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Xbox Game Pass August Games – Game Pass Fights Back

In an article I posted recently discussing the new PS Now games that were announced this month, I said that Xbox Game Pass was losing steam. While that’s still true to some degree, as the fact that GTA V, arguably its best game, is leaving the service is still true. However, this month’s additions are certainly going to help fill in that void, and one of the games is a day one release. Let’s talk about them!

Hades

Launching on August 13th, Hades is a day- one release for the Xbox platform, launching on Game Pass the same day it comes out in stores. Set in Ancient Greece, the player plays as Zagreus, son of Hades, on a quest to escape the underworld. With rogue-like, action-based, RPG gameplay and a unique visual style, Hades has impressed on other platforms and is sure to impress again on Xbox One and Series X/S.

Skate 3

A legendary game for the Xbox 360, Skate 3 is all about fun, seeing the player skateboarding through an open world trying to pop sick tricks off of every unsuspecting park bench. While there is kind of a story mode, as the intent of doing tricks everywhere is to raise awareness for your skateboard manufacturing company, most of the fun to be had is from jumping from ridiculously high places and tricking all the way down, and creating custom skate parks. A great game all around and a great nostalgic trip back to 2010.

Katamari Damacy Reroll

The remaster of an old retro classic for the PS2, Katamari Damacy Reroll thrusts rolling giant trash balls into the modern era, where the player can now roll giant trash balls in HD! On a more serious note, the Katamari series is oddly quite fun and addictive, appealing to my arcade-gamer side with its repetitive but entertaining gameplay and its general sense of “odd.” The oddness in both its concept and gameplay exudes a certain charm, and you can definitely tell the game is trying its hardest to just be weird. Definitely worth a try if you’re into the bizarre!

So what do you think of Game Pass’s August Games? Do they match PS Now’s recent additions? Leave a like and follow the site if you enjoyed the article and stay tuned for more from Genesis Gaming!

Xbox Is Back to Being the Black Sheep – Let’s Discuss

When the Series X was announced and throughout the first 7 months of its life leading up to E3 2021, the Microsoft console had a lot going for it. It is slightly more powerful than its main competitor, has 6 exclusive games coming out in the next six months, all of which are coming straight to its flagship service, Game Pass, which also features 100s of games available for download at any time on any Xbox or PC device connected to a subscription. And yet, even with all of those developments that should make Xbox the obvious console choice of this generation, the Series X is still the black sheep. Or at least it is now, after the Steam Deck was announced last week. So let’s talk about it! Why is this console that should be great so bad?

The Steam Deck Problem

I had a bad feeling when Microsoft initially announced that every Xbox exclusive would be coming to PC, and this is why. The Steam Deck is a brand new console by Valve that allows users to download and play their entire Steam collection wherever they go and also on their televisions with any controller they want. Pretty enticing, right?

And that’s just the problem: you don’t need an Xbox to play Xbox anymore, thus completely destroying the value of the brand. Why would I spend $500 on a Series X when Valve has me covered with the Steam Deck, on which I can also play every PC game ever made and some PlayStation games too. From a value perspective, the Steam Deck is the clear winner here. The only value that Microsoft’s Xbox has left is Game Pass, but even that is questionable now.

The Game Pass Problem

Game Pass Ultimate initially seemed like a great concept, with a seeming infinity of valuable features and reasons to subscribe. After all, you get Xbox Live Gold, Game Pass and EA Play, with online play and 100s of on demand games baked into the service. But now, Game Pass is everywhere, and you don’t need a new Xbox Series X/S to use it. You can also play on iPhone, Android, PC, and, soon, smart TVs, proprietary Xbox streaming sticks, and other streaming devices.

While I still think Game Pass is one of the best values in gaming services right now, I don’t agree with the majority of other games writers who believe it’s the best selling point of the Xbox, because I believe it is its greatest weakness. I don’t like gaming as a service. It cheapens the gaming experience, makes it purely value-based and removes the magic from playing new games. I’m not a purist and I’m not against change – cloud gaming is an inevitability and most likely the next logical evolution of the gaming medium – but Xbox will not succeed because of Game Pass.

While Game Pass is valuable, it cannot be such at the cost of devaluing the Xbox brand, and, in tandem with the Steam Deck, that’s exactly what it’s doing.

A New Theory

While the Series X is enticing on paper, if you look at it from a value perspective – $500 for exclusives and services you can find elsewhere for less – you may rethink your initial inclination to purchase it. Game Pass is awesome, and Xbox’s slew of all-new exclusives are amazing; the problem is that they’re not actually exclusive. If you want to play Halo Infinite and way more worthwhile PC and PlayStation games on the same device, you can get a Steam Deck, and if you want to play Game Pass games, you can do so on your phone, computer, and even your smart TV (soon).

Therefore I present to you this gaming industry hot take: Microsoft will stop making consoles after the Series X, and specialize in cloud gaming with Game Pass and publish games under the Xbox name for PCs. While you may think it unlikely because of Microsoft’s massive pockets, they’ll do it if it makes financial sense, and, if the Series X doesn’t sell well (which, if you look at it from the aforementioned value perspective, it shouldn’t), it makes perfect sense that Xbox would forego console production.

Take that with a grain of salt, it’s pure speculation and simply a hot take I wanted to share.

So what do you think of the Series X? Are you on “Team Xbox” this generation? Leave a like and follow the site if you enjoy my content, and be sure to check back soon for more from Genesis Gaming!

My Top 10 Favorite Games of All Time (as of July 11th, 2021)

I’ve been writing this blog for about a month now, and while I’ve covered tons of gaming news across every console and gaming event that has been held so far, I haven’t talked about some of my personal favorite gaming moments and games in general. So, what I’ve decided to do today is to walk you through my top 10 favorite games of all time and why they hold that position. I’ve always found it fun to read other people’s experiences with the games I love, and I hope you’ll find this list to be entertaining. Maybe you’ll see your favorite game in here too!

So, without further ado, here are my top 10 favorite games of all time!

#10: Halo 4

Perhaps the oddball on an otherwise star-studded list, Halo 4 and it’s sequel, Halo 5, are two of the most hated games in the series. And while I can understand why people dislike 5, I can’t fathom why no one liked Halo 4.

Halo 4 tells the story of the reawakened Master Chief on a quest to save his AI companion Cortana from her time-based degradation. To do so, you have to travel to many planets on the UNSC Infinity, taking out as many members of the Covenant as necessary on your way. But unlike previous games in the series, Halo 4 tells a nuanced, character-driven tale of melancholy.

