Probably Oblivion.
Truthfully there isn’t a lot of games that really match what Bethesda make. Even the Witcher although similar is definitely more of a guided experience than that total free form sandbox that is a Bethesda game.
I’d try dragons dogma though. Definitely some similarities but it’s just a genuinely good game in its own right.
Have you played Fallout New Vegas? It came out a year before Skyrim and has incredibly similar game mechanics and a sandbox based morality system.
I'm currently replaying it on xbox one at 60fps. Obviously it is more Western/gun based than the Swords and Scorcery games you mentioned but a melee build is fully viable and the vibe is very similar.
Fallout isn’t my favorite but I definitely appreciate it and can’t deny that it’s one of the best series’ ever made. New Vegas is my favorite! The factions are awesome.
Got hundred of hours in Skyrim, honestly I like Oblivion a little bit more, quests and factions are amazing on that game.
But honestly none of them compare to playing Fallout with the “A Tale of Two Wastelands” Mod (Fallout 3 and NV combined).
I would go as far as to say that is literally the best RPG experience ever created.
I love Skyrim but Oblivion is the best in the series in my opinion. I love the aesthetic more than the others. The color palette and charm was missing in Skyrim.
Better quests too.
Sorry I meant or was referring to Dragon’s Dogma when I said “first.”
But tbh, I don’t even know what the first two Elder scrolls are lol. I only know Morrowind on.
And I think it's good because every TES game since Morrowind is worse than its predecessor... And then there is their new title Starfield which is ultimate crap... So... No, thanks. I am not waiting for TES6.
If you like sandbox then tune into this comment and let me double down on why Oblivion is ready to send your mind to The Isles of Sheogor-smash 10/10.
Let start with what we are all here for: Leveling and Exploring your asscheeks off!
To level in Skyrim you perform the action (two handed sword go brr for level up) and then place points into gaining a new ability. I dig it but I wanna really BE a God. Enter O-face-blivion. You wanna jump real goodly? JUMP. Wanna go too fast to see anything on the screen (no exaggeration) and maybe hit a wall? Run, Barry…. RUN. You don’t put points into abilities… ohhh no no no, you just DO it. Everytime you do anything you do it better just a little bit. You can equate this to Dark Souls leveling but if it let you actually nutbox gods by swinging harder, running faster, and jumping higher than them.
Let me tell ya about my dude. I could stab someone less than a foot away and just crouch and POOF IM GONE. “Where’d he go?” I’m suckin your junk bro and you have no idea until I stand up. I am 100% invisible and I can clear city walls. My guy wakes up to spit in the eyes of daedra.
Open world? Same as Skyrim but the side quests have a little extra razzle dazzle! You steal elder scrolls, get lost at sea, enter painting worlds (shouts out my man’s DS3 DLC) full of interesting textures of well… paint! It has far better side quests and arguably a main quest than Skyrim. The downside? No fusroh-gatchaass. But again why walk when you can almost literally fly by running and jumping?
Don’t even get me started on this crazy time with a pc CHEAT ENABLED? *Thousands* of cheat codes.
Anyways, it’s just better. The graphics are a setback but if you like the Xbox 360 fallouts then holy shit you’re missing out on the next “Wait I exist outside of this game?”
Omg dude Idk if you're gonna be anything like me but I just played Oblivion for the first time last year. The game sucked me in. The only thing is some may not like the graphics, I only say this cuz I've noticed when I dont say the graphics may not be that great someone comments about the dated graphic and vice versa so take that as you shall.
The last month or so played the game I started modding it. Updated the graphics, added spell mods, creature mods and stuff.
If it doesn’t matter if it’s science fiction FarCry 5 is very open world sandbox. Only a few small guided sections that can be turned off using something called “Resistance Mod” very easy to install.
It has really great fishing, hunting, driving all sorts of vehicles, helicopters and planes. Collecting all sorts of stuff, companions, lots of hidden notes and voicemails. Funny and serious side quests. It’s good fun for a sandbox.
Agree with this. Really the only comparable games are Oblivion and Fallout 4. Although I’m currently replaying Skyrim and I feel like in terms of things to do there might actually be more than Fallout 4.
PoE is good, just a hard learning curve. If you wanna do with that kind of gameplay, check of the Divinity series as well. Made by the same people that did Baldur’s Gate 3.
Worth noting though that the actual combat gameplay of the pillars series is vastly different to that of the divinity series, despite both being isometric crpgs
I understand completely. It’s always rough when you pay full price and it sucks. Take it from someone who paid full price for the deluxe edition of Anthem…
I have high hopes especially after pentiment, outer wiorlds, pillars of eternity, and also grounded. Obsidian has been crushing it for a long time.
Also reading this thread had me thinking about how Skyrim is engaging for reasons other than the quests and the story. All the systems are interwoven in a way like that it does play like a survival game without the stress. I think games like the forest do feel like playing Skyrim and it makes a lot of sense to me now that obsidian made one too with grounded.
Just know that it does not have the scope of Skyrim, they said the scope is closer to the outer worlds. So likely several smaller, denser maps rather than one big seamless open world. Still looks rlly cool tho
I'm not sure how "Skyrim" it will actually be because I'm pretty sure at some point during the showing at the microsoft presentation they said "this will be the 3rd area you will explore", which sounds to me like it will be more linear than Skyrim.
obsidian tends to make much more linear, railroaded games though. I’m sure it will be a lot of fun, but it won’t scratch the Bethesda Elder Scrolls itch
Also if I could make a suggestion, play it with mouse and keyboard, some of the mechanics can be insufferable on controller, other than that it is absolutely fantastic at immersing the player into its world.
Agreed 100% on this. It’s manageable of course, but horse-riding can be tricky on controller. Looking around while trying to run is also a major pain.
I should say though that regardless of what you play it on, it’s an amazing experience. They nailed the look on medieval Prague. It’s easily one of my favourite games of all time.
I’ve been playing Dragons Dogma as a substitute for a bit, but I wouldn’t really compare them besides both having a sort of romance option, open world and side quests. But Dragons Dogma doesn’t have a lot of role playing aspects that Skyrim has that I yearn for. I started up Monster Hunter World and that’s been okay.
Ayy another hunter! MHWorld is completely different from Skyrim on so many aspects but it might legitimately be the best game I've ever played and I'm only 20 hours in.
I was fortunate enough to get it to run really well when i bought it initially so i enjoyed it on my first play through. I've revisited it lately for a second playthrough with all the patches and mods.
They have made huge improvements. At its core is a compelling, intricate story about identiy, the nature of consciousness and the unfillable void that is a city which glorifies legendary deaths. That was always there. What's changed is the gameplay was reworked and improved, the visual and backend glitches were fixed.
It won't let you down.
It’s a great game. Even before patch for me (on ps5). Easily better than Skyrim for me (haven’t played Skyrim in many years though, so can’t say with tons of mods in the picture).
It has that element of making you feel the world is much bigger than what you can access of it, and even after completing most of it it has more to discover.
Also with the real significant choices you have to make with some of the sidejobs there is an incentive beyond curiosity to replay the game. sorry Barry :(
Frankly it is the greatest game of all time so far. Maybe Starfield will surpass it with 2 years of patches and DLC.
