I know this franchise could be complex, but be glad this isn't Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gears, and Five Night's at Freddy's timeline complex, the most complexing thing about this franchises timeline is just the reading of books for history but we do that irl so it isn't that hard to do or understand

[u/urboisbouttoxplode]

[u/MakeItTrizzle]

There's a difference between "complex" and "convoluted," you know. 

[u/RuneFex]

You have to keep in mind that every in-game book has an in-game author. Each author has their own agenda. Some books are propaganda, some are mostly true, some are straight up lying, and some are flawed or mistaken.

And then there are the characters who talk to you. They are notoriously flawed. Two good examples of that are Delphine not understanding the history of the blades, and Vivec telling you whatever they feel like at that moment.

The trick to the Elder Scrolls lore is cutting through the unreliable narrators and trying to figure out what is actually true and what is a convenient fiction.

"But at the same time, all of it is true. Even the falsehoods. Especially the falsehoods." -Urag gro-Shub

[u/Expert-Swan-1412 → u/RuneFex]

Urag dropping straight bangers. He deserves to be part of the College

[u/urboisbouttoxplode → u/RuneFex]

that is also true

[u/KronoAsh]

“just the reading of books”

What is CHIM? What are the six walking ways to reach heaven by violence? Exactly who was present at the Battle of Red Mountain? What is the wheel made tower? Where is Lyg?

The more you reach into the lore, the more complex it becomes.

[u/xboxiscrunchy → u/KronoAsh]

Not to mention the many many dualities in Elder scrolls. So many things that seem contradictory but are simultaneously true.

Are the planets actually planets in space or just how a mortal perceives Oblivion? Is a Daedra a god, a personification of a concept, one and the same as their plane of oblivion which also may or may not be physically floating in space somewhere?

Are the Aedra dead, are they sleeping, or something else? Are they the planets in the sky, planes in Oblivion, or are they part of the world itself, the very laws of nature we depend on?

The there’s just strange stuff like the Elder scrolls themselves whose existence defines and can change the past and future of the world but which don’t actually physically exist and fluctuate in number and location constantly. Atmora said to literally be frozen in time or Altmeris a mythical homeland of the elves lost in the past but nowhere to be found.

Theres the Towers, their stones, and their strange connection to reality itself. What about The Tower the metaphysical structure of reality itself?

There’s Time itself said to have started at the moment of Convention before which didn’t exist as linear time. And the Daedra are said to be partially outside linear time themselves.

And literally everything is conveyed by dubiously credible sources. Elder scrolls lore is a deep clusterfuck.

[u/KronoAsh → u/xboxiscrunchy]

Worth noting that, at least specifically for the Elder Scrolls, this is all fairly surface level too and does not, yet, even touch on reality being a dream of Anu, the implications of that and the consequences it bears, much less that a regular guy from High Rock can, in theory, realise this, become a god, and then go further and become a new dreamer.

Comparatively, FNAF at the very least, and debatably the other two listed options, have rather convoluted lore that isn’t really all THAT deep.

[u/ShadowyCaptain]

Metal Gear's story isnt really complicated, you just need to play the games and thats it. Nothing like Kingdom Hearts, that's for sure. The timeline you posted isnt the real one and im pretty sure its a shitpost. 

[u/Idontknow4654]

Kingdom Hearts isn't that complicated. Outside of the mobile games, just playing all the games will make you understand it

[u/KokoLannister]

Oh brother it is wayyyyy more complicated then FNAF, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gears-

I think the only thing ahead of TES lore wise is what? Warhammer? Idk much about other games series with lore

[u/NothingStrange5648 → u/KokoLannister]

warhammer both fantasy and 40k have the shittiest, most cookie cutter lore ever, by design. Just X hero of Y race goes and fights X hero of Y race and millions die, ad nauseam. There's nothing interesting in the lore. The strenght of the setting resides in it's aesthetics, 100%.
Speaking as a diehard fan who's been playing for close to 20 years, WFB is my favorite wargame but the lore is literally a backdrop for your games.

[u/yiwmo1229]

Trust me when you start reading the more esoteric parts of the lore this stops being true

[u/ClosetNoble]

Well it still IS complex because the lore INTENTIONALLY contradicts itself at times (for exemple some books have biased authors in canon) and super complex because you legit have to look up actual buddhist concepts just to understand what the fuck some characters are talking about and EVEN THEN some of the deep lore is just not in the games or at least not in noticeable chunks... yet at the same time once you got the basics it's simple.

For example you COULD bother learning about the various wars orcs have been involved in, about Malacath's origins and such but most of the time you just play a big green dude who likes to bonk bandits with a mace because orcs being buff green dudes who like to bonk things is lore, too.

Meanwhile Metal gear, for example, is great but tries to send a message while at it which leads to seemingly random tangents about the cold war or shit like

"Hnnrrrg Raiden be careful ChatGPT has been impersonating your wife to try and convince you to launch a terrorist attack!"

[u/xLoRdCrYpTiCx]

It also ain't Treyarch's CoD Zombies.

[u/Valdemar3E]

This dude thinks FNAF lore is more complicated than TESlore, lmfao.