Wayward Realms Outshines Elder Scrolls 6 with Key Quality-of-Life Improvement Over Skyrim

The Wayward Realms bears a strong resemblance to The Elder Scrolls series, and that’s no coincidence. Two of the game’s lead developers were originally part of the team behind The Elder Scrolls: Arena and The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall. Given these connections, it's only natural to compare the two games. However, The Wayward Realms is pushing boundaries further than The Elder Scrolls has gone, promising to be the first "Grand RPG" of its kind. Boasting a world far larger than anything players have experienced before, it offers even more freedom of choice than The Elder Scrolls.

But beyond just size and scope, The Wayward Realms is introducing some features that The Elder Scrolls games have yet to adopt. While The Elder Scrolls series is known for its familiar modes of travel, like walking or riding horses, The Wayward Realms adds a unique traversal mechanic that gives it an edge. Although it’s possible that The Elder Scrolls 6 could include this feature, The Wayward Realms has already implemented it, potentially setting the stage for the next major leap in open-world exploration.

Climbing Mechanics in The Wayward Realms

In the “Life of an Adventurer” gameplay trailer for The Wayward Realms, players can see that the game allows for structure climbing, giving them the ability to scale buildings and access new areas or infiltrate locked spaces. This feature complements the game’s emphasis on player choice and improvisation, giving adventurers multiple ways to solve problems. In one example, the trailer shows a character climbing the exterior of a locked building to enter through a balcony door, hinting at how players can craft their own paths in the game. Beyond buildings, it’s likely that players will also be able to climb natural structures like rock faces and ledges, bringing a new level of freedom to exploration.

While The Elder Scrolls once featured similar mechanics, they haven’t been seen since The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall. This makes The Wayward Realms feel like a fresh take on the old formula, bringing back a climbing feature that was left behind by the franchise.

The Elder Scrolls: Climbing Through the Ages

The climbing mechanics seen in The Wayward Realms hark back to the earlier days of The Elder Scrolls. In Daggerfall (released in 1996), players could approach a wall and climb it, much like what’s shown in The Wayward Realms. Given that some of the same developers are behind both games, it’s no surprise that this feature has returned in The Wayward Realms. However, it’s a bit unfortunate that the climbing mechanic hasn’t resurfaced in the Elder Scrolls series since then.

In Skyrim, players can technically climb, but this often happens through unintentional glitches, like using horses to scale mountains. These “horse-climbing” moments have given birth to countless memes, but they don't offer the intentional and refined climbing experience that The Wayward Realms now provides.

Could The Elder Scrolls 6 Learn from The Wayward Realms?

With The Wayward Realms already showcasing its potential and The Elder Scrolls 6 still shrouded in mystery, Bethesda could stand to borrow a page from its competitor’s playbook. Implementing a feature like climbing could enhance The Elder Scrolls 6, especially if tied to a revamped Acrobatics skill. In The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, the Acrobatics skill allowed players to jump higher, but it was notably absent in Skyrim. With The Elder Scrolls 6 likely still a few years from release, there’s plenty of time for the development team to consider bringing back climbing mechanics, particularly since many fans have requested more immersive traversal options.

While The Wayward Realms may have gotten there first, it’s clear that climbing is a feature that could enhance future RPGs. Whether The Elder Scrolls 6 follows suit remains to be seen, but it’s exciting to think about how these two ambitious games might influence each other in the years to come.