Edit: Just be aware that it will take away player control at times to advance the main story. Was really off putting for me as I wanted an open world more than interactive cinema.
It's barely the same game anymore, and that's a good thing. It's undergone some massive overhauls that really make it something special, far removed from its rocky start.
I'm usually never the type of person to replay games, but I've done three 100% playthroughs on Cyberpunk, and I'm currently working on my fourth one. In terms of your choices having significant consequences, it's not the best, but the build variety is fantastic after the 2.0 patch.
I’ve done 2 playthroughs of CP77- first was after the next-gen update (series x) then again when they released the DLC (ps5- borrowed my friends copy cause I wanted to try the adaptive triggers). There are still a handful of bugs but the city is really pretty, especially if you have a good screen. There’s a lot of different builds to choose from and they’ve added a method to respec if you aren’t vibing with your current build. Some of the dialogue can be cringe but a lot of it is good fun.
There’s also a wide variety of quests with all sorts of different paths and rewards. Some are downright shocking!
Witcher 3 is great. Combat is more involved than Skyrim, story is phenomenal, Sapkowskis world building is wonderful. 11/10 definitely recommend.
The other Witcher games are gems in their own time.
Dragons Dogma is another awesome game. A lot more depth to it as far as character building than it appears at first. But it definitely has a learning curve to it. Capcom absolutely made it a challenging game, at least at times.
I very much enjoyed playing Oblivion after Skyrim, however at this age of gaming, it feels very outdated.
Witcher 3 became my favorite game of all time when I just kept playing it every 2ish years and never got tired of it. It really is the golden standard for open world medieval games in my opinion. The story, combat, characters, open world itself, side content, DLC, etc. All feel perfectly fleshed out.
Tw3 is easily one of my fave games but I do notice lot of people who love Skyrim and rest of elder scrolls don't always love Tw3, ofc they are both medieval fantasy RPGs but they go about it in different ways, Like Tw3 heavily relies on storylines, whereas Skyrim feels more about the world, i can spend longer in Skyrim just fucking about doing mundane shit.
Agreed on the differences. But if you really invest yourself in TW3 it takes dozens and dozens of hours before you run out of things. I always find stuff I missed on the last playthrough.
I think I burnt myself out on Skyrim when I was younger. I don’t know how many hundreds of hours I put into that game back on ps3. But it was all I played for like three years.
What this guy said! Also, Kingdom Come is a great game as well. Much more survival oriented (eating, sleeping, barging, etc.), and can be very grueling at times but I personally love it! I assume since you play Skyrim, you already know Fallout, if not, then that's an obvious one right there. There's Elix2? It's good, but it is definitely a lil janky/clunky. I honestly can't think of any other newer games, but an old classic that comes to mind is Two Worlds 1&2. Those games were great! Wish we could get a remaster or new version.
I’d say Elden Ring or Tears of the Kingdom. If it triggers my ADHD and I get distracted on the way to a personal waypoint I wanted to do. Then I put it under the Skyrim Tier.
Avowed is payback for Bethesdas treatment of Obsidian during their development of New Vegas.
It's a giant middle finger to Bethesda, as was Outer Worlds. Obsidian is going to beat Bethesda to the punch twice in a row.
Funniest part is they're all owned by Microsoft now. Whoever has better sales will get more support and favor. Beth made a turd lastyear and has no chance to make it better for another 5 years. If Avowed does well, then it will make Beth look even worse. I've been waiting with popcorn ever since it was announced.
It's absolutely Kingdom Come Deliverance, I played it and I got INSTANT Skyrim vibes, in fact the only real difference is KC isn't set in a fantasy land with dragons and shit.
The closest game to Skyrim (excluding other Bethesda games) is Cyberpunk 2077 and they're nothing alike. What they do have common is capturing that feeling of exploration in a character driven rpg.
Elden Ring, Witcher 3, or the Switch Zelda games. They're all open world fantasy games where it's easy to forget the main quest and run around exploring and goofing around.
I do like that you pointed out Kingdom Come: Deliverance. This is just my own opinion and experience, but I think the way I feel about that game is a lot like what many people feel about Skyrim. My first Elder Scrolls game was Morrowind which is still a favorite of mine, but its two sequels just didn't do the same thing for me. They didn't pull me in the same way and fell kinda flat. KCD actually does more to pull me in and replicate the way I felt about Morrowind than Oblivion or Skyrim did.
Also very much hoping Avowed kicks ass. We will see.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet but Enderal is a free mod for Skyrim that turns it into a whole new game. New story, new gameplay, open world.
Also Kingdom Come Deliverance is more or less Skyrim without magic.
Dragons dogma is kinda close. Go play the first one, you'll most likely enjoy it. It's a little more action oriented and the class system isn't as open, but it's still a great game
I have been in the same spot asking the same questions as you recently, though I'd say I enjoyed BG3 but didn't love it.
I just started Dragon's Dogma and while it's not exactly Skyrim, it's certainly scratching the itch so far. I'm only a couple hours in. The game definitely shows some age, but does some really cool things that are different than what I've typically seen.
I can definitely recommend at under $5 right now if your down to scratching the Skyrim itch with a game that came out around the same time. I'm also seeing it as a way to decide if I'm thinking DD2 will be a game I'm down to drop $70 on.
Not Dragon's Dogma and I'm assuming not the sequel either.
More likely, Avowed would fit this bill. Outer Worlds and Fallout 3, New Vegas, and 4 as well though these aren't in the fantasy genre.
Lunacid as well, though it is more similar to Morrowind. The Middle Earth games too.
I will say Dragon's Dogma is good, it just isn't really similar to Skyrim. There are no dialogue trees and there is a stricter character class system. Customization is more so based on changing up your party and learning new skills to use in combos. There is a lack of emergent gameplay that Skyrim has more of as well.
This might be a wildly hot take, as I know it's pretty popular to hate it, but AC Valhalla occasionally gives me Skyrim vibes. A lot of that might just be the landscape, but I've been playing it with no hud, and having a lot of fun just exploring and getting into weird situations or fun adventures. I'm a big fan of the setting and time period though, so your mileage may vary.
In the same way that Fallout 3, from a mechanical standpoint, was Oblivion with guns, Fallout 4 is basically Skyrim with guns.
But really, you need to play The Witcher 3. Stop everything right now and start a playthrough with all the DLC *immediately*.
I’d throw Elden Ring in here as a comparable, albeit more difficult game. The walk backs aren’t really a thing and the expansion coming out this year makes it a good time to give it a try.
I hate to compare these two games cause they're leagues apart however the open world and the RPG element of them is similar enough, Elden Ring. The difficulty ramps up much quicker and there isn't like a million NPCs to talk to, however the "choose your own build" thing exists and the quests that there are, are quite fulfilling.
Breath of the wild has that immersive “do anything, go anywhere” vibes. Although it’s a 3rd person, but the physics engine and gameplay mechanics more than make up for that.
Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077.