I won’t spoil the ending or any of the story bits, but this game deserves a shot, even if you’ve never played a Halo game before, and will always remain my favorite of the series

#9: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

I was late on The Elder Scrolls series as a whole, and played the entire series through The Elder Scrolls Anthology, a box set of all five games, on a severely underpowered Windows PC running Windows 7 in my teen years. The first game I played from that collection was Morrowind, but it’s early 2000s clunk made it hard to get into at first, so I advanced to the latest game, Skyrim. While the graphics were excellent, I wasn’t a fan of the story and the slow start to the adventure, although I’ll admit that both of those games grew on me quite a lot throughout the years, eventually becoming staples of my gaming library. But Oblivion was truly where it was at.

The atmosphere was more akin to Dungeons and Dragons and other medieval period pieces, and the actual gameplay was far more like an RPG than Skyrim, while being much more accessible than Morrowind. Essentially, it was the perfect mix of RPG, open world, and pure gaming magic, albeit with miserable graphics – but graphics don’t make the game! Let me explain myself further.

The music of Oblivion, its questlines, its story, and overall atmosphere, combine to make a perfect game. I mean, even the bad graphics give off a sense of nostalgia, and playing nowadays just makes me feel like I’ve returned home. I know, that seems a bit extreme for an RPG that came out in 2006, but it’s a good one, and you owe it to yourself to play it.

#8: Civilization V

In my opinion, Civilization V is greatest game in the Civ series, the best strategy game ever created, and one of the greatest games ever made. I know, that was quite the intro, but it cannot be understated: this game is amazing and can ruin the rest of your productive life if you’re not careful. Its just that good and that addicting.

Each game starts out with a barren Earth; empty, beautiful, and unreformed by human hands. Until you come along that is. You start by building a city and exploring the land around you, harvesting resources and building up more aspects of the city, then building more cities and, eventually, a military. Soon, you meet another civilization controlled by either the computer or a human in online play, and will have to be as diplomatic as possible to prevent war. But sometimes war happens, and you must end it when it starts.

As such, Civilization V is a game where you have to play the good guy and the bad guy all at the same time. Every new development in your civilization comes with a consequence, which is almost always bad for you or someone else. Such intrigue makes each game you play an unforgettable experience that you can remember vividly enough to concoct a story about and tell to everyone you know! So give it a shot – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

#7: Dark Souls

Often called “the most difficult game of all time,” Dark Souls will certainly leave you shaking your controller and holding back from throwing it into the screen. But that’s not what makes it a good game; not by a long shot.

Dark Souls is such a legendary game because of its unique storytelling method, by which I mean there pretty much isn’t one. To summarize the story to a pretty much meaningless degree: you start out in an asylum knowing that you are the “chosen undead,” and set out on a journey across the medieval land of Lordran, slaying boss after boss in an attempt to rekindle a dying flame – the flame that keeps the world alive. High concept, to be sure, and that concept is not without merit. Exploring the lore surrounding a vague concept offers plenty of intrigue and is very exciting, with every boss and enemy slain getting you closer to a better understanding of Dark Souls’ world and the secrets held within.

But the story isn’t all that makes Dark Souls legendary, it’s really the gameplay; the same gameplay that makes the game difficult revolutionizes the way you interact with the world and the way you unravel the story, making for one amazing experience. Every time you kill an enemy, you earn its souls – an arbitrary number that is added to a souls-ometer on your screen that can be used to level up at a bonfire. Every time you level up, you choose a stat and your character gets better at whatever that stat dictates, be it wielding strength weapons, dexterity weapons or casting spells. Combat is slow and steady, with plenty of swordplay but even more strategic shield-wielding, and one wrong move means near-certain death. Death brings with it a variety of punishments – but the chief punishment is that you lose all of the souls you have accumulated and are respawned at the bonfire you last rested at. Such punishment brings great intensity and unparalleled tension in the most heated of battles, with huge boss battles punctuating each area’s end.

I know that was a long explanation, especially for a simple ranking, but I feel it critical that you understand what this game is so you can understand why it’s great. If you’re into RPGs and games that will challenge you greatly, look no further than Dark Souls as your next adventure.

#6: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

While I have talked about this game before on this site, I have never got the chance to talk about it in length. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was Hideo Kojima’s last game in the Metal Gear series and his last game with Konami. While, sadly, he and Konami cut ties before the game was even finished, MGSV went on to be one of the most critically-acclaimed games of all time, and rightfully so. There are so many unique gameplay mechanics at work here that it is hard to talk about them concisely, but I’ll try. Here we go:

The game is open world, set largely in Afghanistan and parts of Africa, with Venom Snake exploring the areas, capturing outposts, and completing side operations to make operations at Mother Base easier. Mother Base is an off-the-grid outpost built and operated by Snake and his right-hand-man, Kazuhira Miller. At Mother Base, resources such as petroleum, metals, diamonds and other useful materials are held and protected from foreign invasion. Meanwhile, an entire epic story is playing out and Snake must be deployed in tens of story missions with one overarching goal. A game of cat and mouse with a chilling villain: Skull Face, whose motives are not known, but the results of his actions are found throughout your adventure.

While this barely scratches the surface of what Metal Gear Solid V has to offer, I hope it’s enough for you to consider trying it. The story takes a while to get started and the some aspects of the gameplay – especially the stealth – are an acquired taste and tough to get used to at first. But when you do, everything clicks and one of the greatest games of all time opens up. Give this one a try – it’s an adventure you won’t forget.

#5: Persona 5

One of the greatest RPGs I have ever played, Persona exudes class and style. The music is jazzy as hell and the gameplay effortlessly segues from fighting and world exploration to everyday student activities, making for a unique experience you won’t find anywhere else.

The game’s main protagonist, an unnamed high school student with an undeserved criminal record, discovers he has the power of the Persona – creatures and spirits with unique elemental, physical, and psychological abilities – and can unlock the power held within his heart. When your friends discover they too possess the ability, you band together as the “Phantom Theives,” a team that fights evil in people’s hearts and makes them answer for their crimes and misdeeds.

When you’re not exploring story dungeons (called palaces) or hanging out with your friends around the town, you go to school and take on jobs, trying your hardest to blend in and live a normal teenage life. During these segments, there are a variety of things you can do that bolster a stat system that dictates your confidence in life. Upgrading abilities like Knowledge helps you do better in school, and upgrading stats like Guts and Charm can help you do all sorts of things, namely going out on dates. That’s right: Persona 5 has an entire dating meta game to add to its multitude of gameplay systems; the depth of which still absolutely blows my mind.

