Enderal: Forgotten Stories Review - A Skyrim Mod That's a Whole New Game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a titan in the gaming world, but even titans can benefit from ambitious modifications.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a titan in the gaming world, but even titans can benefit from ambitious modifications. Enter Enderal: Forgotten Stories, a total conversion mod so extensive it effectively transforms Skyrim into a brand new, standalone open-world RPG. It's a complete overhaul with a unique story, a fascinating world distinct from Tamriel, and redesigned gameplay systems. But does it live up to the hype? Is Enderal just a good mod, or is it a truly exceptional RPG in its own right? This Enderal Forgotten Stories review will delve into every facet of this impressive creation to help you decide if it's worth your time. For PC gaming enthusiasts who appreciate the transformative power of modding, Enderal is an experience you won't want to miss.
A World Unlike Tamriel: Exploring Enderal and Qyra
Forget the familiar landscapes of Skyrim. Enderal: Forgotten Stories transports you to a completely different world. The continent of Enderal, along with its neighboring Qyra, offers a starkly beautiful and often desolate setting, meticulously crafted with its own history and lore. The primary hub is Ark, a sprawling, multi-tiered city built into the cliffs, showcasing impressive vertical architecture. Then, there's the Sun Temple, a beacon of fading light overlooking the Whispering Forest.
Notable locations include Duneville, an abandoned city consumed by a plague known as the Veiled Woman's curse, and the Whispering Forest, a region steeped in ancient magic and unsettling secrets. This environmental storytelling, combined with a more muted color palette, contributes to Enderal's melancholic atmosphere, setting it apart from Skyrim's more vibrant world. The sense of history, loss, and impending doom permeates every corner of Enderal, making exploration a truly captivating experience.
A Story of Prophecy and Destruction: Enderal's Narrative Depth
Enderal's lore and storyline are complex and morally grey. You play as a refugee, haunted by prophetic dreams and a troubled past, who arrives on Enderal drawn by mysterious forces. The narrative quickly thrusts you into a struggle for survival, beginning in the gritty Undercity of Ark.
Without spoiling too much, the story revolves around visions of the High Ones, celestial beings who threaten to unleash a cataclysmic event known as the "Cleansing." Moral dilemmas abound, such as those presented in the Lightborn Janitor's questline, which forces you to make difficult choices with far-reaching consequences.
One of the most compelling aspects of Enderal is the character arc of Jespar Dal'Varek, a cynical mercenary with a sharp wit and a hidden depth. His evolving morality and the protagonist's connection to the mysterious "Veil" are masterfully woven into the narrative, exploring themes of cyclical destruction and the burden of knowledge. The mature storyline elevates Enderal beyond a simple Skyrim mod, offering a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant experience.
Reimagined Gameplay: Enderal's Unique Systems
Enderal's gameplay systems deviate significantly from Skyrim's, providing a fresh and challenging experience.
Memory Points: A Class-Based Progression System
Instead of simply leveling up skills, Enderal utilizes a "Memory Points" system. Upon leveling up, you earn Memory Points that can be spent in constellations, effectively acting as class archetypes, to unlock perks. This encourages specialization and prevents the "jack-of-all-trades" builds often seen in Skyrim.
Magic with Nuance
The magic system is also revamped, separating spells into three primary schools:
- Mentalism: Focuses on illusion and mind control, with spells like "Psionic Push," allowing you to telekinetically hurl objects.
- Entropy: Deals with necromancy and curses, granting access to spells like "Soul Trap," which captures enemy souls to power enchantments.
- Elementalism: Controls the elements of fire, frost, and lightning.
Survival and Scarcity
Crafting is more involved in Enderal; recipes must be learned, and resources are scarce. Managing your inventory and prioritizing essential items is crucial for survival. Furthermore, Enderal features the "SureAI Damage Model," introducing hunger, thirst, and sleep mechanics. You must eat, drink, and rest regularly to avoid stat penalties, adding a layer of realism and challenge.
Enderal Gameplay: A New Level of Immersion
Enderal PC Gameplay differs significantly from its source material, creating a distinct RPG experience.
