It was an artistic and technical leap forward for mainstream role-playing games in the summer of 2002, and, for many, a beautiful and novel experience. While hardly the first open-world game of its kind, the third numbered entry in Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series cemented a formula and a set of expectations that are still alive and well today in games like Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3. Maybe you used a mouse and keyboard, or the Xbox “Duke” controller, to visit it. It’s like something out of a dream, only you’ve actually been there.
