GamesRPGAlmost 3 years later, veteran Elder Scrolls leads reintroduce their “Grand RPG” as a straight-up Daggerfall spiritual successor and tease Early Access launchWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRPGAlmost 3 years later, veteran Elder Scrolls leads reintroduce their “Grand RPG” as a straight-up Daggerfall spiritual successor and tease Early Access launchWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Almost three years afterI first discovered a new and ambitious RPG called The Wayward Realms from ex-Elder Scrolls developers, it’s resurfaced as a full-blown Daggerfall spiritual successor with a Kickstarter and Early Access launch on the way.
As far as I know, it wasn’t until now that it was explicitly billed as an Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall spiritual successor, but it totally makes sense. Daggerfall was the first Elder Scrolls game Lefay took the lead on, with Peterson serving as designer. Likewise, Daggerfall is generally considered a big improvement over the first Elder Scrolls game, Arena, with lots of meaningful innovations, a greatly expanded map, and RPG mechanics that formed the foundation for the series as we know it today.
Similarly, OnceLost Games is selling The Wayward Realms as a step forward for the RPG genre, and it’s even coined “a whole new class of game: The Grand RPG.” To get an idea of what this means, the studio says the map is made up of “over one hundred, realistically scaled, islands known collectively as the Archipelago, where scores of factions vie for influence and power.”
It’s apparently “way bigger than most other games you can think of,” with “big cities with hundreds or thousands of NPCs, deep, dark, dangerous forests, gigantic mountain ranges, sprawling swamps and marshlands, vast oceans, and more, brought to life through dynamic, procedural generation.”
In a new video offering some behind-the-scenes looks at the work-in-progress title, OnceLost Games says it’s trying to “restore scope, choice, consequences, and roleplaying to RPGs.”
(Image credit: OnceLost Games)
As for what The Wayward Realms is actually about, it’s not entirely clear. It can’t be set in the same universe as Daggerfall considering Xbox owns the Elder Scrolls IP through Zenimax. We do know it’s set in a place “where scores of factions vie for influence and power. Kingdoms strive to maintain their dominance, upstarts seek to earn a place at the top, and dynasties set generational plots into motion.”
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Curiously, the game will feature a virtual Game Master that reacts dynamically to player choices and guides NPCs and factions to react and “plot their next move based on your actions, resulting in no two players having the exact same game experience.” Although this feature sounds very exciting, it also makes me wary of the scope that AI’s seemingly playing in what seems like a staggeringly large game for anyone to make, let alone a smaller studio. On that front, in the Kickstarter tease, Peterson mentions turning the studio’s “volunteer team” into “paid, full-time members.”
The Wayward Realms is listed onSteambut doesn’t have a release date yet, or even a vague window, but OnceLost says the Kickstarter will launch this Spring “with the goal of bringing you an Early Access release.” The Early Access will consist of a prologue quest taking you through a single area of the game, and if you contribute enough to the Kickstarter to get in, you’ll get a copy of the game when it fully launches.
In the meantime, here are thebest RPGsyou can play today.
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Planescape: Torment was a revolutionary RPG, but many of its devs had no experience with the D&D campaign it was based on: “What the f*ck is that?”
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GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3
Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
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5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
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Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”