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What are the best Bethesda Softworks games?

7

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May 2, 2020

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7 Games Considered

Best Bethesda Softworks games	Price	Platforms	Genre
-- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	$39.99	Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Nintendo Switch	Fantasy Role-Playing
-- DOOM	$29.99	Nintendo Switch, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One	Horror FPS
-- Dishonored 2	$24.75	-	-
-- Wolfenstein: The New Order	$19.99	PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows	First-Person Shooter
-- The Evil Within 2	$59.99	-	-

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Top Pro

Massive sandbox to explore at your own pace

The in-game map is absolutely gigantic. There are so many places to go and so much to do in the world, easily giving you hundreds of hours of content. Exploring the wide range of environments, from the snowy mountains to the richly-detailed towns and cities is such a joy because of how lush and beautiful everything is. Wandering around often surprises you with new side quests to find off the beaten path, with new characters to meet and history to learn about in whichever area you find yourself in. You can get into all sorts of battles with powerful enemies or stumble into hidden dungeons with awesome loot at the end. Or you can sneak around towns at night stealing peoples' stuff while they're asleep to sell everything off for money. And there's just a ton of other intriguing secrets and fun diversions to discover as you adventure throughout the world. See More

Top Con

Combat is too simple

Most of the time you can just whack an enemy until it dies and it involves very little strategy or planning to succeed. For example, targeting specific body parts doesn't deal extra damage, nor can you cripple an enemy. There are no vulnerabilities, so you can't set furry forest animals ablaze easier than humans. The enemies also lack any real variation in how they attempt to fight you – they just run at you swinging wildly or attack you from afar. Because of this the combat is very one-dimensional and can start feeling like a chore after a while. Luckily most of the combat issues can be fixed with mods, allowing you to enjoy a more varied and deeper combat experience. See More

RickZeeland's Experience

Excellent RPG, beautiful graphics and a vast world to explore. No multiplayer option, but the interaction with clever NPC's makes you forget about that. See More

Specs

Genre:Fantasy Role-Playing

Top Pro

Unrestrictive skill-based RPG system

Skyrim has no set character classes or equipment/spell limitations. Instead, it allows you to form your own class based on how you decide to play. For example, sneaking increases your sneaking skill, hitting an enemy with a shortsword increases your one-handed skill, taking damage while wearing leather armor increases your light armor skill, and so forth. You can you play however you want and the resulting character will be a perfect match for your playstyle, giving Skyrim a different feel from other RPGs. See More

Top Con

Buggy and crash prone

While this game is not as buggy as it was upon release, there are still many people that encounter various bugs and crashes. These can happen in both modded and unmodded games and it's a common occurrence in Bethesda released titles. Fortunately, there are some community mods that try to fix most memory issues, stability issues, and general bugs. See More

Top Pro

Deep lore rivaling classic fantasy literature

Skyrim inherits the stories and world-building of The Elder Scrolls series, which stretches back 20 years. It has numerous stories surrounding the various races (orcs, elves, lizardmen, demons, etc.), mythical beasts, gods, cataclysmic events, parallel worlds, and just about any fantasy trope you could think off. What's even better you can read the lore in books found in-game, allowing you to immerse yourself for countless hours. See More

Top Con

Forgetful NPCs can break immersion

After completing certain story quests NPCs get new lines added to their dialogue based on your decisions. Sometimes the NPCs might become forgetful and return to their default dialogue, which can break immersion, especially if they talk about an event that's been long resolved. See More

Top Pro

Huge variety of mods

Bethesda Softworks has upheld a tradition of releasing their internal content-creation tools to the public since Morrowind (2002). Many modders transition to new Bethesda games as they are released, bringing their experience with them and helping newcomers through forums and wikis. As a result, Skyrim's mod selection is outstanding in both variety and quality. See More

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DOOM

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Top Pro

Great customizable weapon selection

There are more than 20 weapons in DOOM, including the super shotgun, the rocket launcher, and even the BFG9000. Each weapon has two modes that can be improved with one of three upgrades, totaling to over 100 possible combinations. Most of the combinations are really fun to use, which creates enough variation to keep you entertained for multiple playthroughs. See More

Top Con

The gore might not be for everyone

DOOM has a fair amount of gore. Whenever you kill an enemy there's blood, guts, and limbs flying everywhere. Melee kill are particularly brutal with your character twisting enemy necks and breaking their bones. Some may find that level of graphic violence off-putting. See More

Specs

Genre:Horror FPS

Top Pro

Fantastic level design

The levels in DOOM are quite large, with multiple floors/levels, and many secrets. Some areas are very spacious, making large-scale battles possible, and some are labyrinth-like, hiding enemies behind every corner. You'd think it would be a very linear and guided experience, but most of the time it's up to you where to go and how to get there. Each one of these aspects make it a blast to fully explore the levels. See More