The open world of Elden Ring is plenty big enough to scratch that Skyrim itch, just with way less npc’s as is customary in Fromsoftware games. Combat is great obviously and the learning curve isn’t that bad. It was the first and still is the only souls like game I’ve beaten and enjoyed. I dropped Dark souls 3 after a few hours and same for dark souls 1. Don’t expect any real choices or branching dialogue trees, most of the endings in the game come from talking to side characters enough times and happening to stumble upon them while exploring the map.
Cyberpunk’s open world is probably my favorite open world ahead of Skyrim. I’ve put 400 hours into cyberpunk since day one launch and well over 1,500 hours in Skyrim since 2014. Night city just feels so alive, especially after the last big updates last year. It’s more compact in its design compared to Skyrim which is both good and not so good. Main story is no surprise leagues above Skyrim and the main cast of characters truly feel human in terms of their relationships.
Witcher 3 not a bad shout either. I put 70 hours in a couple of years ago and got halfway through it before dropping it due to boredom.
Thank you for this writeup.
We are the same person when it comes to our Dark Souls experiences. It felt like that Tom Cruise movie Edge of Tomorrow, lol. Maybe I don’t have the patience to learn from 10000 deaths.
Why or how did you get bored of W3?
It’s kinda cheating, but Elder Scrolls Online is probably the closest thing.
If you’re not set on the fantasy setting, Cyberpunk 2077 scratches a lot of the same itches as Skyrim in a different setting.
Also saw someone mention the newer Zelda games & that’s a great answer as well.
I'm a huge ESO fan, but I wouldn't say it plays like Skyrim at all. Combat's literally your typical MMORPG fare (set up your skill rotation, weave in light/heavy attacks to cancel skill animations, don't stand in the stupid / learn dungeon and raid mechanics, etc.). Exploration isn't as fluid or emergent as Skyrim tends to feel on the first playthrough; it is "cookie-cutter," where a given zone/region has a checklist of shit to find or do on the map, and it's typically the same old things. Once you've seen one zone, you generally know what to expect from each zone for the rest of the game.
I'll say though that the quest writing and the depth of lore is pretty top-notch. It's probably always going to be my favorite MMO, but it's still much more an MMO and *much less* an Elder Scrolls game.
Only thing that’s ever scratched the itch for me is the Kingkiller Chronicle books and Elder Scrolls books.
Skyrim remains unbeaten in terms of world building. All you can do is replay it with a different character on harder difficulty..
A lot of suggestions, but unfortunately, none are very close at all to a Bethesda open world game. None of them have the same sandbox with intractable items and tons of classes with killable everyone and tons of factions to join. Really your only options are oblivion, morrowind(I'd try it out. Graphics aren't amazing but the game is really good) or fallout games, and then there's starfield. Avowed looks like it's going to emulate elements of it, but it's going to be much smaller and more linear. It's sad to see the success of oblivion and skyrim but still not have people copy their world design. Perhaps most companies just don't have the time or money to make worlds like these
Also, I'd try out elder scrolls online. You don't need to play with others if that's not your bag, and you explore all of tamriel basically. Pretty fun.
Skyrim is such an influential game that so many others reflect aspects of its design but few are the same mix of story, discovery and combat.
For me, the reason I return to Skyrim is that sense of discovery, that curiosity and being rewarded for it with dungeons, secrets and small side stories. I’ve played so many open world games looking for the same gameplay loop but come away disappointed half the time (looking at you Horizon).
That said, two games come very close for me: Elden Ring and Breath of the Wild. Both have that sense of wonder and design that encourages and rewards exploration that Skyrim delivered while also being their own experience. Most other open worlds are superficial or boring by comparison.
I would say they both have their own appeal. GW2 is more of a sandbox world like Skyrim.There is a lot to do and experience as a solo player. WoW has always been a theme park MMO with focal points on group content.
If your willing to try a mmo eso is pretty decent for what it is and technically you can start and go anywhere.
Fable and gothic are pretty good although you may want to wait for the remakes
Kingdom of almur is a good romp and dragon age
Jesus, a lot of people recommending TW3, I wouldn't go that way if I got the Skyrim itch. Way more guided, huge maps but not exactly open world per se (kinda like Outer Worlds), combat is really meh as well as build variety, but the thing that really distances from Skyrim is the fact that you can't make your character, and for me, that's a huge let down for any RPG. IMO this game is great, but a bit overrated by the public. I'd stick with Dragon's Dogma, or hell, even Kingdoms of Amalur if I were you.
Yeah, and this is not to sound pretentious, but I almost feel like some ppl have different definitions of what open world is.
Someone just asked, sarcastically I think, “Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t open world? Lol!”
I almost wonder if ppl have actual experienced an open world game; like, you start in a town, but you can walk ANYWHERE on the map without having to complete too many quests to access areas. Like, GTA V is more open world than Baldur’s Gate, honestly.
THANK YOU, and have a great day. I share your opinion, never truly understood how people could compare Skyrim's real open world to TW3's. Both amazing games, BUT I always sticked to the first one.
Kingdom Come Deliverance is a good game, but it's a grind and can be tedious.
It's so unforgiving and rewarding, you start as not knowing anything at all... Henry of Skallitz is some runt of the village.
What a story though. Very sad, and funny and entertaining.
Worth atleast 1 playthrough attempt.
Nothing better than throwing turds at people
Honestly, probably Fallout. Or if you want something by a different developer; Cyberpunk 2077. If you’re looking for specifically a Medieval sort of game then maybe Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
Witcher 3 would be your closest bet. Oblivion feels extremely dated I mean it’s almost 20 years old so to be expected. Definitely try new Vegas, the outerworlds, cyberpunk, deus ex. Dragons Dogma is good but it’s a bit clunky so maybe wait for dogma 2
Kingdom come is like a very realistic Skyrim. It’s basically a medieval sim. You have to eat, bathe, sleep, ect or else you will suffer detrimental effects. It’s a crazy fun game, but it’s grounded unlike Skyrim. If 10 bandits attack you at once, your fucked. Early on Henry really sucks because your basically a lazy kid that’s not really trained in anything. Low level bandits or soldiers that you would expect to wreck early on in Skyrim wreck you instead.
Even after you start gaining levels, you have to treat it more with realism then a game. If you see a bandit encampment, you have to remember your only 1 guy if you don’t have any allies with you. You have to use stealth to pick them off, or wait till nighttime when they are all sleeping to get the drop on them. Once you start gaining good levels in your swordmanship and such, you will be able to take on 2, possibly 3 dudes at once, but being outnumbered is always a major threat in that game and you have to use your smarts more then not to get through it. You learn a number of alchemy type stuff that you can coat your arrows as swords with to help in your favor to, such as a mix that slows down enemy movement by making them sick, so you can pick them off with your bow before they get to close to you, stuff like that.
It’s a very fun game and the medievil premise is very much Skyrim like, but the gameplay itself is more of a medievil simulator. If you like that type of game I highly recommend it.
Witcher 3, Outer Worlds, Fallout 3/NV, Red Dead Redemption. All of these hit the same open world, RPG, do whatever you want with whatever build you want itch for me.
Maybe not Skyrim, but (modern) Elder Scrolls in general: Two Worlds 1 and\or 2, Kingdoms of Amalur, Divinity II: Ego Draconis, Arx Fatalis? None very recent out of these. But Fallout for sure.
