When it comes to Bethesda's iconic Elder Scrolls series, there are probably several titles that immediately spring to mind. Releases like 2006's The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion and 2011's The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim are probably among the most popular titles in Bethesda's long-running franchise, with Skyrim in particular remaining at the forefront for Elder Scrolls content for years after its initial release. Fans are also excited about the next long-awaited entry in The Elder Scrolls series, which is set to release sometime in the next few years, but there are still plenty of other mainline games and spin-offs that shouldn't be discounted.
One of these, An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire, could potentially be coming back on player radars if Microsoft has anything to say about it. It may have first launched way back in 1997, but Battlespire might be making a comeback thanks to Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda. With the aim to get even more Bethesda titles onto Xbox Game Pass, players might see some The Elder Scrolls games like Battlespire making their way across in the future. If that's the case, gamers might want to read up on what Battlespire actually is and what they can expect from the title.
Gameplay, Setting, And Plot
Originally designed as an expansion for The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall, Battlespire is a bit of a departure from what fans had seen of The Elder Scrolls up to that point. Battlespire, the tower that gives the game its name, is an imperial academy of magic that trains battlemages and members of the Shadow Legion. The tower is located in a pocket dimension in between various planes and floats on a large rock among the bizarre, otherworldly landscape. But it wasn't just the location's visuals that set it apart from previous games.
The action-adventure dungeon crawler introduced multiplayer to the franchise and also did away with features like the ability to rest, the reset of enemies when leaving an area, and the availability of merchants to purchase items from. Every NPC that players encountered could be spoken to, including enemies, which added an interesting layer to the gameplay.
Players could choose to play as one of six familiar races, including Nords, Bretons, and various races of Mer. They took on the role of an apprentice at the Battlespire, whose final test is disrupted after the tower is attacked. Battlespire also introduced Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon as the main antagonist, and gamers had to fight their way through various realms of Oblivion to defeat him.
The Future Of Battlespire
The world of Elder Scrolls has a long and rich history of lore and worldbuilding, with the games spanning many different eras and regions of Tamriel. Some of the older games have been overlooked or have fallen into obscurity, mainly because of their age and their restrictions based on what platforms they can be played on, like the MS-DOS operating system required for Battlespire. Video games have obviously moved on a lot since Battlespire was first released in 1997, and glimpses of the game in action might make players question if it would even be playable nowadays when action RPGs have modernized so extensively in comparison.
It may seem like an incongruous addition, especially considering the departures the game takes from the established Elder Scrolls formula, but Battlespire could be an intriguing new experience for Game Pass subscribers if it does make its way onto the service. It's unlikely that it will come to consoles and will probably remain a PC title, but while fans wait for the release of The Elder Scrolls 6, Battlespire could be the quirky kind of content needed to tide them over.