Top Pro

Superb graphics that run quite well

Highly detailed environments, fearsome enemies, colorful particle effects, beautiful lighting, and a lot more. Whatever you're looking at in DOOM, it's a treat for the eyes, all without ever dropping below 60 frames per second. See More

Top Pro

Refreshing single purpose gameplay

There is no character development, this is a single purpose game that makes itself very clear from the outset. You are in this game to do one thing, kill demons, sometimes in the most gruesome ways possible. The game is very unapologetic about this, which is refreshing in a time when many games focus on story and play out like an interactive movie. This is much more a throwback to simpler times, run and gun, and it can be quite fun. See More

Top Pro

Fun hidden secrets

There are quite a few easter eggs and hidden secrets in the game, such as old school Doom 95 levels, a Commander Keen skull, a Terminator 2 animation, and even hidden Doomguy toys that your character will fist bump. There's a lot of these to find, creating a very entertaining side activity. See More

Top Pro

Level editor for endless content

The game comes with a level editor, which allows you to create new maps and game types. These can be maps that play similarly to the campaign or even unique puzzle maps. You can share your creation online and also download other players' creations. This provides an almost endless stream of content, adding considerable longevity to the game. See More

Top Pro

Fast-paced, exhilarating combat

DOOM differs from most modern shooters because it abandons cover-based gunplay and instead encourages you to never stop advancing. This is achieved by not only making your character very nimble, allowing you to run at high speeds and jump great distances, but also by removing weapon reloading entirely. There is also the glory kill system, which restores your health whenever you melee kill an enemy, so no waiting for your health to restore by itself either. All of this creates exhilarating gunplay where you never have to pause for anything. See More

Dishonored 2

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Top Pro

Supernatural abilities liven up the stealth gameplay

Your character has a set of special abilities that can be used for both getting around unnoticed and silently taking out enemies. For example, one of the abilities lets you teleport a short distance forward, which is very useful for moving between hiding spots or getting over obstacles. Another example is an ability that links enemy souls together. If you kill one of the linked targets all of them will die. This is useful when you can't perform regular stealth kills because multiple enemies are standing close to each other. These abilities make the stealth gameplay feel different from what you usually see in games. See More

Top Con

Input lag can make the gameplay feel awkward

There is a slight delay between button presses and the on-screen actions. It can throw off your timing and/or break your rhythm, especially in high-intensity moments when split-second reactions are important. It seems weird something like this even passed QA since most modern titles have no input lag. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Excellent level design that supports player choice

The levels in Dishonored 2 have many branching paths, so you're never forced to use any specific playstyle to complete a level. You can barge in through the front door, slashing and shooting everyone in the way. Or you can sneak in through the window, navigating the building through vents and hidden passages while remaining unnoticed and only taking out your assassination target. Whichever way you choose, it will feel like you've made the right choice. See More

Top Pro

Taking out enemies feels satisfying

Whether you separate an enemy's head from the shoulders with a blade, causing blood to splatter everywhere. Or if you just strangle an enemy with your arms until they pass out. The animations, the sound, and the overall feel of it is really enjoyable. See More

Wolfenstein: The New Order

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Top Pro

Well written and acted characters

While the overarching storyline isn't anything noteworthy, the characters in it stand out due to great voice acting and surprisingly well-written lines. You'll actually enjoy listening to the characters talk, cracking jokes, and contemplating moral dilemmas, causing you to want to learn more about them. This is especially the case with the main character. You'll empathize with his situation and motivations, making you feel a deeper connection than with most modern FPS protagonists. See More

Top Con

Dynamic resolution might feel distracting

When there's a lot of on-screen action the resolution will get scaled down to keep the gameplay running at 60 frames per second. This doesn't happen too often, but it might feel a little distracting since it feels like your vision is going blurry. See More

Specs

Genre:First-Person Shooter

Top Pro

Rewarding exploration

In most modern shooters you just rush through very linear set pieces, shooting waves upon waves of enemies. Wolfenstein: The New Order rewards you for taking the time to explore. You can find many collectibles, secrets, and even hidden paths, giving you easier/safer methods of clearing a level. See More

Top Con

Dual wield feels out of place

Using two guns at the same time, while a cool concept does not feel fully fleshed out in this title. It is often cumbersome and does not wield great results in firefights, which asks the question of why it was included. See More

Top Pro

Solid gameplay

Even though the gameplay doesn't innovate, it's really solid. The controls are sharp, the guns feel great, and the stealth sections give it a refreshing amount of variation. All of this will keep you wanting to play a little more, providing your hours of entertainment. See More