So, give Persona 5 a shot – even if you’re not an RPG fan, this is one you might like anyway, and absolutely my favorite JRPG of all time.

#4: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Although it’s a bit cliche at this point to have this game as a favorite due to its universally recognized status as the “greatest game of all time” – I’ll be honest, for a while I did think it was the greatest game of all time. After all, it was the game that made me a gamer. I bought it on the Wii Shop Channel and played it for hours on end, and almost cried when I finally beat Ganon, a fight that I had to do over and over again because he was just so difficult. I was literally shaking when I dealt the final blow and watched the credits roll, a sequence that is burned into my brain.

Now of course, things are different. The game is a walk in the park, and even some of the harder dungeons’ puzzles aren’t that confusing anymore – namely the infamous Water Temple, my favorite of the dungeons and, for some reason, the most universally hated. The bosses and their mechanics are quite easy to understand and figure out, and it only took me around 15 hours to beat it the second time around, a play-through that I took slow and savored, accumulating only a few deaths due to freak accidents outside of the boss battles.

Regardless, as the first 3D Zelda game, the game was legendary when it came out and set the standard for pretty much every future 3D adventure game. The game still, surprisingly, holds up to modern gaming standards, albeit with a bit of 90s clunk. I have replayed it several times and can’t get over how easy it is to reinsert myself into the world and get used to the controls again, even when I played the original N64 version.

In short, regardless of whether or not you think it’s the best game ever made, there’s no denying it is one of the most historically significant video games ever released and one that set a very high bar for every other game release for quite some time. Nostalgia may blind me to some degree, but you can’t argue with this legend.

#3: God of War (2018)

This is another one I was late on, having just played it this year. However, after completing the main story and exploring most of what the game had to offer, it has quickly became one of my favorite games ever.

You play as Kratos, once an anti-hero who slaughtered most of Olympus, now a reformed, Godly dad-figure caring for his sickly son, Atreus. After the sudden death of your wife and Atreus’s mother, you go on a journey to the tallest peak in all the realms to scatter her ashes, as she wished. Through several twists, detours, and pulse-pounding battles, you and your son fight, bond and grow with one another until the game’s unbelievable conclusion.

Since the game is hard to talk about as it is story-driven and any errant detail can spoil something, I’ll put it simply: if you have a PS4, this game is an absolute must-play, no questions asked.

#2: Shadow of the Colossus

There has been a multi-decade long conversation in the art and media world concerning whether or not video games can ever be considered art. And while there have been many differing answers to that question, if there was ever a game to make an amazing case for artistic video games, it’s this one. Shadow of the Colossus follows the story of Wander, who brings a dead maiden, Mono, into the Forbidden Lands to seek out Dormin, a mystic being said to be able to revive the dead, though at a price. The method of Mono’s rescue turns out to be quite the arduous one: killing 16 colossal monsters scattered throughout the land with nothing but your sword and your bow. Quite the feat, to be sure.

But how is it art? The entire land is a barren wasteland home to several biomes, with its only inhabitants being you, your trusty horse Agro, Mono, and the 16 colossi you must slay. The entire game is empty, and your quest is an intriguing exercise in aimlessness and confusion. Who is Dormin? Why does he want these beasts dead? Have they done anything wrong? Is it worth it for you to kill them? Who even is Wander, and who is Mono that he would do this to save her? And why are the Forbidden Lands forbidden!? There are so many questions, but not very many answers.

And, like an art piece, the game will leave you feeling a variety of feelings due to its experimentation with themes of loneliness, emptiness, violence and love. You’ll admire the beauty of the world as you explore it, but that beauty will be marred by the confusion and emptiness you feel in your journey, and every wondrous discovery will be met with a wave of melancholy as Wander murders each colossus.

Think what you will of video games and their ability to be artistic, but this one is absolutely a masterpiece and a work of art, without a doubt. So give it a try if you’re in for one emotional ride, and brace for one of the most melancholy stories ever told.

#1: Bloodborne

This is a game that I have talked about in length before – I have actually written a full, in-depth review of it on this very site (check it out here). Regardless, I’ll break it down: Bloodborne is a spiritual successor to the Souls series of games, expounding on the gameplay mechanics present in that series in very meaningful ways while creating an entirely new story to unravel in an equally cryptic fashion. Instead of taking place in a medieval setting, Bloodborne is set in the Lovecraftian world of Yharnam, featuring dark swamps, desolate forests and gothic towns full of beasts and alien-like creatures from worlds unknown. Some of the beasts are created as a result of experimental blood transfusion that creates a drug-like revitalization of its user, and other beasts are strange and other-worldly.

Instead of slow, shield-filled combat as in its spiritual predecessors, Bloodborne drops the shields and instills in the player a sense of safety in a lack of safety, with your character being vulnerable at almost all times. Expert timing in ones side-dodging, replacing the roll when locked-on to an enemy, is now required to succeed in combat. Parrying is now done with a gun instead of a shield, and magic is now done by using bullets. These changes are absolutely huge and change the game from top to bottom, regardless of how simple they may seem.

So, play Bloodborne and experience the greatest game of all time (in my “expert” opinion at least), I think you’ll love it. And if you don’t, that’s fine too. But at least you can say you tried.

So, what do you think of my list, and what are some of your favorite games of all time? Leave a like below and make sure to follow the site if you like my content! New gaming articles all the time, right here on Genesis Gaming!

Xbox Game Pass New Games Announced

While certainly not as exciting as PlayStation Now’s monthly additions, Xbox announced that six games would be added to Game Pass in its various forms this month. Those games are:

The Medium (Coming to X-Cloud, already on Xbox and PC)

Dragon Quest Builders 2 (Coming to X-Cloud, already on Xbox and PC)

UFC 4 (Coming to Xbox)

Blood Roots (Coming to Xbox, PC and X-Cloud)

Tropico 6 (Coming to Xbox, PC and X-Cloud)

Farming Simulator 19 (Coming to Xbox, PC and X-Cloud)

My only issue with these new additions to the service is that many of them aren’t new, with the most notable ones already being on the platform. In fact, The Medium has been on the platform since it’s release earlier this year and Dragon Quest Builders 2 has been available for some time as well. While I think it’s a good idea to make them available on the X-Cloud platform, I don’t think it’s great for these to be the headliners for this month’s games. Tropico 6 and UFC 4 are the most exciting of the actually new games, and the others are a bit indie and oddball, which, while they are appreciated, don’t really add too much valuable to the service that wasn’t already present.

Are you happy with the new Game Pass games? Let me know if you enjoyed this article by leaving a like, and be on the look out for a new article later today here on Genesis Gaming!

PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X?

Which console is the better fit for you?

Before I actually start comparing and contrasting these two, I think it is worth it to preface this article by saying that both consoles are absolutely amazing pieces of technology, and you’ll be quite happy with either one. They are both extremely powerful, state-of-the-art machines that are well-worth the purchase price and will pay for themselves with the entertainment you’ll receive. Near-equivalent in power, the only real difference are the available games. As such, your taste in games will absolutely decide which one of these consoles you’ll get.

I know these consoles have been on the market for quite a while now, but many people have not been able to get one yet and may still be on the fence about which one to purchase. Hopefully this article will help you with that decision! So, without further ado, let’s talk consoles!

Pricing and Technical Specs

	PS5	Xbox Series X
Price	$399 (Digital), $499 (Disc)	$499 (Series X)
CPU	8-core, 3.5 GHz AMD Zen 2	8-core, 3.8 GHz AMD Zen 2
GPU	10.3 teraflop AMD RDNA 2	12.0 teraflop AMD RDNA 2
RAM	16 GB GDDR6	16 GB GDDR6
Resolution	8K Maximum	8K Maximum
Storage	825 GB Custom Sony SSD	1 TB Custom NVMe SSD
Frame Rate	120 FPS Maximum	120 FPS Maximum

A quick spec comparison of the PS5 and Series X

Spec-wise, both consoles are pretty much the same, with only a few slight differences that are for the most part unnoticeable in practice. The Xbox Series X has a slight edge in power over the PS5 with a slightly better CPU and almost 2 teraflops more graphical processing capability (fancy words for “a bit more powerful”). The Series X also has a bigger SSD for games storage, which, while it seems small on paper, is probably the biggest technical difference and the only one you’ll notice, as that extra 175 GB of space means several more games on your console. Other than these differences that lean towards the Series X’s favor, the two consoles are essentially equal.

Regardless, if power and performance are your thing and you won’t be able to live without having the “fastest console,” get a Series X. While I think the majority of people aren’t like that and won’t care about losing a little bit of power, the Series X is a great choice of console anyway and will serve its intended purpose.

The Series X’s CPU
Image credit: Microsoft

However, a console’s power is not really the true test of its greatness. Last generation, the most powerful console was the Xbox One X, but the Xbox platform still lacked in exclusive titles and games in general, making it a questionable console purchase at best. Regardless, the next generation of consoles are quite similar. Except for their controllers; those are really different.

The Controllers

While on previous consoles the controller seemed irrelevant as a criteria for the purchase of the console, such is not so this time around, with one of the console’s selling points being its revolutionary controller. Which one? The PS5.

The PS5’s controller, dubbed the “DualSense” by Sony, has changed the game by revolutionizing what controllers can do with its new haptic feedback system. The vibrations and sensations the controller produce are now far more detailed and feel far more immersive during gameplay. Also new is is the force feedback of the triggers, which will resist against pressure depending on in-game situations. For instance, when firing a gun in a game like Call of Duty, the player will feel resistance when shooting, making for an unforgettable experience. The only downside of the trigger feedback is that it is spring-loaded and has a tendency to be quite loud. Luckily, the feature can be turned off if you’re playing at night and don’t want to be annoying.

The Xbox controller is not-so-revolutionary, adopting a mantra of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” A few quality of life changes were made, however, with the d-pad now having 8 directions and triggers and bumpers now being textured. A share button, much like the PS4 controller’s share button, has been added for easily taking quick screenshots and game clips. Other than this, nothing is different, and there are certainly no groundbreaking updates like haptic feedback and adaptive trigger resistance.

Games – Where the Battle is Truly Waged

Demon’s Souls, one of the PlayStation 5’s most anticipated and critically acclaimed exclusive games.
Image credit: PlayStation

If you’re a PlayStation fan already, you know where this is going. The PlayStation platform has always been best known for one thing: having amazing exclusive games that you simply can’t play anywhere else. It’s how PlayStation manages to consistently be the best-selling console brand, regardless of generation. In fact, every single PlayStation released so far except the PS3 has exceeded 100 million units in sales, with the PS3 still winning its respective generation with over 87 million consoles sold and featuring groundbreaking exclusive games that helped it achieve those sales.

The PS5 looks to be no exception, already cementing its status as the home of many exclusive titles, including Demon’s Souls, Spider Man: Miles Morales, Returnal, Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart, and more, with even more games confirmed for release soon, such as Abandoned and Final Fantasy XVI.

The teaser image for Bethesda’s upcoming game, Starfield, a now-confirmed Xbox exclusive title
Image credit: Bethesda

However, the Xbox Series X is certainly not lacking in the games department, as can be seen from this year’s Xbox/Bethesda E3 showcase. In fact, it can be argued that this is the biggest year for Xbox when it comes to exclusives ever, with there barely being any time to breathe in between exclusive announcements during that show. Some notable announcements from that show include Halo Infinite, Starfield, Forza Horizon 5, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Psychonauts 2. Trailers for all of these titles can be viewed by following each of their links.

Also, one simply can’t not talk about Xbox and not mention Xbox Game Pass, which is by far the greatest subscription service in all of gaming at the moment. All Xbox Game Studios titles will launch on both Xbox and PC on Game Pass, which is quite a value considering you it only costs $14.99 a month, only a dollar more than the most popular Netfilx plan. Game Pass’s value simply cannot be denied, with over 100 Xbox games already on the service and even more to be added every month and whenever a new Xbox exclusive releases.

Final Verdict

While the power of the Series X and the value of the Game Pass service cannot be denied, the PS5 still wins this fight, albeit by a slim margin. The main reasons for this verdict are the PS5’s absolutely amazing controller and the exclusive games you can only play on the PS platform. While the choice is really all yours and the Series X is an amazing choice if its games appeal to you, as a gamer and a fan of the groundbreaking experiences that the PS5 has the potential to offer, I have to formally recommend the PlayStation 5.

So, which console do you like more, and are you going to purchase one? Leave a like below if you enjoyed the article and check soon for another article from Genesis Gaming!

Windows 11: What Does it Mean for PC Gaming?

I am not a PC gamer. In fact, in recent months, I decided to make bold step: I ditched Windows and got an Apple MacBook Air with an M1 chip. For years prior I had crawled along with an underpowered desktop computer that ran Windows 10. . .slowly. This MacBook Air has changed the way I see computers, and, if I ever need a Windows fix, I can just side-load Parallels and run Windows, allowing me to even play PC games, albeit with a bit of a performance hit.

