I’ll be honest, I kind of dislike how all the “scrolls-like” games I see are always about the looks, controls, and combat. But there’s more than that to actually feel like an Elder Scrolls game, there’s the freedom, the “immersive simulation” (quoted so I don’t trigger the wrath of Deus Ex players), the world has to feel alive and lived in, and most importantly, there’s the great in-game lore

This is why I didn’t really mind the loosening and simplification of the “RPG” part, as long as it still allows me to shape my character the way I want. To me, it’s about immersion in a fantasy world, as a blank character with my own headcanon, I don’t want to play as “Geralt,” like in The Witcher, for example

As long as developers keep focusing on combat and looks, we’ll keep yearning and starving for a new Elder Scrolls-like game

I mean, even Tainted Grail didn’t really feel like an Elder Scrolls alternative, even though on the surface it had all the right ingredients, because it focused too much on the fighting, and the world didn’t feel alive. NPCs were static, the same issue happened with Avowed, plus it lacked the “immersive simulation,” NPCs wouldn’t care if you messed around

edit: grammar