The Evil Within 2

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Top Pro

Interesting story

The Evil Within 2 at its core is a story about a father looking for his long-lost daughter in a nightmarish artificial world, generated within a computer system. Its inhabitants have succumbed to the negative influences of the world, turning them into monsters, which leaves you to take them out. It's a really good mix of great plot elements, drama, interesting characters with a slight touch of conspiracy. On top of that, the story has a fairly satisfying conclusion without trying to set up for a sequel. See More

Top Con

Might not be that scary for hardened horror fans

While there is a fair share of grotesque imagery and creepy moments, the scare factor isn't that high. You'll encounter the ocasional jump scare, but nothing ever gives you an impending sense of doom, which can be pretty disappointing for horror enthusiasts. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Excellent crafting system

As you explore the world you'll find various materials that can be used for crafting ammo and health items. You can either use a crafting table or craft items while you're out in the field at double the cost. This gives the crafting system a fair amount of flexibility and depth, allowing you to quickly craft something in case of an emergency, while also rewarding careful resource management and planning. See More

Top Pro

Great feeling of suspense

As you explore the nightmarish world of The Evil Within 2, you'll almost never feel safe due to a variety of reasons. First, the disfigured nightmare monsters are very dangerous, so messing up usually equates to your death. Even when you get used to the controls and combat, you can mess up very easily. This uncertainty of success slowly creeps into your mind, being more effective than any jump scare. Second, resources are very scarce, so every shot counts. If you spend too many bullets in one section, you probably won't have enough for the next. If you miss a headshot, the monster will probably get to swing at you. As a result, you might constantly weigh your options, whether to attempt a direct confrontation or go for the riskier stealth kills in an attempt to conserve ammo and health. Third, the world is very open, removing some of the predictability found in linear survival horror games. You never know when or where the monsters will be, causing you to always look in every direction. This uncertainty can be really nerve wracking. The Evil Within 2 is a great example of survival horror done right. See More

Fallout 4

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Top Pro

Deep perk/skill system

Fallout 4 has a great selection of perks centered on surviving in the wasteland. You'll gain a point each time you level up, allowing you to select one of the perks. The perks can give you an increase to your sneaking ability, improve your lockpicking skills, or even add unique effects such as causing bullets fired by enemies to ricochet back and killing them. There's easily enough variation to make multiple playthroughs feel fresh and exciting. To make it even better, if you don't like multiple playthroughs, you can just unlock every single perk on a single character, albeit with a much longer playtime. See More

Top Con

The dialogue choices are confusing

Most of the dialogue choices will only show a few words that don't actually reflect what your character is gonna say. This creates a disconnect between you and your character, making it seem like you don't control what your character is gonna say at any point. See More

Specs

Genre:Action RPG

Co-Op:Single Player

Top Pro

Diverse enemy types keep the gameplay exciting

There a lot of different enemies found in the game such as super mutants, feral ghouls, robots, mutated wildlife, and many others. All of them have their unique behaviors, strengths, and weaknesses. For example, robots often use heavy weaponry such as rocket launchers and lasers, making it really hard to deal with them. Fortunately enough, they're very vulnerable to EMP grenades and can also be hacked. Another example are the feral ghouls that will almost always charge at you. They can surround you really fast, clawing away at your health and affecting you with radiation, but they lack any intelligence. So if you plant mines infront of you and attract them with gunshots, they'll lose their legs in the minefield, leaving them at your mercy. The various enemy types and methods you can fight them with keeps the gameplay fresh for a long time. See More

Top Con

Occasional bugs

There are bugs in the game that users will run into. While most are not game breaking, it can detract from the experience. See More

Top Pro

Companions can help make the game a little easier

There are a bunch of companions to find in the game, starting with Dogmeat, the dog. Each companion has their own skills that can help you. For example, Dogmeat can dig up hidden items and bring them to you. They can also distract the enemy, causing the combat to be a little easier since all the attention won't be on just you. The only real downside is that you can only use one companion at a time, but you can easily swap them out. Using a companion is not mandatory either, so if you prefer the added challenge you can travel without a companion. See More

Top Con

Pipboy UI feels unpleasant to use

When you open your Pipboy (a personal computer that manages your quests, inventory, character data, etc) the screen containing the useful information only covers about a fourth of the entire screen. As a result some of the elements are too crammed, requiring a lot of scrolling. This can be really annoying if you're trying to find something in a list of 100 items. See More

Top Pro

Great storyline

The main story has a very personal theme of family and revenge, featuring a main character looking for their lost son in a post-apocalyptic version of Boston. The side-quests also provide a decent backdrop, expanding on some of the plot elements of the main story. There are many twists and mysteries, but the narrative remains coherent throughout the story, creating a very enjoyable experience. See More