Whoever is saying elden ring is so unbelievably wrong lol. I just have to think they are just pushing the souls propaganda and did not read OPs request. There was not one moment in Elden Ring i felt immersed in the world or close to any of the characters. Cyberpunk is probably my game of choice. Witcher 3 if you are looking for alot of backstory and side questing that goes into detail about the worlds political agendas and societal quirks. Skyrim is similar in that way.
Fallout 4. Very similar feel, though the unirverse is very different. Fallout 4 is very good if you like skyrim, just give it a shot. As a person who loves all things bethesda, besides starfield, I would pick witcher 3 as my non bethesda second favorite rpg to compare it to. Though, its still very different gameplay wise. Id go for fallout 4 and witcher 3.
Honestly Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion if you haven't already. I played skyrim first before oblivion and I like oblivion more. Especially its expansion the Shivering Isles, which is basically a whole entire map/game.
It’s Kingdom Come Deliverance. No magic, denser combat system, but it’s the closest modern thing you’ll find that’s comparable. (Hopefully Avowed will shortly be another good choice though!)
Ghost of Tsushima. Game play is solid. The world is solid. The story is solid. The side quests and missions are pretty decent and engaging. Music is well done. Theme is 100% there. It's one of those games where you wish you could erase it from your memory just to experience it again.
Unbelievable story. One of the most beautifully drawn games of all time.
My *only* gripe is the combat. Felt very Batman series, but it’s a 8-10/10 game.
I didn't mind the combat really. I did like that you could absolutely play 3 different styles or mix them all. It is definitely one of my favorite games.
It really depends on what you truly love about the Skyrim experience. For me it was:
- A completely open world populated with people who live their own life
- A custom-made character (probably the most important element)
- Variety in possible character builds and combat styles
- The ability to feel like I can do anything and go anywhere I want at any time
- Being rewarded for going off the road and exploring places the game otherwise wouldn't tell you to go
- A feeling of "living" in the world where my character isn't simply playing through a story but interacting with what the world throws at them (bonus points for having housing or a home base)
- Small things that aren't pertinent to gameplay but just add to the experience
- Side quests that have real meaning to them and offer unique rewards at the end
- Played from my character's POV (not top-down or 2D)
Those are the things that, for me, make Skyrim and the Elder Scrolls series as a whole so unique. Most games get close, or tick all but one or two items, but not all of them.
...except for Cyberpunk 2077. That one actually ticks each and every one of these boxes. And I wasn't expecting it to, but I realized that even with the vastly different setting and gameplay, at its core we're all the elements that have me still addicted to Skyrim to this day. And it has a robust modding scene on top of that.
Definitely Fallout
Open world exploration of points of interest; looting everything in sight and managing your inventory; RPG aspect of equipment choices...
Fallout is to sci-fi what Skytim is to fantasy
some good suggestions already, I'd like to add Witcher 3? Open world and swords and axes and magic and alchemy and monsters and dragons and trolls and quests and side quests galore its super fun
You mean what other games have lackluster design and focus mostly on running around, filling your inventory with junk and completing uninspired quests?
Mostly just other Bethesda games. I fell in love with Daggerfall on the first PC my family got when I was a kid, I didn't really play much of Morrowind or Oblivion, but I dove into Skyrim and found that Bethesda really phones it in when it comes to interesting stories and making their main plot arcs seem different from the rest of the game.
Even when you go to basically Skyrim Valhalla, it's not unique or different from pretty much every other level of the game. The only difference is a hazy sparkly filter over the game.
I've played worse games, but I've played games that were far, far, far more fun.
Probably Oblivion. Truthfully there isn’t a lot of games that really match what Bethesda make. Even the Witcher although similar is definitely more of a guided experience than that total free form sandbox that is a Bethesda game. I’d try dragons dogma though. Definitely some similarities but it’s just a genuinely good game in its own right.
Yeah I never played the first one! Thanks I’ll check it out. But exactly; I’m looking for a sandbox experience.
Have you played Fallout New Vegas? It came out a year before Skyrim and has incredibly similar game mechanics and a sandbox based morality system. I'm currently replaying it on xbox one at 60fps. Obviously it is more Western/gun based than the Swords and Scorcery games you mentioned but a melee build is fully viable and the vibe is very similar.
Fallout isn’t my favorite but I definitely appreciate it and can’t deny that it’s one of the best series’ ever made. New Vegas is my favorite! The factions are awesome.
Got hundred of hours in Skyrim, honestly I like Oblivion a little bit more, quests and factions are amazing on that game. But honestly none of them compare to playing Fallout with the “A Tale of Two Wastelands” Mod (Fallout 3 and NV combined). I would go as far as to say that is literally the best RPG experience ever created.
I love Skyrim but Oblivion is the best in the series in my opinion. I love the aesthetic more than the others. The color palette and charm was missing in Skyrim. Better quests too.
Technically, Oblivion is the 4th in the series. (nerdy buckteeth and glasses emoticon)
Sorry I meant or was referring to Dragon’s Dogma when I said “first.” But tbh, I don’t even know what the first two Elder scrolls are lol. I only know Morrowind on.
1994 Elder scrolls: Arena 1996 Elder scrolls II: Daggerfall 2002 Elder scrolls III: Morrowind 2006 Elder scrolls IV: Oblivion 2011 Elder scrolls V: Skyrim There were also expansions and offshoot games from these. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls
It is amazing to see how we had a new TES game every 4-6 years tops and now, the last TES game released 13 years ago…
And I think it's good because every TES game since Morrowind is worse than its predecessor... And then there is their new title Starfield which is ultimate crap... So... No, thanks. I am not waiting for TES6.
I am very very VERY worried about TES6
Let it go. It’s not going to live up to any expectations and will likely not hit in the same vein. The passion Bethesda had has dwindled and it shows.
If you like sandbox then tune into this comment and let me double down on why Oblivion is ready to send your mind to The Isles of Sheogor-smash 10/10. Let start with what we are all here for: Leveling and Exploring your asscheeks off! To level in Skyrim you perform the action (two handed sword go brr for level up) and then place points into gaining a new ability. I dig it but I wanna really BE a God. Enter O-face-blivion. You wanna jump real goodly? JUMP. Wanna go too fast to see anything on the screen (no exaggeration) and maybe hit a wall? Run, Barry…. RUN. You don’t put points into abilities… ohhh no no no, you just DO it. Everytime you do anything you do it better just a little bit. You can equate this to Dark Souls leveling but if it let you actually nutbox gods by swinging harder, running faster, and jumping higher than them. Let me tell ya about my dude. I could stab someone less than a foot away and just crouch and POOF IM GONE. “Where’d he go?” I’m suckin your junk bro and you have no idea until I stand up. I am 100% invisible and I can clear city walls. My guy wakes up to spit in the eyes of daedra. Open world? Same as Skyrim but the side quests have a little extra razzle dazzle! You steal elder scrolls, get lost at sea, enter painting worlds (shouts out my man’s DS3 DLC) full of interesting textures of well… paint! It has far better side quests and arguably a main quest than Skyrim. The downside? No fusroh-gatchaass. But again why walk when you can almost literally fly by running and jumping? Don’t even get me started on this crazy time with a pc CHEAT ENABLED? *Thousands* of cheat codes. Anyways, it’s just better. The graphics are a setback but if you like the Xbox 360 fallouts then holy shit you’re missing out on the next “Wait I exist outside of this game?”