Now that I have so much Mac experience, I can’t help but notice after watching Microsoft’s technical difficulty-laden conference that Windows 11 looks a whole hell of a lot like macOS. And they made it quite obvious, even in the most cosmetic of ways. They’ve brought the start menu button to the center of the taskbar, along with all of the other apps, the settings app is now a functional and concise window that opens right above the dock – *ahem* – taskbar, and, most important of all, the new Windows mantra is to create a calm, comprehensive, simple, and secure workspace that integrates with other devices. Now, who does that sound like?

But before we jump to conclusions, let’s go over this conference in a bit more detail. If you haven’t seen the conference, that is linked below too.

Windows 11 – An Overview

As a brief overview before a more in-depth analysis, Windows 11 looks like a sleek, smoothed out version of Windows 10 that just happens to mirror macOS 11 in almost every way. The taskbar is now much more resemblant of the Dock, and the actual desktop has taken a backseat when it comes to OS navigation, just like a Mac. All of the apps are in one convenient spot in the dock/taskbar (the “dock-bar,” if you will), and the start menu now acts as a Launchpad equivalent, featuring all of the user’s apps from the now very Apple-like App Store.

However, it boasts really cool new features that are currently absent from Mac computers, such as the new “snap” interface that allows users to have multiple programs running at the same time occupying different parts of the screen. This was also present on Windows 10 and is do-able on Mac, but it is much harder to manage on these systems. Windows 11 appears to make it much easier, and even allows you to save app configurations for later use.

Also changed is the Settings app, which was pitiful, egregiously difficult to navigate and almost impossible to like on an aesthetic level in its Windows 10 form. Everything appears to be organized quite nicely here though, with clear categorical division and an easy-to-use search bar, as well as other handy inclusions. I know what you’re thinking: “it’s not that big of a deal, it’s just the settings app!” I know, and that’s why it’s so concerning that I can actually have formal complaints about the one on Windows 10, which truly speaks to how horrid it was.

Continuing on, Microsoft Edge, Windows Update, Microsoft accounts and other apps and features that were present on Windows 10 run significantly faster on Windows 11, a performance boost that users have been yearning for for quite some time. Also noted in the conference was the fact that updates are now fully in the background and 40% faster than they were on Windows 10, something that I know a lot of users will be very happy about.

A bit of a downside, however: not all PCs will be eligible to receive a free upgrade to the new OS, even if they have Windows 10. This is due to the new OS having higher minimum technical requirements compared to its predecessors. Windows 11 will require 4 GB of RAM minimum compared to the previous OS’s measly 2, and require better processors and more recent systems to run well.

Xbox Game Pass Integration and Improved Game Performance

Also announced in the conference was a suite of new features and quality-of-life updates aimed directly at us gamers.

Xbox Game Pass for PC, X-Cloud, and Xbox Series X game streaming will be fully integrated into the new OS and receive even receive a much-appreciated performance boost. Now that Microsoft has added Series X enhanced server blades to its X-Cloud service, even games for new consoles will run smoothly and beautifully, and no performance will be sacrificed on PC, especially now that we have entered the era of digitally-based storage that is now quite common on many PCs.

Auto HDR for over 1,000 games was also mentioned at the conference, including very notable releases such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Age of Empires, and more. This is a very welcome addition to the OS for many gamers and non-gamers alike, as a higher resolution is beneficial to everyone. However, keep in mind that this feature will only be available to users that have the proper tech specs to take advantage of the feature, as well as having an HDR compatible monitor or laptop screen.

In short, Windows 11’s sleek OS design and improved system performance, combined with the now widely-available, relatively cheap, high-performance computing technology that many users own, will make for a new generation of gaming PCs that far exceeded anything we’ve ever seen before in the world of gaming. That’s definitely something to be excited about!

Should You Upgrade?

If you already have Windows 10, then I would recommend waiting a bit despite the fact that Windows 11 will be a free upgrade for Windows 10 users. While 11 is sure to be more secure than 10 and more feature-rich, it is also sure to be glitchy at launch and new users will inherit those glitches. However, there is one exception to this rule: upgrade immediately if you are a gamer. There are just too many unique and amazing features that will make your PC gaming experience much better to turn down the prospect of a free upgrade. However, if you’re not a gamer, as Windows 10 will remain supported by Microsoft until 2025, making it a good option if you care about having a fully working, no-hassle computer that is also very secure.

But if you’re running Windows 7 or 8 then it is my recommendation that you should definitely upgrade to 11, no questions asked. It’s a security risk to even think about running Windows 7 or 8 at this point, and, in 2025, the same will be said for Windows 10. A cost for Windows 11 has not been announced, but it is my advice that, regardless of the cost, you should upgrade and save yourself from the headache that a lack of security will cause.

Windows 11 is expected to slowly roll out its upgrades starting later this year, and will finish its rollout sometime in early 2022. When it will be available for individual purchase has yet to be announced.

Will you upgrade to Windows 11 ASAP or wait to find out more? Let me know if you enjoyed this article by leaving a like, and come back tomorrow for more gaming-centric news on Genesis Gaming!

A Bit of News: The Xbox Streaming Stick

If you haven’t heard the news, let me set the scene. It all started last November, when Xbox CEO Phil Spencer accidentally suggested in an interview that Microsoft would be bringing Xbox Game Pass and the X-Cloud to Xboxes, PCs, and. . .streaming sticks. Wait – streaming sticks? Well that’s new.

I have been speculating for a good half-a-year now about whether or not Microsoft would actually follow through with something like this, and I have hoped they would with my entire being. I’ve read many articles talking about what the merits of a streaming stick would be, and how it could either be good or bad for Microsoft. The jury is still out on the decision from a traditional business standpoint, but with this new development, I think that, as a consumer, there is no better time to play Xbox. An Xbox streaming stick would not only solidify game streaming as a legitimate form of games media, it would put Xbox games and systems in more players’ hands than ever before.

I for one am very excited about such a prospect and can’t wait for its release, which Phil Spencer said he expected to be within the next year or so. While no price has been announced for the devices so far, I predict the Xbox Streaming Stick to be in the same price range as most Roku devices, which could be anywhere between $40 and $100. Xbox also announced that they are partnering with smart TV and other smart device developers (most likely Roku, Amazon and Apple) to develop Xbox apps on their devices that are Game Pass-compatible. I mean, how many people don’t have a TV? Game Pass would be available to literally everyone, giving Xbox the largest market share of any gaming company ever.

So would you buy an Xbox Streaming Stick or use a TV app? Leave a like below and come back tomorrow for more from Genesis Gaming!

