I don’t think you seriously know the lore of the Elder Scrolls and the way it usually works out, and are really projecting your own prejudices without realizing it. The Forsworn are a take on Breton mythology in The Elder Scrolls universe, and The Elder Scrolls universe is essentially all about subverting the expectation of what you thought the past really was like, what it truly was like, and the transposition of both of these into the same time frame. Hell, the whole concept of Aedra and Daedra may be a literal manifestation of this dichotomy at the “god/demon” level, “may be” because in true Elder Scrolls fashion the lore never tells you in an outright manner and just drops hints within the lore.
Neither the Empire or the Stormcloaks were supposed to be wholly good options, the player was supposed between distinctly flawed options, where siding with the Empire might very well have been the best in an imperfect world option. I suspect that the fact that the player base was as divided as they were between the two is why they went the complete opposite end of the spectrum in Starfiled and just slapped you with the “this is what you were supposed to choose!” companion commentary.
The Forsworn thing is completely on the nose. I don’t know what “take” you’re saying it is.
You could go for the “they’re telling you all options are imperfect” theory, except they dramatize the fuck out of the whole thing to make it seem as “epic” as possible (esp with the Stormcloaks). The same way the rest of the game is, that so oddly seems to coincidence with neo-Nazi Nordic idealism. I don’t have prejudices about the game, it’s a text with content and that’s what the content is. I think real life is more black and white than the absolutely muddled amoral mess the Empire vs. Stormcloaks conflict is. Not to mention the constant implications about the sinister Aldmeri conspiracy that never seems to have any resonating significance in the plot.
The problem is Bethesda, as usual. Like with their work in Fallout, the script and the deeper meaning of any choices you make in the game are always subservient to their larger view of gameplay - they do not think of the player as a part of any story, they view their customer as a kid bashing action figures together. Any possible combination of action figures being bashed together needs to be valid in support of that. This is why every possible ally will accept you, and no choice ends up feeling like it deeply matters.
I don’t think you seriously know the lore of the Elder Scrolls and the way it usually works out, and are really projecting your own prejudices without realizing it. The Forsworn are a take on Breton mythology in The Elder Scrolls universe, and The Elder Scrolls universe is essentially all about subverting the expectation of what you thought the past really was like, what it truly was like, and the transposition of both of these into the same time frame. Hell, the whole concept of Aedra and Daedra may be a literal manifestation of this dichotomy at the “god/demon” level, “may be” because in true Elder Scrolls fashion the lore never tells you in an outright manner and just drops hints within the lore.
Neither the Empire or the Stormcloaks were supposed to be wholly good options, the player was supposed between distinctly flawed options, where siding with the Empire might very well have been the best in an imperfect world option. I suspect that the fact that the player base was as divided as they were between the two is why they went the complete opposite end of the spectrum in Starfiled and just slapped you with the “this is what you were supposed to choose!” companion commentary.
The more I hear about Starfield the more I’m glad Baldur’s Gate 3 blew it out of the water.
The Forsworn thing is completely on the nose. I don’t know what “take” you’re saying it is.
You could go for the “they’re telling you all options are imperfect” theory, except they dramatize the fuck out of the whole thing to make it seem as “epic” as possible (esp with the Stormcloaks). The same way the rest of the game is, that so oddly seems to coincidence with neo-Nazi Nordic idealism. I don’t have prejudices about the game, it’s a text with content and that’s what the content is. I think real life is more black and white than the absolutely muddled amoral mess the Empire vs. Stormcloaks conflict is. Not to mention the constant implications about the sinister Aldmeri conspiracy that never seems to have any resonating significance in the plot.
The problem is Bethesda, as usual. Like with their work in Fallout, the script and the deeper meaning of any choices you make in the game are always subservient to their larger view of gameplay - they do not think of the player as a part of any story, they view their customer as a kid bashing action figures together. Any possible combination of action figures being bashed together needs to be valid in support of that. This is why every possible ally will accept you, and no choice ends up feeling like it deeply matters.