When it comes to Bethesda games, specifically The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, mods are some of the most loved aspects. Modders have created some truly amazing things, such as total conversion mods, new weapons, quests and locations, and of course bug fixes. We all love what is added by the talented people behind these mods, but with recent events regarding Fallout 76, I have come to realize that mods are a double edged sword when it comes to Bethesda.
I can hear you shouting now , ” but how can you say that! Mods fix all the problems and bring us hundreds of hours of new content all the time!”. This is true, but it has come at a cost that many haven’t wished to acknowledge. The creation kit has made modding very easy for games in TES and Fallout series, and at times it seems to easy. But while modding becomes easier, Bethesda has also become somewhat lazy in developing the games, leading many to believe that Bethesda is relying on fans to fix the problems with the bugs in their games.
This is not as farfetched as it may seem. Bethesda has been playing up the modding scene in Fallout 4 and Skyrim Special Edition, even tying them into the console versions of the games after all. One of the most prominent mods for every Bethesda game lately has been an unofficial fan patch to fix the bugs that are left by Bethesda, and because of this it seems that Bethesda has decided they do not need to patch the issues themselves.
But it goes even further than that though, as Bethesda’s game development issues have worsened over the years. Bethesda has been using a modified version of the same engine for decades, with all the bugs included. For instance, many of the same bugs that plagued Fallout 4 and Skyrim also plague Fallout 76. And considering that Bethesda intends to continue using this engine for Starfield and TES VI, just with some modifications, this is cause to be concerned about those games.
Bethesda games feel like a canvas to be painted on lately. They provide the basics, but want fans to fill out the rest for them, and the fans have been doing so. This brings up the issue of paid mods and creation club as well. The creation club has yet to provide anything for Skyrim Special Edition that is worth looking into, and the updates actually interfere with free mods. Fallout 4 has some interesting content added, but the pricing is very off-putting when compared to official DLCs like Skyrim’s Hearthfire.
One last thing I want to mention, is that Bethesda has been simplifying their games instead of refining them lately. This is to appeal to a mass audience, but the result is that many of their IPs have lost what made them stand out at first. Indigo Gaming put out a documentary on youtube recently about how TES has strayed so far from its origins and not in a good way. Bethesda no longer seems to have the drive to make something unique and ahead of the curve, but just to follow trends since they know modders will add in the content that more hardcore fans want.
I am not saying that mods should go away at all, but that Bethesda needs to go back to the basics and stop relying on them. The fact that fallout 76 showed just how shallow their game design philosophy actually is, contrasted with how deep games like Daggerfall ( still a buggy game itself) were, have made us realize that Bethesda cannot claim to be an industry leader anymore when it comes to RPGs. They have been surpassed by others like CD Projekt Red, who have made truly amazing RPGs. CDPR’s RPGs can also be modded, but the games do not rely on them unlike Bethesda’s.
I want Bethesda to be on top again, but right now sadly, it feels like they are a shadow of what once they were. Maybe they will learn from these mistakes, since they have recently taken actions like delaying Elder Scrolls Blades. I can only hope that the company I have been a fan of for years will one day be an industry leader again.
Disclaimer: The above was the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of Real Otaku gamer or its Staff.