Buggy games generally don’t do well as enjoyable products, just look at something like Cyberpunk’s launch to see an example of that, but sometimes buggy games can be at the very least memorable which is something Bethesda are able to capitalise on greatly. However, one of the biggest ironic twists is that the buggyness is on a scale of being endearing to game-ruining and it’s a line they can’t seem to replicate lately.
Take Fallout 76 as an example. That game was garbage on release and it was mainly down to the incredible amount of instability and bugs that caused the game to be nearly unplayable for people. They weren’t having a good time with giants sending people into space, they were just unable to fire their guns or complete quests. I think the main difference between these 2 issues is that one could be classified as ‘Jank’ such as the aforementioned giant space program, and the other is just instability and un-fun issues that actively are detrimental to your gameplay.
Starfield is another great example. The game as actually relatively stable in terms of jank bugs, but it ran like garbage and caused massive issues with compatibility and actual gameplay, leaving it less fun than other Bethesda titles and generally un-memorable. I think for the next Elder Scrolls game Bethesda really need to get this balance right in order for the game to be memorable whilst also being actually fun to play, we can only hope after all these years that they will actually achieve that.
What are your thoughts on the strangeness of Bethesda titles? Leave your opinions in the comments below! That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.