The best Bethesda games of all time

What is there to say about Skyrim that hasn’t been said already? This massive game is not only the pinnacle of the Elder Scrolls series (at least until the untitled Elder Scrolls VI releases), but it also shattered all expectations. It wasn’t just a critical hit but a sales juggernaut as well. The game originally came out in 2011 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, but it has been ported almost as much as the original Doom and has sold well every time it was released after that. It makes sense why — the world Bethesda created, or rather this region of it, is just brimming with unique and dynamic events to experience. The number of things to do and see and ways to play make it feel like a true RPG experience in ways most other games could only hope to be. Yes, Skyrim is not immune to the usual bugs and glitches that Bethesda games are known for. In this case, though, none of them are really game-breaking, unless you’re playing on the PS3, and the game was so ambitious for the time that many people were willing to overlook a few rough edges. The plot isn’t much to write home about, and many people never even saw it through, but that’s just a minor fraction of the content on offer in Skyrim. Side quests are everywhere, caves and dungeons to explore are around every corner, and interesting characters populate all the cities. Skyrim is a game where you can easily spend 100 or more hours never touching the main quest and still have plenty to do.

We’ll talk more about Tango further on, but the last thing anyone expected from this studio was what we got in Hi-Fi Rush. Not because it’s a bad game — it’s fantastic — but because this traditionally horror-focused team came out of nowhere with this stylish, rhythm-action game that was announced and released with no warning. Following Chai, you embark on a funny but heartfelt journey infiltrating a large tech company after an accident fuses a music player with your heart. Visually, this game is stunning. The cell-shaded look matches perfectly with the rhythm combat that rewards you for attacking and dodging on the beat. Speaking of, the soundtrack is equally impressive, with a great mix of original and licensed tracks to punctuate the intense boss battles.

Sometimes gaming doesn’t have to be much more complex than blasting demons with your super shotgun as heavy-metal guitars celebrate the carnage and gore. While Doom Eternal can be just that, a raw action, incredibly satisfying gore-fest, play on anything higher than the lower difficulties, and you’ll find that this game has way more depth in its combat than basically any shooter released in the past decade. ID made combat a multilayered puzzle of sorts, with a genius design that forces you to stay mobile, aggressive, and strategic all at once. Each enemy has a weakness you can exploit, but ammo for each gun is limited, forcing you to use your entire arsenal as well as your chainsaw to refill. Enemies hit hard and fast, so you’ll need to make sure to weaken enemies for glory kills to restore your HP, but also utilize your flamethrower to make them drop armor to preserve that health. All those pieces make each combat encounter both mentally and physically challenging, or at least in terms of execution, exhausting (in the best way). Successfully taking out the most dangerous threats, double-jumping and dashing to avoid damage, keeping your health up, and perfectly dispatching smaller foes with brutal glory kills for just a brief second of reprieve, all while the drums and guitars ramp up with the action, leads to feeling like an absolute beast when the final demon is splattered against the wall. The game could’ve been just that, but under the hood, there are wide maps you can platform through for collectibles that show up on your ship between levels, as well as even more challenging optional fights to unlock. Doom Eternal is the full package in ways no other single-player FPS has been in years.

Before ID brought Doom back, Machine Games started the trend of reviving an old series and injecting it with strong character writing, plot, and modern gameplay that still felt true to the original. In the case of Wolfenstein: The New Order, not many people would even know the original well enough to tell if this reboot-sequel hybrid strayed from the conventions of one of the first FPS games ever made. Either way, based on the simple premise of one man shooting Nazis, Wolfenstein: The New Order managed to craft an excellent single-player campaign as well as make the otherwise blank slate BJ a deep and relatable character. No one would’ve predicted that a new Wolfenstein game, without any multiplayer, mind you, would turn out to be such a massive hit. Wolfenstein: The New Order isn’t just story and character, though. The majority of the game remains true to that original premise of shooting Nazis in the face. Only now, you can do it with more guns and in full HD across tons of locations. Every gun, from pistols and assault rifles to shotguns, can be duel-wielded without any negatives except not being able to aim down sights. Combine that with the overcharging health system, where you can go above your maximum health temporarily, and you’re free to run and gun your way through most of the game. That’s not even touching on the perk system or stealth mechanics, either!