User blog:Madman97/You know what really grinds my Wabbajack's? S3E2: Lack of interesting dungeon puzzles and challenges.

Hello everyone, Madman97 here, coming to give you another rendition of Wabbajack Grinding. And remember readers, you have anything that really grinds your wabbajacks, list it below, and Ill see what I can do. Just don't put character creation. I really have no problem with it. But anyway, let's dive right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you all, or at least the ones who have read my other episodes, know that I have stated Bethesda can be real lazy sometimes. Well, Im here to bring you another example. To some, it may not be a big problem, but for an Elder Scrolls enthusiast, I am always looking for ways to make the game better. Unfortunatly, this has plagued the series since the beginning, and it has been increasingly getting on my nerves. The dungeons are an essential part of a role playing fantasy adventure. That's fantasy 101. It will take up the majority of your game just exploring different dungeons and ruins. The promise of treasure, the lure of adventure, and the urge to just kill dead things again brings us back every time. Until one day when i was just playing along through Skyrim and I was about to go into a dungeon. I stopped. I realized I have been through this stupid shtick since day one of playing the Elder Scrolls. Skyrim has it, Oblivion, has it, I hear Morrowind is a step up but still has it. Daggerfall had it, and so did Arena.

These stupid dungeons are all the same. The majority anyway. In Skyrim, there are still a few that don't fail to impress with sheer mystery and awe at your surroundings, but the majority, you see the same thing every single time. I don't know if any of you watch the Senior Scribbles on Youtube, (Personally, I think they're trying to just ride my success as a ranter and adapt their complaints to film), but in one episode, they make quite a point. It's the same generic layout when you could just go through some secret door or opening in the wall three feet above you that I think a five year old could climb, but no, you have to go through a bunch of zombie infested catacombs, spider nests, "Treasure rooms" that contain maybe a lockpick for you than anything of actual value, traps that dont do S***, STUPID ROCK SPINNING PUZZLES THAT A TWO YEAR OLD COULD SOLVE, AND FINALLY A BOSS AT THE END WHERE YOU GET AN EBONY SWORD FOR YOUR TROUBLE!!!

That rock spinning ouzzle is the worst though. I thought it would get more difficult as I went on back in my early days when I was uneducated and none the wiser about Bethesda's laziness, back when being the Dragonborn had some meaning. I thought the rock spinning hullubaloo would just the be the first of many tests I would have to face to become the ultimate shouting bad@$$, but no, this was it. This was all the ancient Nords would come up with, (Lord Hadron, I swear to God if you say anything), unless you count the vault door thing with the claw which doesn't even lead to anything good, or the pull the right lever or a bunch of useless darts pop out. But I had to learn the hard way. I love a good challenge, and while I didn't expect Skyrim Portal type challenges, (Though that would entertain me a lot), I wanted to see the ingenuity of a culture long since gone.

The rock spinning would be fine if used in moderation, but no, this was it every single time. It's the most redundant puzzle one could even think of putting in a game more than three times at the max, and that's really pushing it. Maybe some type of jigsaw, move-em-around-type puzzle could work. Ancient Nords chess, now that would be something. Solve a d*** riddle, like in one dungeon where you actually had to think, but no, Bethesda doesn't want you to think, they just want you to SIT DOWN AND PLAY THEIR PRODUCT WITH YOUR THUMB JAMMED FIRMLY UP YOUR @$$ WITHOUT GIVING THE QUALITY OF THE GAMEPLAY A SIMPLE THOUGHT!!!

(Sigh) I'll give Skyrim credit. At least it tried to incorperate some puzzles in there, albeit F***ing stupid,  but it tried. I didn't see Oblivion do anything like it, make you challenge yourself, make you think, however little Skyrim made you think anything besides "Should I steal this guys ring or not?" or "Daedric or Dragon Bone?" and it was the same Aeylid Dungeon every time, or cave. I give Morrowind a pass, mostly because games were of an older stock back then and they probably didn't have the technology capable of creating every dungeon unique, and I guess Oblivion is still a fantastic game regardless, still one of my favorites, but Skyrim?...

Perhaps we don't have the time or tech to make every single dungeon unique either. I am sure Bethesda could do it, but the games have a deadline, and they need to be finished. So, even if it does get on my nerves that the dungeons are all the same boring stuff, I will let it go. Like I said, games need to be finished on time, and simply not having interesting puzzles is a small price to pay for what could have also been left out had they given that up to simply finish the game. I said it before, and I will say it again. Skyrim is a great game, one of the best fantasy games out there. Could it be a lot better? Yes. Could it be a F***ton worse? Absolutley. So I still recommend we go out and go spelunking in the most boring dungeons video games have to offer. Stay ranty.