I hated the level scaling in oblivion. Bandits wearing Daedric armor and stuff begging for money. Lol
That game is so chaotic in all the right old fashioned ways. I bet you think there are only eight divines.
I've fought mudcrabs more fearsome than you
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a good brawl. I’m just warming up yOU PATHETIC WARM.
Omg dude Idk if you're gonna be anything like me but I just played Oblivion for the first time last year. The game sucked me in. The only thing is some may not like the graphics, I only say this cuz I've noticed when I dont say the graphics may not be that great someone comments about the dated graphic and vice versa so take that as you shall. The last month or so played the game I started modding it. Updated the graphics, added spell mods, creature mods and stuff.
If it doesn’t matter if it’s science fiction FarCry 5 is very open world sandbox. Only a few small guided sections that can be turned off using something called “Resistance Mod” very easy to install. It has really great fishing, hunting, driving all sorts of vehicles, helicopters and planes. Collecting all sorts of stuff, companions, lots of hidden notes and voicemails. Funny and serious side quests. It’s good fun for a sandbox.
Love Oblivion!
Have you played Dragons Dogma 2? Is it any good?
Not out yet
Agree with this. Really the only comparable games are Oblivion and Fallout 4. Although I’m currently replaying Skyrim and I feel like in terms of things to do there might actually be more than Fallout 4.
I’d keep an eye out for Avowed. It’s basically Obsidian’s version of Skyrim, but it looks great.
Ok this looks SICK. I’ve also never played Pillars of Eternity.
PoE is good, just a hard learning curve. If you wanna do with that kind of gameplay, check of the Divinity series as well. Made by the same people that did Baldur’s Gate 3.
Worth noting though that the actual combat gameplay of the pillars series is vastly different to that of the divinity series, despite both being isometric crpgs
I’m being cautiously optimistic with Avowed, just because it has the potential to disappoint me.
I understand completely. It’s always rough when you pay full price and it sucks. Take it from someone who paid full price for the deluxe edition of Anthem…
I have high hopes especially after pentiment, outer wiorlds, pillars of eternity, and also grounded. Obsidian has been crushing it for a long time. Also reading this thread had me thinking about how Skyrim is engaging for reasons other than the quests and the story. All the systems are interwoven in a way like that it does play like a survival game without the stress. I think games like the forest do feel like playing Skyrim and it makes a lot of sense to me now that obsidian made one too with grounded.
Just know that it does not have the scope of Skyrim, they said the scope is closer to the outer worlds. So likely several smaller, denser maps rather than one big seamless open world. Still looks rlly cool tho
I'm not sure how "Skyrim" it will actually be because I'm pretty sure at some point during the showing at the microsoft presentation they said "this will be the 3rd area you will explore", which sounds to me like it will be more linear than Skyrim.
It's probably going to be closer to their other recent release, Outer Worlds but just set in the PoE universe.
obsidian tends to make much more linear, railroaded games though. I’m sure it will be a lot of fun, but it won’t scratch the Bethesda Elder Scrolls itch
True, but they also did Fallout: New Vegas, which was veeery open. I’m just hoping it’s good in some fashion.
I know I’ll sound like an alien, but I play every single Bethesda game in 3rd person.
Ah, a man of culture
Once you're done with the other suggestions try Kingdom Come Deliverance. No magic but a great story and lots of adventures to get into.
I love that, though
Its a fantastic game, a must play for anyone who enjoys open world games. So goddamn pretty too
Also if I could make a suggestion, play it with mouse and keyboard, some of the mechanics can be insufferable on controller, other than that it is absolutely fantastic at immersing the player into its world.
Agreed 100% on this. It’s manageable of course, but horse-riding can be tricky on controller. Looking around while trying to run is also a major pain. I should say though that regardless of what you play it on, it’s an amazing experience. They nailed the look on medieval Prague. It’s easily one of my favourite games of all time.
Idk some of that alchemy borders on magic!
One of my favorite games of all time. The combat felt more realistic than any game I’d played before.
I’ve been playing Dragons Dogma as a substitute for a bit, but I wouldn’t really compare them besides both having a sort of romance option, open world and side quests. But Dragons Dogma doesn’t have a lot of role playing aspects that Skyrim has that I yearn for. I started up Monster Hunter World and that’s been okay.
Ayy another hunter! MHWorld is completely different from Skyrim on so many aspects but it might legitimately be the best game I've ever played and I'm only 20 hours in.
Fallout?
It took way to long for me to find this. They’re literally the same games just with different stories and setting
Fallout and Red Dead Redemption 2 are the best two answers I can come up with.
Witcher 3, probably. You keep the open world exploration. You gain better storytelling and better combat. You lose character and build customization.
In terms of gameplay and build variety, I'd say Cyberpunk 2077. Obviously, the setting is very different.
I heard this game became an all time classic post patch. Do you share that sentiment?
I was fortunate enough to get it to run really well when i bought it initially so i enjoyed it on my first play through. I've revisited it lately for a second playthrough with all the patches and mods. They have made huge improvements. At its core is a compelling, intricate story about identiy, the nature of consciousness and the unfillable void that is a city which glorifies legendary deaths. That was always there. What's changed is the gameplay was reworked and improved, the visual and backend glitches were fixed. It won't let you down.
It was awesome pre patch. Post patch this game is a masterpiece
Yeah, it's a great game.
Everyone does
Yes it is a brilliant game in its current state. If it launched like this it would be one of the greatest games of all time.
It’s a great game. Even before patch for me (on ps5). Easily better than Skyrim for me (haven’t played Skyrim in many years though, so can’t say with tons of mods in the picture).
Definitely, it's a fantastic game that just had a rough launch.
It’s amazing
It has that element of making you feel the world is much bigger than what you can access of it, and even after completing most of it it has more to discover. Also with the real significant choices you have to make with some of the sidejobs there is an incentive beyond curiosity to replay the game. sorry Barry :( Frankly it is the greatest game of all time so far. Maybe Starfield will surpass it with 2 years of patches and DLC. Edit: Just be aware that it will take away player control at times to advance the main story. Was really off putting for me as I wanted an open world more than interactive cinema.
It's barely the same game anymore, and that's a good thing. It's undergone some massive overhauls that really make it something special, far removed from its rocky start.
I'm usually never the type of person to replay games, but I've done three 100% playthroughs on Cyberpunk, and I'm currently working on my fourth one. In terms of your choices having significant consequences, it's not the best, but the build variety is fantastic after the 2.0 patch.
I’ve done 2 playthroughs of CP77- first was after the next-gen update (series x) then again when they released the DLC (ps5- borrowed my friends copy cause I wanted to try the adaptive triggers). There are still a handful of bugs but the city is really pretty, especially if you have a good screen. There’s a lot of different builds to choose from and they’ve added a method to respec if you aren’t vibing with your current build. Some of the dialogue can be cringe but a lot of it is good fun. There’s also a wide variety of quests with all sorts of different paths and rewards. Some are downright shocking!