Top Pro

Addicting building mechanic

One of the more interesting parts of managing your settlement is the house building aspect. There are various preset houses you can put down quickly, but you can make large structures entirely from scratch, starting with the foundation and ending with the roof of a 10 story building. While there are some constraints such as limited building area, you can really let your imagination loose, allowing you to spend countless hours on it. See More

Top Pro

Huge world with loads of content

The world of Fallout 4 is massive so there's quite a lot to do. Many areas to explore, tons of quests to complete, and lots of collectibles to find. There's easily enough content to keep you playing for over a hundred hours. See More

Top Pro

You can adjust equipment to suit your playstyle

In Fallout 4 you have a lot of options when modifying your equipment, giving you a chance to make equipment that matches your playstyle. You can take an assault rifle and change most of its parts. Each part you can change has an upside and a downside to it. For example, adding a long range scope would make the rifle useless in close quarters, but it would be great for pick off targets from afar. You can also tailor your armors for various situations. You can lower the weight or add pockets to make carrying loot easier. Or you can add additional linings or padding to gain increased protection against various hazards such as radiation. See More

Top Pro

Great selection of mods

You can can find all sorts of mods at the Bethesda website, giving you the freedom to change the parts of the game you don't like. This includes interface adjustments, graphical improvements, additional quests, and many other things. See More

Top Pro

Interesting settlement management

In Fallout 4 you can set up thriving communities in various locations. You'll have to provide the settlers with housing, bedding, water, food, and protection. Over time you'll be able to establish trade routes between the settlements and expand into an empire spanning the entire territory of Fallout 4. This really gives it the feeling like you're trying to rebuild society, which is a welcome change in a post-apocalyptic game. See More

Top Pro

Solid gunplay with an interesting twist

The gunplay plays so well it almost feels like a pure FPS. You can shoot from the hip, aim down the sights/scope, or even just run and gun. However, what makes Fallout 4 stand out is VATS (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System). When you activate VATS, the time slows down to a crawl, allowing you to mark body parts of enemies. When you execute it your character will automatically shoot the marked body parts. This is very useful for getting out of tight spots, allowing you to instantly clear groups of enemies or kill a really tough enemy charging at you. It also has the benefit of making you feel like an expert gunman, even if your aim isn't that great. See More

Top Pro

Addictive to collect loot

You can pick up most of the stuff you see laying around in Fallout 4. Every item, including weapons and armors, can be broken down into reusable crafting materials. This makes it hard to stop yourself from going around and collecting everything in sight because everything has a purpose. You can also find unique versions of equipment on the corpses of legendary enemies. Each of these items has an additional effect such as speed boost or extra damage. This may cause you to constantly pick fights you'll probably lose, but it's worth it once you get your hands on that extremely good piece of equipment. See More

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

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Top Pro

A well polished singleplayer experience

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus doesn't have a multiplayer, so the entirety of the development resources went into creating a great single player experience. As a result, the graphics, the sound, the level design, the gameplay, and even the story is really well done, making your death-spreading voyage through a world ruled by Nazis really enjoyable. See More

Top Con

No real boss fights

There are the regular Nazis and Nazi robots, and slightly stronger versions of them. There are no epic showdown with especially fearsome baddies with amazing abilities or gigantic guns, so it can feel quite disappointing to players expecting difficult hurdles along the way. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:First-Person Shooter

Top Pro

Tons of collectibles

For those wanting to do something extra on top of creating a long trail of dead bodies, there are a multitude of collectibles hidden in each level. This includes gold treasures, concept art, and even newspapers that provide additional backstory on the ongoing events. These small side goals make exploring Nazi bases much more enjoyable. See More

Top Con

You might need to play the prequel to fully appreciate the story

Even though Wolfenstein II tries to fill you in on what happened in the prequel, it does it very poorly. You might feel like you've missed a key story element because characters will keep referencing events and characters you have absolutely no recollection of. This can create a sense of disconnection, potentially ruining your immersion. See More

Top Pro

Great story

Wolfenstein II is a story-driven experience unlike most FPS games. The setting, the main plot, and the various subplots are interesting. It has a relatable main character, likable side-characters, and even a fearsome villain. The dialogue is interesting, quirky, and sometimes funny, striking a perfect balance between being serious and humorous. As a result, Wolfenstein II keeps you interested with more than just excellent gameplay, which is a nice change of pace. See More

Top Pro

Excellent gameplay that supports any playstyle

Wolfenstein II is simply fun to play because any approach works for beating a level. You can go in with guns blazing while dual wielding shotguns, shredding Nazis with a cloud of bullets. You can also move from cover to cover while picking off enemies with headshots using an assault rifle. You can even be stealthy and sneak past guards, taking out just the commanding officer. Whichever approach you choose, it will feel like the right way to play the game, making killing Nazis that much more satisfying. See More

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