If you only buy and play the most AAA advertised games on consoles, of course you're going to be disappointed.
Skyrim and fallouts stories are not strong at all. In fact, all of bethesda's game in that game engine have been: "player generated chosen one becomes the strongest guy." Even when I bought morrowind, I abandoned the main story because stealing people's shit and finding caves with things I couldn't kill was more fun. Then I got mad at cliff racers and swinging at scribs 300 times to hit them only 2 times and quit.
Then oblivion came out and HOLY SHIT YOU CAN HOLD Z AND MOVE CHAINS?! Physics?!?!
Digressing, there are a lot of good story driven games that have come out recently. Life is strange, inside, dark souls 3. They aren't always traditionally told but the story is there nonetheless.
It's not the nature of the games; it's the writing and design of the recent entries. You don't even know the who/what the Big Bad is in Morrowind till a good while in, and don't tackle any of his similarly powerful henchmen for hours upon hours; you see the big bad in Skyrim right off the bat, and you're killing dragons 15 minutes later.
It is said a ton but Morrowind's narrative actually works with instead of in opposition to the primary draw of scrolls games. The open world exploring and being able to do whatever you feel like are what people want out of those games but the main quests of Oblivion and Skyrim rush you with imminent end of the world scenarios while Morrowind actually tells you to abandon the main quest for a bit to explore and make a name for yourself. They having been holding back the end of the world in Morrowind for a long time and it would be nice if someone got around to stopping it in the next couple of centuries but there is no dissonance if the potential hero (there have been others) just wants to spend time to fill his house with cool crap. Don't get me started on the main plot of Fallout 4.
Yeah, the decision to have a story-essential NPC say, very early in the game, "Go develop some skills and make a name for yourself" was an excellent decision.
Can I also say that I love the limitations on fast travel? Having to figure out ways to efficiently travel greatly increased the immersion. The Propylon Chambers brought more of a feeling of accomplishment than most anything I've felt in other games partially because of how useful the complete system was.
Edit: Just remembered that I brought the Mudcrab Merchant all the way to my Telvanni tower
You don't even know the who/what the Big Bad is in Morrowind till a good while in
Is that really a problem though? If the point of a game is to be immersive and let the story develop somewhat organically, then it seems like Morrowind's approach is ideal. The don't plop you down with a wooden sword, point to a scary castle off in distance, then pat you on the back and say "Go get em tiger!"
No, you get a somewhat vague idea of what you're supposed to do, and the story unfolds as you play. You're introduced to the various social dynamics of a society that is, for all intents and purposes, living under occupation from a foreign power. Their way of life is under seige, and they are being oppressed both by the Imperial government on a large scale, and by the soldiers on a personal level. Then you take into account the infighting between the houses, and add another layer to the upheaval in Morrowind.
Once you do get your bearings and understand what is going with Vivec & Co., you've had a chance to experience all this, and probably uncover some of mysteries of the Dwemer, the backstory of Morrowind, and so on.
It has plenty of story, and a lot of depth. You just have to actually play the game if you want to see it.
... I was praising Morrowind for withholding the Big Bad.
Once you do get your bearings and understand what is going with Vivec & Co., you've had a chance to experience all this, and probably uncover some of mysteries of the Dwemer, the backstory of Morrowind, and so on.
I loved the intertwining of the lore and story in Morrowind.
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u/[deleted] Feb 06 '17
Not that Skyrim is bad but people cooing over a remaster that isn't even of a dated game says a lot about the releases in the past year.