Rewarding, But Dangerous, Exploration
Exploring Enderal's open world is both rewarding and challenging. Hidden areas and secrets are plentiful but often guarded by powerful enemies or require specific skills to access. The diverse terrain, ranging from snow-capped mountains to arid deserts, along with unique environmental hazards like the poisonous "Red Madness" spores, encourages cautious and strategic exploration.
Combat: Prepare to Struggle
Combat in Enderal is more lethal and challenging than in Skyrim, even on lower difficulty settings. The reliance on specialized builds, driven by the Memory Point system, impacts combat tactics. Players must carefully consider their role in a fight, making strategic choices about skills and equipment.
A Story That Drives You Forward
The mature and morally grey storyline significantly impacts player investment. You are more likely to become emotionally attached to the characters and events. This drives exploration and character progression in a way that Skyrim, with its more generic quests, often fails to do.
Visually, Enderal is stunning. The high-resolution textures and enhanced visual effects are a significant improvement over the base game. The color palette, leaning towards muted tones and somber hues, further reinforces the game's unique atmosphere.
Enderal Forgotten Stories: Installation Guide
Installing Enderal as a total conversion mod is straightforward, but requires a few steps:
- Download the Enderal launcher from the official website: sureai.net. The download is approximately 6GB.
- Extract the Enderal files to a separate directory. Ensure the directory path does not contain spaces or special characters.
- Run the Enderal launcher as an administrator and select your Skyrim directory. The launcher should detect a valid Skyrim installation.
Troubleshooting:
- If you encounter errors related to missing files or incorrect directory paths, re-download the launcher or verify your Skyrim installation.
Technical Stability and Performance Tweaks
During my playthrough on a PC with an Intel Core i7-8700K CPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super GPU, and 32GB DDR4 RAM, I experienced occasional crashes, but overall the mod was relatively stable.
To improve performance, you can modify the Enderal .ini files (located in Documents\Enderal\My Games\Enderal). Here are some parameters to tweak:
uExterior Cell Buffer=64(Increasing this value can improve performance in open areas).bFull Screen=1(Ensure the game runs in fullscreen mode for optimal performance).iShadowMapResolution=2048(Lowering this value can improve performance at the cost of shadow quality).
What the Community Thinks
Community reception towards Enderal is overwhelmingly positive. Many players praise the mod's voice acting, original score, and compelling narrative.
On the Enderal Steam page, users have commented, "The voice acting is absolutely phenomenal, on par with AAA titles," and "The soundtrack is breathtaking. It perfectly complements the atmosphere of the game." Forum threads and Reddit posts often praise the depth of the lore and complexity of the moral choices. However, some criticisms exist regarding the occasionally clunky combat.
Enderal vs Skyrim: A Visual Comparison
Enderal's Accessibility Options
One area often overlooked is Enderal's accessibility. The mod includes options for subtitles, difficulty scaling, and customizable controls. While it doesn't offer advanced features like text-to-speech, it provides enough flexibility for many players to tailor the experience to their needs.
The Hauntingly Beautiful Soundtrack
The original soundtrack of Enderal is a masterpiece. It perfectly captures the game's melancholic and atmospheric tone. From the sweeping orchestral pieces to the haunting melodies, the music enhances the emotional impact of the story and world.
Is Enderal: Forgotten Stories Worth Playing?
Absolutely. Enderal: Forgotten Stories transcends its origins as a Skyrim mod to stand as a unique and exceptional RPG experience. It's not just a good mod; it's a genuinely great RPG with a compelling narrative, meticulously crafted world, and innovative gameplay systems.
I highly recommend Enderal to fans of open-world RPGs, story-driven games, and those looking for a challenging and rewarding experience. Open-world RPG fans will appreciate the vast and explorable world of Enderal. Story-driven gamers will be captivated by the complex narrative and memorable characters. Those seeking a challenge will enjoy the demanding combat and survival mechanics. Download Enderal Forgotten Stories mod today and embark on an unforgettable journey.
