The Best Bethesda games

Doom (Eternal)

2016’s Doom came in like a wrecking ball, revitalizing the popular interest in old-school first-person shooters. It’s intense from the very first moments and gets better with every new weapon and upgrade. Add to that great level design, and fantastic soundtrack and you get an FPS you absolutely shouldn’t miss. There’s even a well-presented storyline that’s better than it needs to be.

Image credit: id Software

Things got turned up to eleven for the sequel, which decided to make the action even more in-your-face. The Doomslayer got a grappling hook for increased mobility and brutality, a useful arm cannon, and a few more tricks up his non-existent sleeve. Doom Eternal also expands the storyline, which gets about as weird and metal as hell as you’d want from a still mostly old-school shooter.

DOOM

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DOOM Eternal

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The Evil Within (2)

The lore of The Evil Within series involves a machine which allows people to enter the mindscapes of others.

Unfortunately, it’s not like the whimsical and heartfelt Psychonauts. The Evil Within is a survival horror putting you in the shoes of detective Sebastian Castellanos who not only has to solve gruesome mysteries, both professional and personal, but also battle twisted monsters of the mind.

Image credit: Tango Gameworks

Both The Evil Within games are played in third-person perspective, and in addition to exploration and combat also feature a simple crafting system. It’s going to be useful, because the monsters plaguing the mindscapes Sebastian is thrown into can take a lot of resources before they die. If you’d like some dark, science fiction, psychological survival horror, The Evil Within might be just the thing for you.

The Evil Within

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The Evil Within 2

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Dishonored (series)

The Dishonored games — two main instalments and a spin-off/sequel — are a series of immersive sims putting you in the shoes of several supernaturally empowered assassins.

Each mission puts you on a large level with a specific target, and you’re free to go about completing the objective however you wish. You don’t even have to kill, there are always non-lethal solutions you can discover.

Image credit: Arkane Studios

There are also secondary objectives, often discovered through exploration, items you can grab for extra cash, and secrets hidden in various nooks and crannies. You’re always equipped by gadgets and powers, and the design is flexible enough to allow some truly creative solutions. Teleportation, possession, lethal wire traps, and more tricks wait for you to play with them.

Dishonored - Definitive Edition

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Dishonored 2

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Dishonored: Death of the Outsider

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Fallout: New Vegas

Built on the foundations of Bethesda’s Fallout 3, FO: New Vegas took that base and ran with it, creating one of the best plot-oriented RPGs of its time.

The premise is simple enough: you got shot in the head and a guy stole a package you were delivering. Now go find him and your revenge. Things quickly get complicated as you are drawn into a political conflict between very different factions.

Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment

You’re also not bound to go into a single playstyle: whether you want to be a scientist punching people out, or a smooth talker with a bazooka, the game won’t stop you. There are enough quests, big and small, to keep you playing for dozens of hours, and the expansions add even more playtime in the form of really cool stories and new toys. If you haven’t tried FNV yet, no time like the present.

Fallout: New Vegas

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Prey

Prey is another game by Arkane Studios, the makers of Dishonored, and it’s an immersive sim as well, although in a completely different genre and style.

The action takes place on a space station in year 2032. You’re playing as Morgan Yu, and you have to deal with the station being overrun by bizarre, amorphous aliens. The good (?) part is that you can steal the aliens’ powers for your own use!

Image credit: Arkane Studios

There is a cost to using powers, however, and if you decide to become too much like the aliens you might end up being a target for the station’s defense systems. On the other hand, you might acquire powers such as shapeshifting, allowing you to become an object from the environment for fun, mobility, or stealth. Thankfully, Prey has a good replay value, so you might want to try both styles.

Prey

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The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is one of the most beloved RPGs in history, a detailed open world made before they became commonplace. The game takes place on the ashen island of Vvardenfel which has some ominous stuff going on, revolving around a prophecy and an ancient demigod. And you have to deal with all of it despite being just a freshly released prisoner with little idea what’s going on.

Image credit: Bethesda Game Studios

What you do after the character creation is pretty much up to you. Join a mages guild and create your own spells, harvest souls from enemies you defeat, or seek allegiance with a vampire clan. These are just a few options, and anywhere you go you’ll find a fascinating setting with a lot of delightfully bizarre lore you won’t be able to resist learning more about through in-game books.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Another game from The Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim is one of the most well-known games out there, with several re-releases for new hardware generations.

Whereas Morrowind was a volcanic, ashen landscape, the province of Skyrim takes obvious inspiration from Scandinavia and the Norse culture. The story, on the other hand involves not only a civil war, but also, more importantly, DRAGONS!

Image credit: Bethesda Game Studios

As a game, Skyrim is more of the familiar TES formula: a vast open world which gives you some general pointers but is generally happy to leave you to your own devices. You can explore tombs, seek enchantments for your gear, be a smith, or join the ominous Dark Brotherhood and do its bidding. It’s a big world and every city has something going on there, waiting for nosy adventurers.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

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Fallout 4

Bethesda’s latest singleplayer take on the Fallout franchise turned out to be more of a shooter than previous instalments, but there’s still some good roleplaying stuff to bite into.

However, the key feature of the game isn’t roleplaying, it’s not even shooting, it’s the crafting system. At various points in the game, you’ll even be able to found/improve a settlement, and you can get creative with it.

Image credit: Bethesda Game Studios

Fallout 4’s story is mostly about your character (very customizable) looking for their kidnapped child. Along the way you’ll tangle with several factions, recruit several NPCs with their own thing going on, and assemble your own custom Power Armor. The expansions add a whole ton of stuff, too, including a vault you can run, a theme park adventure, and a set of crafting tools to make and automated factory.

Fallout 4

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Deathloop

A very recent addition to Bethesda’s publishing catalog, Deathloop, once again from Arkane, is an assassination puzzle immersive sim. The story takes place on an island stuck in a day-long time loop, and you’re playing a guy who tries to break free. But to do so, he needs to kill eight snooty Visionaries before the time resets at midnight and getting to some of them will require planning and creativity.

Image credit: Arkane Studios

Not unlike Dishonored, Deathloop gives you plenty of tools to use in your assassination spree. Colt has access to several useful gadgets and powers, in addition to parkour skills for extra mobility. The timeline advances when you leave a district to go to another, so make sure you’ve done everything you need to, since many events can only happen at a specific time of day.

Deathloop

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Rage 2

Rage 2 came to moderate fanfare and then faded into relative obscurity, but it doesn’t deserve being forgotten.

The game takes place in a postapocalyptic setting, but unlike Fallout, this time it’s full of energy, color, and intense first-person action. Between nanotech-fueled powers, the main character’s Overdrive mode, and the benefits of the open world structure you can get up to very fun mayhem.

Image credit: id Software

The story takes place after an asteroid hit Earth, throwing everything into chaos, causing mutations, widespread banditry, and problems all around. You’re playing as Walker, the Ranger of Vineland, last of their (Walker is customizable) kind. There is a plot you can follow, but you can easily just roam around looking for trouble or enjoying piloting the game’s many vehicles.

Rage 2

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