E3 2021: A Retrospective

Apologies for missing a few days of articles! I wanted to provide an in-depth analysis of my thoughts and opinions surrounding this year’s E3, so I took a bit of extra time to write this. I’ll be sure to notify you next time I post a bit late!

E3 2021: Merits of the Show

I briefly wanted to talk about what I thought about this year’s unique, all-virtual E3. It was an odd adjustment to be sure, but in a good way. No more were the cringe-y, live and in-person announcers, this time E3 featured pre-recorded shows (for the most part) and way more announcements than pointless talk. In this way, E3 actually managed to get me to enjoy what talk there was.

If you watched IGN’s E3 livestreams, after every show, you would be greeted with a team of game journalists talking headlines and their own opinions, making for a fun little break from the announcements from time-to-time. It also helped viewers to digest all of the announcements and news from the shows, and I would often just leave the talk on my television as I did something else in-between shows because they were honestly just interesting to listen to.

Moving on to the actual content of E3, the obvious main take-aways were Bandai Namco and Take-Two’s conferences, both of which, especially the latter, being HUGE disappointments. All Bandai Namco did was announce one game and showcase it for five minutes, that game being Dark Pictures: House of Ashes. While the game looks quite good, Bandai’s main attraction was Elden Ring, which announced before E3 even started and got no more air-time after its initial announcement. That might be bad, but NOTHING excuses Take-Two’s lousy conference, which may be the worst conference in E3’s entire history. The whole thing was basically a public affairs meeting about diversity, education, and how these two critical components of society fit into the realm of gaming. Not a bad business lecture, but did I want one during E3? That’s a hard, resounding “nope.”

But enough of that. What I really wanted to do in this article was talk about what games I am most excited for and why they were the best announcements from E3 2021. So let’s not waste any more time and jump right in, ’cause there’s just so much goodness to cover!

Starfield

I can’t talk about this year’s E3 without mentioning Starfield, which might just be the “killer app” for the Xbox Series X/S and the kick-in-the-pants that Microsoft and the Xbox brand have needed for quite some time. I had been speculating about this game’s details for quite some time, notably whether or not it would be an Xbox console exclusive, and its Xbox showcase spot finally confirmed that. That fact is not something that should be taken lightly, as not only does it bolster the power of the Xbox brand, it will create a rift in the PlayStation fanbase that could potentially create millions more Xboxes in circulation. It also put an end to my guesswork surrounding a release date, which will be on 11.11.2022, barring delay.

The game itself looks and sounds amazing, with Todd Howard touting some time ago that the game was basically “Skyrim in space.” However, I don’t think it’s that simple. If the trailers are anything to go by, I think that Starfield possesses a cinematic quality that we’ve never truly seen Bethesda integrate into a game of this scale before, and one that Skyrim certainly didn’t have. Hopefully, by using the power of the Series X and taking advantage of the ability to optimize the game for a single console, Starfield will be less glitchy than Skyrim was at launch and be an epic, near-flawless experience for Xbox fans. While that may seem like a pipe dream, I think it’s a hope that Xbox fans need to cling to, as it is not only plausible, but likely, seeing the newfound budget that Bethesda has after its Microsoft buyout. I think the time of the Xbox has finally arrived, and Starfield is just the first domino to fall in a long line of great games for years to come.

Metroid Dread

Metroid has a history of being one of the most ignored and misunderstood series Nintendo has in its diverse IP arsenal, but that is apparently no more. Not only is Metroid Prime 4 in development for the Nintendo Switch, but the first 2D Metroid in 19 years? Now that’s something special, and this game looks to be quite the achievement for Nintendo.

Featuring that classic 2D platforming that made Metroid famous on the NES and SNES, Metroid is finally back. However, what I think truly sets it apart and makes it one of E3’s best announcements this year is its villain: the E.M.M.I. The E.M.M.I. chases Samus around the labyrinthine platforms and levels, searching for her using terrifying abilities such as visual scanners and audial sensing. When the E.M.M.I. appears, the player must be stealthy and use their abilities to hide and avoid, or else they’ll be killed in some of Nintendo’s most un-child-friendly death animations.

In this way, the new Metroid feels more survival-horror than ever before, something I think is very fitting for the franchise. Metroid has always had a spooky sci-fi vibe and, as one of Nintendo’s more “mature” IPs, I think it’s great the development team has finally embraced that in full. Metroid Dread launches on the Switch on October 8th!

Halo Infinite

While in recent years I’ve considered myself more of a PlayStation fan due to Xbox’s lack of exclusives, I’ve always had a soft spot for Halo. Halo is just one of those franchises that consistently provides players with amazing experiences through-and-through, and it looks like this year’s Halo Infinite will be no exception.

The trailer that was showed off told us a bit more about the story and flexed a bit more of the Series X’s muscle, with breathtaking graphics and a closer look at game’s story. In the trailer, we discover that Cortana has been deleted and she has been replaced with a look-alike intended to imitate her function, but an interesting turn of events lead us to believe that Cortana is not gone after all, and it seems our quest will be to track her down and unravel the mysteries behind her continued existence.

The E3 showcase also showed off some of the ways that the 343 Industries dev team improved the game after its delay last year, and the world graphics look far more polished than they did pre-delay. They also announced something extremely groundbreaking: the online multiplayer is 100% free-to-play for all players. No Gold required, and friends don’t even need to own the game to play it. That’s a GIANT move for Microsoft and Xbox, and it shows that they are increasingly leaving Gold behind and accepting the fact that players like one thing and one thing only: games. That’s what Game Pass is all about, and it seems like that’s what Xbox is all about.

Xbox also showed off a teaser-trailer for the game’s multiplayer, an overview of which can be found below:

But more than anything else, all of this info proves two things: Halo is finally back-to-form, and Xbox is finally back-to-form with its big exclusives. That’s all a fan could ask for.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2

Perhaps one of the most anticipated and hotly debated announcements that was theorized to show up at this year’s E3 was the mysterious Breath of the Wild 2. Initially teased to be in development in 2018, people, including myself, have been dying to find out more about what our next journey through Hyrule would be like. While we didn’t get much, we did get a ballpark release date of 2022 and a brief snippet of footage concerning what gameplay will be like. That can be found below.

It appears that, although there were no Loftwings in sight, we’ll be taking to the skies in the next installment of the franchise. Link will also possess a number of new abilities, although only a few were shown. It appears that Link can morph through walls and floors, much like A Link Between Worlds, and his stasis ability now shows a predicted trail of movement, a nice quality-of-life update indeed. Other than that, BotW2 still lies shrouded in mystery for the most part. But, luckily, we shouldn’t have much longer to wait to find out more!

