Highlights

  • The Elder Scrolls 6 has high expectations to meet after Skyrim, but new tech and design may help.
  • Skyrim's iconic opening is famous for meme potential, setting a high bar for The Elder Scrolls 6.
  • The intro of The Elder Scrolls 6 will be compared to Skyrim's, needing to establish a strong tone.

Expectations are high for The Elder Scrolls 6, with gaming audiences hoping that it will build on what makes its predecessor Skyrim so beloved. There's good reason to believe that The Elder Scrolls 6 will be everything fans want and more, thanks to the benefit of new technologies, game design conventions, and everything that Bethesda has learned in the years following Skyrim's initial launch. However, there's one specific aspect that will be hard to top.

This is a subjective matter, but most fans would agree that Skyrim has the most iconic opening of any Bethesda Game Studios release. In 2024, the intro sequence may be most famous for its seemingly endless meme potential, which has made lines like "Hey, you're finally awake" recognizable even to those totally unfamiliar with The Elder Scrolls and gaming as a whole. Indeed, the slow carriage ride into hostile Imperial territory, culminating in a foiled execution attempt and an explosive dragon attack on Helgen, is unforgettable. But this opening may have set the bar a bit too high.

An Elven Sword over Whiterun from Skyrim
Related
How Skyrim's Excalibur Reference Can Live on in The Elder Scrolls 6

Skyrim features a shout-out to the Arthurian myth of Excalibur, and The Elder Scrolls 6 could have a way to revisit the easter egg.

The Elder Scrolls 6's Intro Has to Catch Lightning In a Bottle

Skyrim's Opening Masterfully Establishes Its Tone

Although it's best known as a meme at this point—perhaps because of the countless times players have to sit through it on repeat playthroughs—Skyrim's opening perfectly captures the tone of the game. The soft, reflective music and muted color palette immediately convey that this world is not one of whimsical and wholesome adventure; unlike the rolling, pastoral hills of Oblivion's Cyrodil, Skyrim is cold, dark, and gray; prisoners aren't held in stereotypical medieval dungeons with secret escape tunnels, they are executed outdoors, in the light of day.

One prisoner even tries to run, only to be swiftly cut down by a well-placed arrow, loosed casually by an Imperial guard. The resigned attitude of Ralof, another Nord prisoner, suggests that this sort of banal brutality is an everyday occurrence in the war-torn country of Skyrim.

For all the memes poking fun at it, Skyrim is still considered one of the best games of its era, and its worldbuilding plays a significant role in that praise.

It would be wrong to assume that, because of all the jokes it has spawned, the intro to Skyrim is somehow inherently ridiculous or comedic. Rather, it's endured the test of time because of how well it sets up the rest of the game, escalating its tone and pacing in a nuanced and effective way.

The Elder Scrolls 6's Intro Will Be Compared to Skyrim's

The fact that Skyrim's intro is so ripe for meme potential while being unironically fantastic at the same time makes it a tough act to follow. It's not clear where The Elder Scrolls 6 will take place, but the setting will no doubt benefit from having a sense of character as strong as Skyrim's, which still manages to feel like a unique video game world all these years later. An effective and efficient opening act that establishes the game's distinct tone and narrative will go a long way toward building this character early on.

Bethesda may even be tempted to try and recapture some of the specific magic of Skyrim's intro. It would be safe to guess that the game's intro will at least reprise the franchise's long-running imprisonment trope, but it will be more important for The Elder Scrolls 6 to lean into its specific characteristics, being intentional with whatever story and atmosphere it's aiming to achieve. Realistically, it probably won't have the cultural relevance or impact of Skyrim's opening, if for no other reason than the different context of its release, but it could be special in its own way, ushering in a bold new chapter for The Elder Scrolls.