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Elder Scrolls Comparison

Users acknowledge similar patterns with Elder Scrolls, recommending Daggerfall as essential gaming history, with mentions of Daggerfall Unity modernization project

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While many modern fans began their journey with later entries like *Morrowind* or *Skyrim*, enthusiasts emphasize that *Daggerfall* remains a foundational "must-play" for understanding the evolution of Bethesda’s open-world design. The traditional barriers of dated controls and technical bugs are largely solved by the *Daggerfall Unity* project, a fan-made engine rewrite that provides a free, modernized experience with high resolutions and vast draw distances. By transforming the massive original game into a smoother and more accessible title, these updates allow veteran players to pass down the "Pandora’s box" of classic RPG history to a new generation. This community-led effort ensures that the series' sprawling origins remain a relevant, engaging experience rather than a forgotten relic.

6 comments tagged with this topic

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Similar effect with the Fallout series. A whole lot of the fanbase has never played any of the three 2D games (Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics). The series started, for them, with Fallout 3. I’m kinda that way with Elder Scrolls. My first one was III (Morrowind) and I’ve still never played the first two.
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Daggerfall is a must!!! You'll get to see how it shaped Bethesda and the Elder Scrolls games that came after (including Morrowind)
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Yeah, Daggerfall really holds up well today. The game can be downloaded completely for free (truly gratis; no DLC, no ads) on Steam. Then using the official data files you'll get the best experience playing with Daggerfall Unity [2] which is a fanmade rewrite of the game engine on Unity. DFU fixes/avoids a lot of longstanding bugs in the base game, runs in high resolution, and has a long draw distance (which is a big deal since the in-game distances are VAST). [1] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1812390/The_Elder_Scrolls... [2] https://www.dfworkshop.net/daggerfall-unity-1-0-release/
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Thank you for this. I feel i missed this title as a youth but it was of the era i loved. Modern games have somewhat spoilt old input and controls for me but a modernisation is just what i need
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Daggerfall by default has some pretty weird controls but even the original game lets you customize them enough to play with WASD movement and strafing and full mouse-look. It's very smooth. DFU makes the frame rate even smoother so that it really has a great feel!
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They recently remastered it for modern systems, it will be there when the kids ask “What’s that?” And you get to open Pandora’s box for them. “Oh this? This… is Elder Scrolls”. I had a similar moment in my life when my daughter asked me about D&D late 2010s. They’re grown now but boy did I bombard them with nerddom.