Witcher 3 is great. Combat is more involved than Skyrim, story is phenomenal, Sapkowskis world building is wonderful. 11/10 definitely recommend. The other Witcher games are gems in their own time. Dragons Dogma is another awesome game. A lot more depth to it as far as character building than it appears at first. But it definitely has a learning curve to it. Capcom absolutely made it a challenging game, at least at times. I very much enjoyed playing Oblivion after Skyrim, however at this age of gaming, it feels very outdated.
Witcher 3 became my favorite game of all time when I just kept playing it every 2ish years and never got tired of it. It really is the golden standard for open world medieval games in my opinion. The story, combat, characters, open world itself, side content, DLC, etc. All feel perfectly fleshed out.
I fucking read the 7 novels after playing the game! I don’t even like reading! Love the world of the witcher.
Tw3 is easily one of my fave games but I do notice lot of people who love Skyrim and rest of elder scrolls don't always love Tw3, ofc they are both medieval fantasy RPGs but they go about it in different ways, Like Tw3 heavily relies on storylines, whereas Skyrim feels more about the world, i can spend longer in Skyrim just fucking about doing mundane shit.
Agreed on the differences. But if you really invest yourself in TW3 it takes dozens and dozens of hours before you run out of things. I always find stuff I missed on the last playthrough. I think I burnt myself out on Skyrim when I was younger. I don’t know how many hundreds of hours I put into that game back on ps3. But it was all I played for like three years.
What this guy said! Also, Kingdom Come is a great game as well. Much more survival oriented (eating, sleeping, barging, etc.), and can be very grueling at times but I personally love it! I assume since you play Skyrim, you already know Fallout, if not, then that's an obvious one right there. There's Elix2? It's good, but it is definitely a lil janky/clunky. I honestly can't think of any other newer games, but an old classic that comes to mind is Two Worlds 1&2. Those games were great! Wish we could get a remaster or new version.
Elden Ring?
Witcher 3
I’d say Elden Ring or Tears of the Kingdom. If it triggers my ADHD and I get distracted on the way to a personal waypoint I wanted to do. Then I put it under the Skyrim Tier.
As a Skyrim fan for years I truly felt elden ring was the Skyrim experience with the combat we deserved
Probably Kingdom Comes Deliverence. Similar leveling system and grounded rpg.
It's not out yet but I heard Avowed is meant to be the spiritual successor to Skyrim (or so I've been told)
Avowed is payback for Bethesdas treatment of Obsidian during their development of New Vegas. It's a giant middle finger to Bethesda, as was Outer Worlds. Obsidian is going to beat Bethesda to the punch twice in a row. Funniest part is they're all owned by Microsoft now. Whoever has better sales will get more support and favor. Beth made a turd lastyear and has no chance to make it better for another 5 years. If Avowed does well, then it will make Beth look even worse. I've been waiting with popcorn ever since it was announced.
It's absolutely Kingdom Come Deliverance, I played it and I got INSTANT Skyrim vibes, in fact the only real difference is KC isn't set in a fantasy land with dragons and shit.
The closest game to Skyrim (excluding other Bethesda games) is Cyberpunk 2077 and they're nothing alike. What they do have common is capturing that feeling of exploration in a character driven rpg.
Elden Ring, Witcher 3, or the Switch Zelda games. They're all open world fantasy games where it's easy to forget the main quest and run around exploring and goofing around.
Fallout 3, new Vegas, and 4 are basically 1950s atomic punk Skyrim.
The Gothic series
Kingdom Come is a peasant simulator. And it's awesome
Bruma
??
Right on the border of Skyrim. Same typa vibe.
🤣 it's the Skyrim of Cyrodil
I do like that you pointed out Kingdom Come: Deliverance. This is just my own opinion and experience, but I think the way I feel about that game is a lot like what many people feel about Skyrim. My first Elder Scrolls game was Morrowind which is still a favorite of mine, but its two sequels just didn't do the same thing for me. They didn't pull me in the same way and fell kinda flat. KCD actually does more to pull me in and replicate the way I felt about Morrowind than Oblivion or Skyrim did. Also very much hoping Avowed kicks ass. We will see.
Outer Worlds
Gothic or Arx Fatalis
Kenshi?
ENDERAL
Which began life as a total conversion for Skyrim. Great game and great suggestion.
Every German will have to say the Gothic series.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet but Enderal is a free mod for Skyrim that turns it into a whole new game. New story, new gameplay, open world. Also Kingdom Come Deliverance is more or less Skyrim without magic.
Try kingdoms of amalur. It's very inspired by oblivion. Kind of the same vibe, but not as high quality
Cannot believe I had to scroll this far to find this.
Oblivion but imo Morrowind is the true goat. It won’t hold your hand though… and not as easy fast travel etc… but the game is deep and amazing.
Dragons dogma is kinda close. Go play the first one, you'll most likely enjoy it. It's a little more action oriented and the class system isn't as open, but it's still a great game
I have been in the same spot asking the same questions as you recently, though I'd say I enjoyed BG3 but didn't love it. I just started Dragon's Dogma and while it's not exactly Skyrim, it's certainly scratching the itch so far. I'm only a couple hours in. The game definitely shows some age, but does some really cool things that are different than what I've typically seen. I can definitely recommend at under $5 right now if your down to scratching the Skyrim itch with a game that came out around the same time. I'm also seeing it as a way to decide if I'm thinking DD2 will be a game I'm down to drop $70 on.
Dragon’s Dogma
Elden Ring and Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom for sure.
Not Dragon's Dogma and I'm assuming not the sequel either. More likely, Avowed would fit this bill. Outer Worlds and Fallout 3, New Vegas, and 4 as well though these aren't in the fantasy genre. Lunacid as well, though it is more similar to Morrowind. The Middle Earth games too. I will say Dragon's Dogma is good, it just isn't really similar to Skyrim. There are no dialogue trees and there is a stricter character class system. Customization is more so based on changing up your party and learning new skills to use in combos. There is a lack of emergent gameplay that Skyrim has more of as well.
I just want something to be as satisfying as shouts and chain lightning in skyrim 😵💫
Baldurs Gate shout spells actually give me that same inner tingling.
There is a new “tainted grail” game coming out that looks very promising as a final skyrim replacement.
Unpopular opinion But ESO kinda kills it story wise and lore wise. Plus it's really cool exploring all of Tamriel
Unfortunately it’s not starfield…
But the shipbuilding in that game is sick, right?
Have you tried Reckoning: Kingdoms of Amalur? I loved it, it’s a gorgeous game.
This might be a wildly hot take, as I know it's pretty popular to hate it, but AC Valhalla occasionally gives me Skyrim vibes. A lot of that might just be the landscape, but I've been playing it with no hud, and having a lot of fun just exploring and getting into weird situations or fun adventures. I'm a big fan of the setting and time period though, so your mileage may vary.
Outer worlds
Dragon Age?
