It’s almost become a cliché to point out how much time has passed betweenThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimand its planned sequel. However,Skyrimwill be eleven-years-old in 2022, andThe Elder Scrolls 6is still years away. Fortunately, one ongoing project offers fans a way to explore the rest of Tamriel while they wait for the series’ next installment.
The ambitiousBeyond Skyrimproject hopes to create a series of massive mods lettingSkyrimplayers explore Tamriel’s other provinces and nations.Beyond Skyrim: Brumainitially launched back in 2017, but the developers have not been idle. To celebrateThe Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowindturning twenty, the project’s Morrowind team released a teaser showcasing content fromBeyond Skyrim: The New North.
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LikeBeyond Skyrim:Bruma,Beyond Skyrim: The New Northis a planned pre-release showing off some of what players will experience in the fullBeyond Skyrim: Morrowindmod. First announced in 2019, it takes place on the islands of Sheogorad and Bleakrock north of Morrowind and Skyrim. Some players will have visited them inMorrowindandThe Elder Scrolls Online, respectively. However, time and the collapse of Imperial power have significantly altered the area.
The latest teaser is just under three minutes long and begins with the Dunmer narrator warning that The New North is not a place for the faint of heart. She explains how the once-forgotten islands have become bastions of civilization following the destruction of Vvardenfell during the Red Year. The narrator goes on to say howthe Dunmer House Redorannow rule the islands, though they still don’t fully control them. Some Nords have yet to acknowledge Redoran rule, outlaws threaten the coast and countryside, and there is no shortage of monster-filled ruins for players to explore.
The trailer accompanies the narration with clips showing various in-game locations and creatures. Much of the landscape is reminiscent of Solstheim fromSkyrim’s Dragonbornexpansion, with tree-sized mushrooms and blizzards of ash falling from Red Mountain. However, there are places where the terrain is much rockier and more volcanic. Many towns also boast distinctlyMorrowind-style architecture. Its inhabitants also include recognizableMorrowindbeasts ranging from the small, chicken-like reptiles to the grotesque corpus mutants. Thanks to Skyrim’s better graphics, the latter are much more horrific-looking than in 2002. The teaser also offers a few glimpses at new weapons and spells. The latter includes summoning one of the flying, manta-like Snowrays from the often-forgottenThe Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey.
Unfortunately, the trailer doesn’t offer a release date forBeyond Skyrim: The New North. Still, it’s impressive what the mod authors managed to achieve, and only a tiny part ofBeyond Skyrim’sannounced content. However, the final versions of the ambitions mod collections still seem to be a long way off.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimis available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
