often praised for their immersive and atmospheric open worlds.
In The Elder Scrolls video games, the player character can traverse throughout the landscapes and dungeons of the game world, while talking to different NPCs in order to accept and complete quests or to trade for equipment. These games often feature day-and-night cycle and dynamic weather systems, as well as NPCs that talk to each other, causing an immersive experience in the player. For this reason, The Elder Scrolls video games are not only enjoyed by RPG fans, but also by players who enjoy atmospheric and immersive gameplay experiences.
In general, The Elder Scrolls video games are single-player RPGs, and these games are set in Tamriel, a high fantasy medieval location. The Elder Scrolls video games feature diverse landscapes in which to adventure, as well as dungeons. The game worlds of The Elder Scrolls video games often feature NPC enemies that inhabit the game world, as well as dangerous monsters. In cities, the player character can trade equipment and join different guilds in order to improve their skills.
Most The Elder Scrolls video games are played in first-person camera perspective, although some of these games also feature a third-person camera perspective. The Elder Scrolls video games feature real-time combat gameplay, and travelling in the game world is usually done without waypoints, but directly, such as in open world games like Grand Theft Auto III (2001).
In What Order Should I Play The Elder Scrolls Games?
The Elder Scrolls video games can be played and enjoyed in any order, as the story of each game is self-contained. In other words, the story of each The Elder Scrolls games does not require the player to have prior knowledge of other The Elder Scrolls games. However, considering that The Elder Scrolls video games are story-driven, narrative RPGs, it is important to note that having knowledge of story events prior to the storyline of each game can contribute to a more comprehensive overall story experience. For this reason, it is suggested to play The Elder Scrolls video games in chronological story order for the most comprehensive story experience.
The Chronological Story Order of The Elder Scrolls Video Games
This is the chronological story order of The Elder Scrolls video games. This is not the same as the chronological order of release of these games. Instead, this is the order in which the story events of each game take place. This is the suggested order in which to play these games for the most comprehensive story experience possible.
The Elder Scrolls Online
The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard
The Elder Scrolls Travels: Dawnstar
The Elder Scrolls Travels: Stormhold
The Elder Scrolls: Arena
An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire
The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls: Legends
The Elder Scrolls: Blades
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Special Edition | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR | The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim - Anniversary Edition
Regarding the chronological placement of The Elder Scrolls: Legends, it must be noted that this game consists of a narration. The narration refers to a time period between The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but the narrator may be at any time in the future. However, since the game consists of the narrated story, and not of the narrator, I decided to place the game according to the time period to which the narration refers.
The Story Timeline Order of The Elder Scrolls Games
Most, if not all, The Elder Scrolls video games take place in the same continuity, or, in other words, the same game universe. Considering that these games are set in the same continuity and in the same game universe, it is possible to write a story timeline order of these games according to the time period in which each game takes place.
In order to make this timeline lore-friendly towards The Elder Scrolls games universe, I decided to use the same time notation as the one used in The Elder Scrolls video games themselves, which follows the pattern "XE YYY", in which X is the number of the era (represented by an E) and YYY is the year of that era. For example, 3E 389 represents "Third Era, Year 389".
2E 582 The Elder Scrolls Online
2E 864 The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard
3E 3?? The Elder Scrolls Travels: Dawnstar
3E 3?? The Elder Scrolls Travels: Stormhold
3E 389 The Elder Scrolls: Arena
3E 3?? An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire
3E 397 The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey
3E 405 The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
3E 427 The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
3E 433 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
4E ??? The Elder Scrolls: Legends
4E 1?? The Elder Scrolls: Blades
4E 201 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Special Edition | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR | The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim - Anniversary Edition
What Is the First The Elder Scrolls Game?
This question can be answered in two ways. One refers to the first The Elder Scrolls video game to be released, and the second refers to the first The Elder Scrolls game chronologically, story-wise. The first The Elder Scrolls video game to be released was The Elder Scrolls: Arena, which was released in 1994. The first The Elder Scrolls video game chronologically, story-wise, is The Elder Scrolls Online, which is set in 2E 582.
Is The Elder Scrolls Online Canon?
Considering that most of The Elder Scrolls video games are single-player games and that The Elder Scrolls Online is a multi-player video game, or, more precisely, a massively multiplayer onle role-playing game, or MMORPG, some players think that The Elder Scrolls Online is not canon in relation to the other The Elder Scrolls video games. However, The Elder Scrolls Online is set in the same continuity and timeline as the other The Elder Scrolls video games. To be more precise, The Elder Scrolls Online is set in 2E 582, which is many centuries before most of the other The Elder Scrolls main video games, such as The Elder Scrolls: Arena, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, and so forth. However, the story events of The Elder Scrolls Online belong to the same game universe in which the other The Elder Scrolls video games take place.
If you are interested in the story timeline order of RPG video games, you may also be interested in checking out the story timeline orders of Dungeons & Dragons, Final Fantasy and The Witcher.
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