The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is "Typical Fantasy Fare"
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My problem with Oblivion was that I couldn't get past its generic take on the fantasy theme. Green meadows, white horses, big, towering castles, whatever else: I could have been playing a game set in any fantasy universe, with a story written at any point in the last 80 years.
And coming from Morrowind, the third Elder Scrolls title, I struggled.
I struggled because I took one look at Morrowind, when Bethesda released that in 2002, and was instantly captivated by its magical land. Morrowind was a place where motifs from fantasy and other visual genres smashed into each other to roaring success. It was no means a futuristic land, but it had a sort of odd, metallic architectural design to some areas of its world, and I loved how the game's sandy hues conjured up a world that was more interesting than its fantasy peers: something set it apart in a magical, successful way.
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We've only played a small amount of Skyrim, so it's very difficult to judge. And Bethesda have reassured fans at various stages in development that this game world is a vast and varied one. The problem is, I've yet to see anything that screams (Morrowind!) more than it screams (Oblivion!) and I've certainly not seen a part of Skyrim that screams (I am my own game world!)
Yet again, it strikes me as traditional, typical fantasy fare, and a world that could be ripped from any work of genre fiction you might like to mention. If that's the case, I worry that as with Oblivion I'll struggle to become fully immersed.