Elden Ring

This was it – the big bad; the one everyone was waiting for; the main attraction – and we finally got it! The trailer was badass, the release date has finally been revealed and, most importantly, the game looks absolutely amazing! It’s everything I’ve ever wanted in an RPG, set in a Souls-like universe that is set in an open world, with a story written by the great George R.R. Martin. What more could you ask for, people?

I mean, if we’re being honest here, the story sounds almost exactly like Dark Souls, and you can easily draw parallels and match terms from the Souls universe to the Elden Ring trailer’s narration no problem and just pretend that Elden Ring is actually Dark Souls 4. Honestly, I think that it might as well be Dark Souls 4, as it looks almost exactly like it except with better animation, better combat, and just generally less clunk than those games.

How the gameplay will work has yet to be seen, although we did see some pretty big and frightening enemies in the trailer, so I think it is safe to assume that Elden Ring will feature From Software’s famous bosses, at least in some form. The world-exploration also looks like it will be similar to Souls, just set in an open world. But, these obvious comparisons don’t affect by interest and sheer excitement surrounding this game in the slightest; I think Elden Ring is destined to be legendary, and will be immortalized in gaming top 10 lists for some time to come.

Elden Ring launches on PS5, PS4, Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on January 21st, 2021. Here’s that trailer again:

So, while E3 2021 has come and gone, we still have a lot to look forward to in the gaming sphere this year! So many amazing games got announced and so many will be coming out soon that we’ll be blanketed in gaming bliss for quite some time. Check out my other E3 2021 articles to see everything else that got announced and stay tuned for more on Genesis Gaming!

Can Xbox Live Gold Redeem Itself?

What Xbox Needs to Do to Save its Flagship Service

Ever since the original Xbox, Xbox Live Gold, Microsoft’s flagship online subscription service, has been going strong. At its inception Gold was one-of-a-kind, as it finally brought online gaming to consoles and allowed players to voice chat and play with people all over the world. Consistently providing the best service relative to its competitors, Sony and Nintendo, online games have always been better played on the Xbox family of consoles, something that still holds true today.

This wasn’t all Xbox Live Gold was good for, as it also had one more card up its sleeve. In 2013, the team at Microsoft announced a brand-new service: Xbox Games with Gold. With this unique service, current and future Xbox Live Gold subscribers could claim free games every month, which were theirs to keep as long as they remained subscribers. This system truly revolutionized the service, reinforcing public opinion that Xbox Live Gold was truly the greatest online service being offered, both in performance and value.

However, that reputation has been seriously damaged in recent years, with PlayStation creating its own online, monthly games service in PlayStation Plus, which has outperformed Xbox in overall value for quite sometime. This has shown true especially in recent months, with big-time games like Days Gone, Final Fantasy VII Remake and Battlefield V showing up as the monthly freebies. Meanwhile, the best games in recent months for Gold have been titles like the first Resident Evil remake and Gears 5, games that most Xbox players either already have (seeing as the latter is an installment in one of Xbox’s three big exclusive series) or simply aren’t interested in. And it is worth noting that those games both came in a single month that was intentionally quite generous. Every month before and since is chock-full with nothing but indie releases and games that either no one has heard of or no one wants.

There’s no question that Xbox’s Game Pass service is an objectively better value, with new games being added every month and over 100 already being available. Better yet, at June 13’s Xbox E3 presentation, Xbox announced that 30 new games would be coming to Game Pass, including six new releases over the course of six months going straight to the service on day one (Forza Horizon 5, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Halo Infinite, Back 4 Blood, Psychonauts 2, and Age of Empires IV). Now, even the value of Gold’s online play is questionable, with Xbox recently doing away with Gold’s requirement for free-to-play games. You can now get your Warzone fix without paying a cent for online play. As it stands then, Gold is a service that costs $10 a month and is completely devoid of any real value, with everyone of its incentives being either weakened by Game Pass or completely ruined by it.

So, can Xbox save Gold? I don’t think so, because I frankly wouldn’t buy it. Xbox Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate are just way too good by comparison, with the former being the same price and the latter being only $5 more expensive and including a ridiculous amount of extra value. To be quite honest, I think the concept of Gold itself is antiquated; who would pay good money for this when such an amazing alternative is available? I think it would be in both Xbox and the consumer’s best interest to simply do away with Gold entirely, and to bake online play into Game Pass.

What do you think? Should Xbox find a way to keep Gold going or simply accept that Game Pass is its natural evolution? Leave a like if you enjoyed this article and come back tomorrow for more from Genesis Gaming!

Let’s Talk Elder Scrolls

A Comprehensive, Retrospective Ranking of One of Gaming’s Biggest IPs

In light of Microsoft’s recent purchase of Bethesda Softworks for $7.5 billion dollars; a purchase that has potentially made The Elder Scrolls an Xbox exclusive series, I’ve put together a comprehensive retrospective to rank the Elder Scrolls series of games. Keep in mind that, while I’ll try to talk about these objectively, this will be a personal list that could vary from yours, (and trust me, I anticipate that it will). Also, some quest spoilers will inevitably appear here, so be warned. Without further ado, let’s talk Elder Scrolls!

#5: The Elder Scrolls Chapter One: The Arena (Released 1994, MS-DOS)

The very first Elder Scrolls, Arena started as a simple game in which players would fight each other in an arena setting. When side quests were added, the developers at Bethesda found them so fun they decided to make an entire game out them. Thus, The Elder Scrolls series was born, albeit with a few problems.

For the time, I’m sure this game shattered expectations and laid the groundwork for future RPGs. The game saw you on a tremendous quest to reassemble the staff of the Septim Family line and defeat the evil Jagar Tharn, who murdered the king and usurped the throne. The makings of a true fantasy blockbuster indeed! However, the game is loaded with obscene levels of 90s clunk.

For example, each dungeon you explore in the main questline is effectively a maze, with only a crude map to guide you that you fill in as you explore, the game’s other side quests are effectively just basic fetch quests (e.g., go retrieve this for me, kill this monster for me, etc.), and the story is littered with odd riddle puzzles that are almost impossible to figure out. In short, if you want to see what the original Elder Scrolls experience was like, you’ll have to deal with a lot of clunk. If you just have to play it anyway, you can get it used online for cheap and run it on your Windows PC via a DOS emulator. You can also find it in the Elder Scrolls Anthology (along with every other mainline game in the series so far), which is optimal as it comes packed with an emulator, pre-programmed to run the game just fine on your PC.

