All RPG fans should catch up on Enderal

As a huge Skyrim and The Elder Scrolls fan, I never thought I’d enjoy any other game better. But Enderal managed to grab that first place in my heart.

Every time someone thinks they’re playing a game better than Skyrim, I roll my eyes. Come on, your new favorite has nothing to do with Skyrim! The Witcher 3 is better than Skyrim, yes? But you do realize that The Witcher 3 follows a completely different gameplay premise, with a pre-made story and a pre-made character? huh?

Say what you will, but there are very few games quite like The Elder Scrolls. That doesn’t mean that the TES parts are infallible masterpieces on the market; it just means one thing: Role-playing games are rarely so lonely, so free, so big. You can do anything you want in Skyrim; can become almost anything you want. For some it’s too boring – some, like me, love it. Now of course it’s kind of funny when I say that at most Skyrim could top a game like Skyrim, right?

When I think of Skyrim, Enderal suddenly comes to mind

Hm, what was the name of this city in Skyrim again? Ark? No, no – Whiterun! Anyway, I’d rather think of Ark than Whiterun anyway: Enderal overwrote the memories of Skyrim in my head, and one of the reasons it’s so good at it is that it’s a Skyrim mod. Probably the greatest Skyrim mod ever – a mod with its own story, own map, own skill system, own NPCs and characters, own monsters, own music and own voice actors. And one that somehow feels like Skyrim. A better Skyrim if you ask me.

It’s all about this: You and your friend go to Enderal as stowaways, that island where you want to find happiness. But your life as a refugee soon takes a turn: the Red Madness afflicts Enderal’s residents, a disease that leaves everyone insane and violent. The city of Ark, the center of Endralean culture, is vast: markets, the Order’s temple, several taverns, residences, and a second underground city where beggars and roadless languish.

Problems, tasks and decisions await you, as well as the main quest, which will drag you deeper into its clutches hour after hour. In addition, there are NPCs with whom you friendships and even relationships can build up: Similar to Dragon Age, you only have to give the right answers in the conversation, but a little rhetoric also helps. Enderal is more difficult as Skyrim, more emotional while still harboring the freedom that allows you to play almost any build as well as roam the world and explore it curiously.

All in all, Enderal felt so much like a better Skyrim that it’s no wonder I’m now thinking more about the mod than the original game.

Enderal is a few years old, but if you don’t know it yet – get to know it!

Am I a Skyrim Traitor?

Is it okay to love Enderal more than Skyrim? Year after year after The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, I’ve waited for games that manage to draw me into their fantastical world with just as much freedom. Of course, the fact that Enderal is tearing me off my role-playing stool also has something to do with the nostalgia I feel for Skyrim.

In addition, it is of course easier – even if it is still very difficult! – Creating a game years after Skyrim on the same engine that some consider even better than its predecessor. And finally, I’m sure not everyone will be that convinced of Enderal: It’s not as huge as Skyrim and there’s even more talk in the mod than in the original. What to like.

By the way, there is now even one that has been praised by critics Fantasy book based on Enderal: Dreams of the Dying.

If you miss Skyrim or Dragon Age, just play Enderal

– immediately!

My recommendation to you: If you love Dragon Age, Mass Effect and Skyrim, don’t wait any longer and let Enderal kidnap you. The mod starts as a separate game with its own menu, just as the in-game world cannot be classified in the The Elder Scrolls universe. Enderal is free, you only need to own Skyrim or Skyrim: Special Edition on Steam. Incidentally, the Special Edition for TES 5: Skyrim was only released this year.

Get Enderal for The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim on Steam.

Get Enderal for The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition on Steam.

Enderal isn’t without its flaws, but for me, it’s there now on a par with Skyrim and the best BioWare RPGs. That modders, volunteers and the community have created such an amazing game is pretty impressive. And developer SureAI is already in the process of implementing the next work – but it is still uncertain where this will lead the players.