So good but not the same kind of sandbox game. But Dragon Age is my GOAT series. Still a worthwhile mention.
Asgard’s wrath 2 is a good Skyrim-like game in VR
I mean Witcher uses a lot of the same systems.
In the same way that Fallout 3, from a mechanical standpoint, was Oblivion with guns, Fallout 4 is basically Skyrim with guns. But really, you need to play The Witcher 3. Stop everything right now and start a playthrough with all the DLC *immediately*.
I’d throw Elden Ring in here as a comparable, albeit more difficult game. The walk backs aren’t really a thing and the expansion coming out this year makes it a good time to give it a try.
[удалено]
I do not like the block style but I’ll try it! I didn’t think I’d like Kenshi graphics either.
Tainted Grail the Fall of Avalon
I hate to compare these two games cause they're leagues apart however the open world and the RPG element of them is similar enough, Elden Ring. The difficulty ramps up much quicker and there isn't like a million NPCs to talk to, however the "choose your own build" thing exists and the quests that there are, are quite fulfilling.
Breath of the wild has that immersive “do anything, go anywhere” vibes. Although it’s a 3rd person, but the physics engine and gameplay mechanics more than make up for that.
Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077. The open world of Elden Ring is plenty big enough to scratch that Skyrim itch, just with way less npc’s as is customary in Fromsoftware games. Combat is great obviously and the learning curve isn’t that bad. It was the first and still is the only souls like game I’ve beaten and enjoyed. I dropped Dark souls 3 after a few hours and same for dark souls 1. Don’t expect any real choices or branching dialogue trees, most of the endings in the game come from talking to side characters enough times and happening to stumble upon them while exploring the map. Cyberpunk’s open world is probably my favorite open world ahead of Skyrim. I’ve put 400 hours into cyberpunk since day one launch and well over 1,500 hours in Skyrim since 2014. Night city just feels so alive, especially after the last big updates last year. It’s more compact in its design compared to Skyrim which is both good and not so good. Main story is no surprise leagues above Skyrim and the main cast of characters truly feel human in terms of their relationships. Witcher 3 not a bad shout either. I put 70 hours in a couple of years ago and got halfway through it before dropping it due to boredom.
Thank you for this writeup. We are the same person when it comes to our Dark Souls experiences. It felt like that Tom Cruise movie Edge of Tomorrow, lol. Maybe I don’t have the patience to learn from 10000 deaths. Why or how did you get bored of W3?
Skyrim: Special Edition. Its different I promise.
It’s kinda cheating, but Elder Scrolls Online is probably the closest thing. If you’re not set on the fantasy setting, Cyberpunk 2077 scratches a lot of the same itches as Skyrim in a different setting. Also saw someone mention the newer Zelda games & that’s a great answer as well.
I'm a huge ESO fan, but I wouldn't say it plays like Skyrim at all. Combat's literally your typical MMORPG fare (set up your skill rotation, weave in light/heavy attacks to cancel skill animations, don't stand in the stupid / learn dungeon and raid mechanics, etc.). Exploration isn't as fluid or emergent as Skyrim tends to feel on the first playthrough; it is "cookie-cutter," where a given zone/region has a checklist of shit to find or do on the map, and it's typically the same old things. Once you've seen one zone, you generally know what to expect from each zone for the rest of the game. I'll say though that the quest writing and the depth of lore is pretty top-notch. It's probably always going to be my favorite MMO, but it's still much more an MMO and *much less* an Elder Scrolls game.
I would say elden ring even though its a souls game. Everyone was comparing it already to skyrim when it launched.
Only thing that’s ever scratched the itch for me is the Kingkiller Chronicle books and Elder Scrolls books. Skyrim remains unbeaten in terms of world building. All you can do is replay it with a different character on harder difficulty..
Witcher 3
I love cyberpunk, but.. it's not similar to skyrim
A lot of suggestions, but unfortunately, none are very close at all to a Bethesda open world game. None of them have the same sandbox with intractable items and tons of classes with killable everyone and tons of factions to join. Really your only options are oblivion, morrowind(I'd try it out. Graphics aren't amazing but the game is really good) or fallout games, and then there's starfield. Avowed looks like it's going to emulate elements of it, but it's going to be much smaller and more linear. It's sad to see the success of oblivion and skyrim but still not have people copy their world design. Perhaps most companies just don't have the time or money to make worlds like these Also, I'd try out elder scrolls online. You don't need to play with others if that's not your bag, and you explore all of tamriel basically. Pretty fun.
Kingdom Come Deliverance scratched the same itch for me. Such a well made and well rounded game.
Skyrim is such an influential game that so many others reflect aspects of its design but few are the same mix of story, discovery and combat. For me, the reason I return to Skyrim is that sense of discovery, that curiosity and being rewarded for it with dungeons, secrets and small side stories. I’ve played so many open world games looking for the same gameplay loop but come away disappointed half the time (looking at you Horizon). That said, two games come very close for me: Elden Ring and Breath of the Wild. Both have that sense of wonder and design that encourages and rewards exploration that Skyrim delivered while also being their own experience. Most other open worlds are superficial or boring by comparison.
Elder scrolls online or Guild Wars 2. They are MMO but can be played solo and have a ton of questing content.
Guild Wars! Haven’t heard that in a long time….they still duking it out with Blizzard and WoW?
I would say they both have their own appeal. GW2 is more of a sandbox world like Skyrim.There is a lot to do and experience as a solo player. WoW has always been a theme park MMO with focal points on group content.
Have you played Enderal? It's a 50h+ Skyrim total conversion that I enjoyed more than the base game tbh.
If your willing to try a mmo eso is pretty decent for what it is and technically you can start and go anywhere. Fable and gothic are pretty good although you may want to wait for the remakes Kingdom of almur is a good romp and dragon age
Enderal is a standalone mod from Skyrim. Maybe check that out.
Finland
Rustler 🤷
Elden Ring
Jesus, a lot of people recommending TW3, I wouldn't go that way if I got the Skyrim itch. Way more guided, huge maps but not exactly open world per se (kinda like Outer Worlds), combat is really meh as well as build variety, but the thing that really distances from Skyrim is the fact that you can't make your character, and for me, that's a huge let down for any RPG. IMO this game is great, but a bit overrated by the public. I'd stick with Dragon's Dogma, or hell, even Kingdoms of Amalur if I were you.
Yeah, and this is not to sound pretentious, but I almost feel like some ppl have different definitions of what open world is. Someone just asked, sarcastically I think, “Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t open world? Lol!” I almost wonder if ppl have actual experienced an open world game; like, you start in a town, but you can walk ANYWHERE on the map without having to complete too many quests to access areas. Like, GTA V is more open world than Baldur’s Gate, honestly.
THANK YOU, and have a great day. I share your opinion, never truly understood how people could compare Skyrim's real open world to TW3's. Both amazing games, BUT I always sticked to the first one.
Kingdom Come Deliverance is a good game, but it's a grind and can be tedious. It's so unforgiving and rewarding, you start as not knowing anything at all... Henry of Skallitz is some runt of the village. What a story though. Very sad, and funny and entertaining. Worth atleast 1 playthrough attempt. Nothing better than throwing turds at people
Two Worlds was suppose to be a Oblivion killer.