#4: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Released 2011 on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, released as Special Edition for Xbox One, PS4 and PC in 2016 and on Nintendo Switch in 2017)

Yes, I love the Elder Scrolls series. No, I didn’t particularly enjoy Skyrim. Like many of you, I have played Skyrim countless times; on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 (in that order). Every time I start a new character I am filled with a sense of nostalgia for the game, but by the time I reach Bleak Falls Barrow, the nostalgia has worn off and a just okay game is what is left over.

I will give Skyrim this: I enjoyed it the first time. Whenever talking about the game, I often spin an epic yarn about my first character, a Nord named Ludwig, who fought in the war for Skyrim on the Imperial side and left countless Stormcloak bodies strewn across several battlefields. He stole from the rich, gave to poor, and was a master of one-handed weapons. As such, looking back on it, I can see why I initially fell in love with it: the game truly feels makes you feel like you are the center of this world. Providing you have the DLC packs, you can get married, adopt children, build your own house, become the jarl of a city, slay dragons in the afterlife, and more. It is truly an epic adventure that will be heralded for the rest of time as one of the greatest medieval RPGs to ever grace the video game world.

It is only upon revisiting it that that same sense of wonder and adventure is lost on me. Each little bit of the game’s world that you thought was unique in your first playthrough gets repeated. The same Stormcloak soldier is being led to prison on your way to Whiterun, the same character pulls you aside to offer you a place in his guild, etc. What made the game magical the first time around – what made the experience feel unique – just feels scripted when you return to the world of Skyrim a second time. It just loses the magic.

Pair that with the fact that it has been released for basically every console on the market that came out after its initial release, and what we have is a classic case of game fatigue. It’s been out on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and even the Nintendo Switch, in several iterations (Standard Edition, Legendary Edition, Special Edition, Complete Edition). How many times do you want me to buy your game, Todd? HOW MANY TIMES?!?!?!

So, on a calmer note, while I may be crazy, Skyrim was just okay.

#3: The Elder Scrolls Chapter II: Daggerfall (1996 on MS-DOS)

As this is the Elder Scrolls game I have played the least of, I won’t have too much to say about, but I can say with confidence that this was the first truly groundbreaking Elder Scrolls adventure. As such, Daggerfall was released to critical acclaim in 1996 for MS-DOS. It truly revolutionized the RPG genre and laid the groundwork for all future Elder Scrolls titles with its multiple storylines and adaptive quest system.

There aren’t too many new features in this edition of the Elder Scrolls series, but Daggerfall was able to meaningfully expound on the already amazing formula that Arena. It added in a huge open world, which remains one of the largest ever in a game, and allowed the player to sail boats, ride horses, and more. However, the 90s clunk remains, and makes this monster of game much harder to enjoy in the modern era.

If you want to give this one a shot, you can download for free using the Bethesda Launcher, which can be downloaded on their website.

#2: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006 on PC, Xbox 360, PS3)

Forgive me, as I may gush a bit over this one. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is my personal favorite of the series. Objectively, it probably deserves to be lower on this list, but this is one of those situations where my personal preferences come into play. It may be glitchy, but in my mind, Oblivion is the quintessential Elder Scrolls experience.

Oblivion sat in between two eras of gaming: the classic era and the modern era. Gaming was still refining itself in 2006, and Oblivion sought to perfect the modern RPG, while sticking close to its classical gaming roots. That it did, and it succeeded wonderfully. The graphics were amazing for the time, and it was an improvement over Morrowind, the previous chapter of the Elder Scrolls series, in almost every way.

The questlines feel more inspired than previous and future titles, with the absolute highlights of the game being the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild questlines. These questlines send you on epic missions that truly feel dynamic, and, even upon revisiting them, they never get old. The Dark Brotherhood’s “Whodunit?” and “Purification” missions are some of the best in the series, the former seeing you systematically killing an entire group of people in the same house while forming alliances with a some of them, only to stab them in the back (a very fun experience, to be sure), and the latter seeing you wipe out an entire Dark Brotherhood sanctuary while on a wild hunt for a supposed intruder. The Thieves Guild is also quite interesting, but not quite as extravagant, and sees you join a ragtag group of thieves trying to help out the poor by stealing from the rich. You get to form an alliance with the greatest thief to ever live, the Gray Fox, in a quest to take down an Imperial oppressor, Hieronymus Lex.

The main quest is also amazing, and the main protagonist (not your character, but a priest named Martin) is voiced by Sean Bean, of Game of Thrones fame. That I will not spoil, as I believe it is the best storyline to ever come out of the Elder Scrolls series, hands down.

However, a few key issues bring the game down; to the point where quite a few people remember it as simply being the modern Elder Scrolls series’ “dud” entry. The levelling system is very odd, as creatures and enemies will scale with your level, meaning that even if you are level 90, everything, including random enemies like wolves or skeletons, will remain a constant threat throughout the game. Item discovery also scales, which means that no matter how hard you try, you won’t be discovering too many rare weapons and other items on your journey throughout the land of Cyrodiil until you reach a high level. In short, while Oblivion is an amazing game with stellar questlines and fantastic overall writing, whether or not you like it is dependent on your ability to see through the onion-like layers of mid-2000s clunk. An acquired taste for sure.

#1: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002 on PC, Xbox)

Speaking of clunk, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is coated in it, and, frankly, is known for it. However, Morrowind introduced to the gaming world a previously unseen level of depth, narrative excellence, and pure gaming joy. It carefully walks the line between reality and fantasy, resulting in an experience unlike any other in the Elder Scrolls series or gaming in general.

To start with, the graphics of Morrowind, while are now a bit comical – with their rubbery textures and bad character models – were at one point world class, and much better than almost every other game available, especially relative to the scope of its world. There is simply so much to see and do, regardless of the graphics. As soon as the tutorial/character creation is complete, you can literally do everything the world has to offer: run off and explore a cave, travel to another city to visit its shops, join guilds and do quests, and more.

The main quest line is also surprisingly high-concept, with the player starring as the chosen one of legend called Nerevar. Their quest is to defeat Dagoth Ur, a demon God who takes refuge in the volcano of the same name, who has cast a curse upon the land of Morrowind. But, the player can choose to completely ignore this quest line if they choose, and focus on other side quest lines that are also stellar.

I won’t spoil the rest of this amazing game, as it is just one that you have to play for yourself. It can be purchased on Steam for PC, and on the Microsoft Store for Xbox One and Series X/S. It is also available on Xbox Game Pass, alongside Oblivion and Skyrim.