The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind launched in North America 20 years ago today on Windows for PC. Developed by Bethesda, the open-world action RPG was groundbreaking and amazed people at the time with its realistic graphics. As the game celebrates its twentieth anniversary, fans are discussing their memories and sharing what Morrowind meant to them, while the third Elder Scrolls title is still sparking joy with present-day playthroughs.With a six-year gap between The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall, Morrowind certainly enjoyed a long period of development, but this showed when it finally appeared, with what were state of the art graphics for the time. These include pixel-shaded water, improved rendering distances, and more detailed environments and character models. Over on Twitter, one commentator remembers that they "bought a new graphics card so that I could enjoy the realistic water effects".Over on Resetera, a poll asked if people like or liked Morrowind. With a total of 223 voters, 65.5% answered that they 'liked' Morrowind, with only 5.8% being either neutral or disliking the game. For those in the present day, this decreased to 58.3% who 'like' Morrowind, while 8.1% dislike it, and 9.1% were neutral.
Morrowind was notable since it took place in a much smaller explorable area than the previous games, but this was a conscious decision by Bethesda as the dev wanted to upgrade the details and variety within the environment. This shift in emphasis meant that Vvardenfell wowed players and critics alike with its greater immersion and realism. But the combat wasn't the best. "Combat didn't age well (it wasn't great even when it came out) but most everything else is still excellent", as phant0m said, under the Resetera poll mentioned above.
Morrowind also released on Xbox just a month after its PC launch, and console players hold fond memories of the game as well. "I bought an X-Box to play Morrowind. My PC at the time wasn't good enough to run it and I preferred consoles anyway. One of the greatest games I ever played", said Tobor on Resetera.
Others expressed a wish for a remaster, especially on Twitter, but there was pushback with fans debating whether a remastered or remade Morrowind would be the same game or something else entirely. One pointed out that Morrowind is available to play on Xbox Series X in 4K and 60fps, while others suggested that various mods can be added to the PC version that would result in something resembling a remaster.
But 20 years on, Morrowind remains a great video game and one worth remembering for its impact on gamers.