The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind review

Our VerdictElaborate and enormous world full of adventure, but lacking the polish of the very best.

Our Verdict

Elaborate and enormous world full of adventure, but lacking the polish of the very best.

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To celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Elder Scrolls, we’re publishing our original reviews of each main game in the series from our archives. This review first ran in PC Gamer UK issue 111, back in June 2002.

To the outrage of the Morrowind enjoyers of the current PC Gamer team, this is the lowest score the UK mag has awarded for any release in the main series—although 83% is still more than respectable. (Our sister magazine, Edge, was much harsher, awarding it 6/10.) Reading this review, I get the sense that as much as Ross appreciated much of what the game did, he struggled to look past the infamous Bethesda jank. As Ross himself says, “More cynical souls may have a less enthralling experience than those whose imagination can fill in the gaps.” It’s a sentiment that, for a certain kind of player, could hold true for any of the Elder Scrolls games.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

A montage of Morrowind.

Need to knowDeveloperBethesda SoftworksMinimum systemPIII 500, 128Mb RAM (256Mb with XP)RecommendedPIII 800, 256Mb RAM, GeForce 2Release dateMay 1, 2002Check Amazon

Need to know

DeveloperBethesda SoftworksMinimum systemPIII 500, 128Mb RAM (256Mb with XP)RecommendedPIII 800, 256Mb RAM, GeForce 2Release dateMay 1, 2002Check Amazon

DeveloperBethesda SoftworksMinimum systemPIII 500, 128Mb RAM (256Mb with XP)RecommendedPIII 800, 256Mb RAM, GeForce 2Release dateMay 1, 2002

Check Amazon

I wanted a mission, and for my sins they gave me one. While reviewing Morrowind is hardly a life-threatening quest—and the advice never to get off the boat would prevent progress past the first minute of the game—it’s a Herculean task. We’re used to RPGs demanding weeks of play and immense patience, but the Elder Scrolls series has always aimed to offer particularly huge and complex worlds. Morrowind takes this to a new extreme.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Man.

Dear DiaryEvery good RPG has a journal, but not every RPG’s journal is good. Morrowind’s is awful: despite cunning hot-links allowing you to cross-check names and places, the basic, sequential format quickly gets clogged up with useless information, particularly as finished quests are not removed. Pretty soon you’ll be clicking through dozens of pages in a desperate search for what one ludicrously named character said about another.

Dear Diary

Every good RPG has a journal, but not every RPG’s journal is good. Morrowind’s is awful: despite cunning hot-links allowing you to cross-check names and places, the basic, sequential format quickly gets clogged up with useless information, particularly as finished quests are not removed. Pretty soon you’ll be clicking through dozens of pages in a desperate search for what one ludicrously named character said about another.

The first-person perspective system works well, allowing you to easily study items—every object in the world has a brief description which flashes up when you look at it. A third-person view was never originally intended to be included, but it’s there and allows you to look at your character in all his or her glory. Armour, clothes and weapons are all depicted accurately, and the divided nature of armour (each set is made up of eight pieces) can make for some marvellously mismatched combinations.

(Image credit: Future)

Performance analysis

Morrowind clearly prides itself on its freeform nature. If you really wanted, you could ignore the suggestions made to you at the start—that you find the person who will kick-start the main quest—and simply head off into the wilds of Vvardenfell to live and die on your own terms. However, you’ll soon see the attractions of joining up with one or more of the dozen or so guilds and factions. Being a member offers concessions on guild services (merchants, trainers who can improve your skills for a price and so on) and a safe place to sleep but more importantly it puts quests your way. The absence of an experience point system means that completing these doesn’t boost your character in the traditional way, but you’ll get the opportunity to flex your skills, which gradually improve as you use them.

The guild quests are ultimately unfocused, distracting you for the complex main quest

Our Elder Scroll reviewsThe Elder Scrolls: ArenaThe Elder Scrolls II: DaggerfallThe Elder Scrolls III: MorrowindThe Elder Scrolls IV: OblivionThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Our Elder Scroll reviews

The Elder Scrolls: ArenaThe Elder Scrolls II: DaggerfallThe Elder Scrolls III: MorrowindThe Elder Scrolls IV: OblivionThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

On the other hand, the main quest (which can be finished, if you’re single-minded enough, in about 80 hours) is rather better. Working as a spy for the Emperor, you’re sent around the island to uncover a plot of intrigue, ancient prophecy and personal discovery (some RPG stereotypes are too precious to abandon). Most encounters with NPCs remain fairly wooden affairs, as much of the conversation spools off a dialogue database shared between many denizens of a certain area. Select a topic from the list and they’ll all come out with the same answer, including, on occasion, telling you where to find themselves. Everyone you talk to has a percentage reaction gauge, indicating how much they like you and are willing to co-operate, divulge secrets or offer good prices for goods, items and services. This is an excellent idea in theory, but it’s far too easy to exploit. Let’s say you’ve a bundle of magic swords you want to flog, but the nearest merchant doesn’t like you much. Use Persuasion (based on your Speechcraft skill) to try and bribe him at ten gold pieces a time. Fail? No problem—try again. You might succeed five times out of ten, having lost 100 gold, but the merchant’s improved demeanour means you’ll get a far better price for your magic bling. It just doesn’t make sense, and it’s something you’ll encounter time and again.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Man in a bear skin.

Whereas the finest RPGs have the atmosphere and story to suck in every gamer, Morrowind requires limitless reserves of patience and disbelief-suspension

I desperately want to be able to praise Morrowind unreservedly for creating a believable, self-contained fantasy world in which, even once the main quest has been completed, you can carry on living and adventuring. But whereas the finest RPGs have the atmosphere and story to suck in every gamer, Morrowind requires limitless reserves of patience and disbelief-suspension. It feels mechanical at every turn—consequently, more cynical souls may have a less enthralling experience than those whose imagination can fill in the gaps. Bethesda are to be congratulated for the scale and depth of Morrowind’s world and system, but to be honest it should have been a quarter of the scale and four times as artfully made. Size, it seems, isn’t everything.

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The Verdict83Read our review policyThe Elder Scrolls III: MorrowindElaborate and enormous world full of adventure, but lacking the polish of the very best.

The Verdict

83Read our review policyThe Elder Scrolls III: MorrowindElaborate and enormous world full of adventure, but lacking the polish of the very best.

83Read our review policy

The Elder Scrolls III: MorrowindElaborate and enormous world full of adventure, but lacking the polish of the very best.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Elaborate and enormous world full of adventure, but lacking the polish of the very best.

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Our Verdict#

Our Verdict