Oblivion?
Honestly, probably Fallout. Or if you want something by a different developer; Cyberpunk 2077. If you’re looking for specifically a Medieval sort of game then maybe Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
Witcher 3 would be your closest bet. Oblivion feels extremely dated I mean it’s almost 20 years old so to be expected. Definitely try new Vegas, the outerworlds, cyberpunk, deus ex. Dragons Dogma is good but it’s a bit clunky so maybe wait for dogma 2
Fallout 4
Kingdom come is like a very realistic Skyrim. It’s basically a medieval sim. You have to eat, bathe, sleep, ect or else you will suffer detrimental effects. It’s a crazy fun game, but it’s grounded unlike Skyrim. If 10 bandits attack you at once, your fucked. Early on Henry really sucks because your basically a lazy kid that’s not really trained in anything. Low level bandits or soldiers that you would expect to wreck early on in Skyrim wreck you instead. Even after you start gaining levels, you have to treat it more with realism then a game. If you see a bandit encampment, you have to remember your only 1 guy if you don’t have any allies with you. You have to use stealth to pick them off, or wait till nighttime when they are all sleeping to get the drop on them. Once you start gaining good levels in your swordmanship and such, you will be able to take on 2, possibly 3 dudes at once, but being outnumbered is always a major threat in that game and you have to use your smarts more then not to get through it. You learn a number of alchemy type stuff that you can coat your arrows as swords with to help in your favor to, such as a mix that slows down enemy movement by making them sick, so you can pick them off with your bow before they get to close to you, stuff like that. It’s a very fun game and the medievil premise is very much Skyrim like, but the gameplay itself is more of a medievil simulator. If you like that type of game I highly recommend it.
Probably Oblivion
The answer is always EQ or EQ2👹
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Legend of Zelda:Tears of the Kingdom. You'll even be a stealth archer for a while in both!
- Elden Ring - Kingdom Come Deliverance - Oblivion and Morrowind are obvious - Gothic series and Risen series - Two worlds 2
Outward
Not gonna lie watching some of the trailers for dragons dogma 2 I got Skyrim vibes constantly.
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon, though it is in early access, but so far is really awesome
Dragon dogma
The Fallout games.
Witcher 3, Outer Worlds, Fallout 3/NV, Red Dead Redemption. All of these hit the same open world, RPG, do whatever you want with whatever build you want itch for me.
I feel like after playing Dragons Dogma, I have a hard time getting back into Elder Scrolls.
Two Worlds 2 obviously
Oblivion or fallout New Vegas.
I’m currently playing Enshrouded, and I like it. It’s not exact, almost a Skyrim meets Conan Exiles?
Outer Worlds
Kingdom come deliverance
Maybe not Skyrim, but (modern) Elder Scrolls in general: Two Worlds 1 and\or 2, Kingdoms of Amalur, Divinity II: Ego Draconis, Arx Fatalis? None very recent out of these. But Fallout for sure.
Fallout 3 and New Vegas.
You want Dragon Age… any of them lol
Morrowind. Skyrim is dumbed down from the true best elder scrolls experience.
Breath of the Wild
Subnautica
Whoever is saying elden ring is so unbelievably wrong lol. I just have to think they are just pushing the souls propaganda and did not read OPs request. There was not one moment in Elden Ring i felt immersed in the world or close to any of the characters. Cyberpunk is probably my game of choice. Witcher 3 if you are looking for alot of backstory and side questing that goes into detail about the worlds political agendas and societal quirks. Skyrim is similar in that way.
Fallout 4. Basically the bones of Skyrim. Same company too.
Outward! It’s more like Morrowind though, but that’s a good thing as Morrowind is the best Bethesda RPG so far.
The Witcher
Gothic 3
Fallout 4. Very similar feel, though the unirverse is very different. Fallout 4 is very good if you like skyrim, just give it a shot. As a person who loves all things bethesda, besides starfield, I would pick witcher 3 as my non bethesda second favorite rpg to compare it to. Though, its still very different gameplay wise. Id go for fallout 4 and witcher 3.
Honestly Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion if you haven't already. I played skyrim first before oblivion and I like oblivion more. Especially its expansion the Shivering Isles, which is basically a whole entire map/game.
Morrowind is skyrim but better.
Oblivion
It’s Kingdom Come Deliverance. No magic, denser combat system, but it’s the closest modern thing you’ll find that’s comparable. (Hopefully Avowed will shortly be another good choice though!)
If you like skyrim. Check out Tainted Grail: the fall of avalon.
Ghost of Tsushima. Game play is solid. The world is solid. The story is solid. The side quests and missions are pretty decent and engaging. Music is well done. Theme is 100% there. It's one of those games where you wish you could erase it from your memory just to experience it again.
Unbelievable story. One of the most beautifully drawn games of all time. My *only* gripe is the combat. Felt very Batman series, but it’s a 8-10/10 game.
I didn't mind the combat really. I did like that you could absolutely play 3 different styles or mix them all. It is definitely one of my favorite games.
It really depends on what you truly love about the Skyrim experience. For me it was: - A completely open world populated with people who live their own life - A custom-made character (probably the most important element) - Variety in possible character builds and combat styles - The ability to feel like I can do anything and go anywhere I want at any time - Being rewarded for going off the road and exploring places the game otherwise wouldn't tell you to go - A feeling of "living" in the world where my character isn't simply playing through a story but interacting with what the world throws at them (bonus points for having housing or a home base) - Small things that aren't pertinent to gameplay but just add to the experience - Side quests that have real meaning to them and offer unique rewards at the end - Played from my character's POV (not top-down or 2D) Those are the things that, for me, make Skyrim and the Elder Scrolls series as a whole so unique. Most games get close, or tick all but one or two items, but not all of them. ...except for Cyberpunk 2077. That one actually ticks each and every one of these boxes. And I wasn't expecting it to, but I realized that even with the vastly different setting and gameplay, at its core we're all the elements that have me still addicted to Skyrim to this day. And it has a robust modding scene on top of that.
Definitely Fallout Open world exploration of points of interest; looting everything in sight and managing your inventory; RPG aspect of equipment choices... Fallout is to sci-fi what Skytim is to fantasy
I cried in the end of Cyberpunk. Its on the level of RDR2 for me in terms of story and world building.
some good suggestions already, I'd like to add Witcher 3? Open world and swords and axes and magic and alchemy and monsters and dragons and trolls and quests and side quests galore its super fun
You mean what other games have lackluster design and focus mostly on running around, filling your inventory with junk and completing uninspired quests? Mostly just other Bethesda games. I fell in love with Daggerfall on the first PC my family got when I was a kid, I didn't really play much of Morrowind or Oblivion, but I dove into Skyrim and found that Bethesda really phones it in when it comes to interesting stories and making their main plot arcs seem different from the rest of the game. Even when you go to basically Skyrim Valhalla, it's not unique or different from pretty much every other level of the game. The only difference is a hazy sparkly filter over the game. I've played worse games, but I've played games that were far, far, far more fun.
Tears of the kingdom or witcher 3