The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon

2003

role-playing (rpg)
adventure
action
fantasy
sandbox
open world
single player

The story

The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon is the second expansion for its RPG of the Year, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind for PC. Bloodmoon takes you to the frozen Island of Solstheim where the Empire is establishing a new mining colony - a venture being threatened by the prophecy of the Bloodmoon and rumors of werewolves. You have a choice of stories to follow and have the opportunity to defend the colony, take control over how the colony is built up, and eliminate the werewolves. Or, you can decide to join the werewolves and become one of them, opening up a whole new style of gameplay.

What it’s like

Bitter winter light over a frozen island: pale snow on black volcanic rock, grey-blue overcast skies, and the orange glow of mining camp fires cutting into long, blue-black nights. The camera stays in Morrowind's first-person view, so you walk the tundra alone with wide, empty vistas and sudden crowded interiors of timber halls and stone crypts. Sound leans on wind howls, crunching snow, distant wolf calls and a sparse, melancholy score that swells when the moon turns red. Its vibe is cold, brooding and wintry, with a bleak sense of isolation that tips into dread after dark. Pacing is open and unhurried: exploration, errands and long walks between settlements, with occasional bursts of sword-and-sorcery combat, spellcasting and graphic, bloody kills. Violence is frequent and fairly brutal, with blood and death shown plainly, and the theme of slavery and the werewolf curse add a harsh, uncomfortable edge; there is no gore beyond game-style combat, but it is not gentle. Its people are restless outsiders who must choose where their loyalties lie, some drifting toward the wild and the monstrous. Best for players who want a dark, atmospheric sandbox in the cold, with real freedom to choose between order and the beast.

More games like The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon

Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoonand we’ll explain which ones fit you.