New Game Plus - A Retro Gaming Podcast · New Game Plus

Episode 476: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

·1 hr 11 min·5 clips

Dustin declares Morrowind's dice-roll combat 'terrible for a video game'—but is he right?

This episode of New Game Plus features hosts Dustin, Kenny, and Nolan discussing their week-long playthrough of the 2002 Bethesda RPG *The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind*. They explore the game's legacy as a transitional title in the series, directed by Todd Howard. The hosts begin with their weekly "Patreon Question," debating which video game character has the best fashion, with mentions of Lightning from *Final Fantasy XIII*, Aran from *Final Fantasy*, and Assassin's Creed robes. They frame *Morrowind* as a bridge between classic, D&D-inspired *Elder Scrolls* games and the more accessible modern entries like *Skyrim*. The hosts detail the game's notoriously open-ended start, where players begin as a weak prisoner with minimal direction in the island of Vvardenfell. They criticize the dated combat system, which relies on hidden dice-roll mechanics and stats rather than visible hits, making early combat feel "trash" and unintuitive. Nolan shares that the game's manual is over 400 pages long, highlighting its complexity. Kenny recounts an early experience where he randomly attacked an NPC and was instantly killed, illustrating the game's punishing freedom. Dustin explains that movement speed is intentionally slow initially, with players often spamming jump to travel faster and level acrobatics. The hosts note the world doesn't scale with player level, so exploring can lead to instant death in dangerous areas. They praise the deep, text-based world-building, mentioning that compiling all in-game books would equal about six novels' worth of lore. A memorable moment involves Kenny discovering a dead body with a letter and a potion, piecing together that an assassin failed a levitation spell and fell to his death. The hosts discuss the "Dark Brotherhood" assassination attempts that occur when sleeping, which are frustrating early on but later become a source of income from selling the attackers' armor. Nolan reveals he played an unarmed Argonian monk, which Kenny jokingly compares to "Elon Musk." The tone is conversational and nostalgic, blending critique with appreciation for the game's ambitious, unguided design. This episode is ideal for RPG fans interested in game design history or players curious about *Morrowind*'s infamous learning curve. Listeners who prefer modern, polished RPGs with clear guidance and intuitive combat might find the discussion frustrating.

As heard by us

A lively Morrowind discussion that treats friction as part of the appeal.

The episode makes a good case that Morrowind is most interesting when it stays a little rough around the edges. It spends time on keyword-driven conversations, the slow pace of getting around, and how those systems change the feel of discovery.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a Morrowind chat that lingers on the game's slow, text-heavy world instead of rushing past it.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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