It’s difficult to overstate just how much Skyrim did for The Elder Scrolls franchise and the fantasy RPG genre as a whole. Refining its design with a more approachable mindset, Bethesda went on to create one of the most critically and commercially successful games of all time, which has received a heap of ports and re-releases since it debuted. Skyrim is a game with real impact, though one of its greatest innovations was the Thu’um, otherwise known as Shouts. That innovation could cause issues for The Elder Scrolls 6, though.
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How Skyrim’s Shouts Could Cause Trouble for The Elder Scrolls 6
As far as new game mechanics go, Skyrim’s addition of Shouts was a pretty major shake-up. While magic has always been an essential part of the franchise, Shouts provided character archetypes other than mages with the opportunity to wield a magical power. Where a warrior would struggle with something as simple as a fire spell in the normal course of gameplay, Shouts would allow them to breathe fire in an exceptionally cool way.
Shouts have now become engrained in the makeup of the Elder Scrolls franchise to the point that it feels strange to play without them. It’s not uncommon or unusual for fans to do runs that ignore the main story to avoid learning shouts, but that’s generally an exception to how most people play Skyrim, rather than something that players are consistently doing.
The question is whether The Elder Scrolls 6 will also feel strange without Shouts being easily accessible. It’s unlikely that they’ll return as a gameplay mechanic for lore reasons, as the Dragonborn is the only character capable of learning them easily by absorbing the souls of dragons. It’s a tricky situation to be in because missing out on such an interesting power hurts the gameplay, but it would take some finessing to make Shouts work otherwise.
Removing Shouts completely might be the only realistic answer, though. Skyrim makes clear just how special the Dragonborn is, and reversing that uniqueness might not sit well with fans. However, The Elder Scrolls has always played fast and loose with its lore, opting to go the “unreliable narrator” route and changing details as necessary rather than committing to a single, dogmatic storyline. In a way, it’s the franchise’s biggest asset, as it allows more room for Bethesda to tell stories in Tamriel. With the right maneuvering, Bethesda could make Shouts fit in the context of The Elder Scrolls 6.
How Skyrim’s Shouts Could Return in The Elder Scrolls 6
If Bethesda really wants Shouts in The Elder Scrolls 6, it’s going to find a way to implement them. If there are major obstacles for the company to get around for lore reasons, then Bethesda’s team of writers will undoubtedly figure out a way to make things work. There are plenty of possibilities for Shouts to return following the events of Skyrim, too.
One obvious, but far from ideal, method would be putting players back into the shoes of the Dragonborn. Even years removed from the announcement, it’s still not clear where or when The Elder Scrolls 6 is set, so it’s possible that Bethesda could decide to pick things up right where Skyrim left off. That raises the question of how Bethesda can meaningfully put the Dragonborn back at level 1, though, which would be a massive obstacle.
Alternatively, Bethesda could simply alter how the world views the Thu’um. Skyrim proves that it’s possible to learn Shouts without being Dragonborn, as evidenced by the Greybeards and Ulfric Stormcloak. If the Elder Scrolls 6 is set a few hundred years or so after the events of Skyrim, it’s possible that a new method of learning the Way of the Voice has been created, making it more accessible to adventurers across Tamriel. It wouldn’t need to be something that players can achieve immediately, but rather something to work towards in the endgame.
It’s a happy medium between the two options of removing Shouts from the next game and doing the Dragonborn a disservice by making them easily obtainable. The Elder Scrolls has always had an issue with its power curve, turning the player into a veritable demigod by the time they have a few dozen levels under their belt. It doesn’t make sense for a lowly adventurer – most likely an escaped prisoner, given franchise history – to use shouts, but it could be a fulfilling way for Bethesda to give players one final challenge when they approach demigod status.
With The Elder Scrolls 6’s setting uncertain, it’s difficult to speculate. Though, there are plenty of fans that believe it will pick up shortly after the events of Skyrim and perhaps detail the fall of the Thalmor. If that’s the case, it’s unlikely that Bethesda can logically explain how the Thu’um spread so quickly, and Bethesda would likely just hope that fans re-adjust to not having shouts.
In any case, Shouts present an interesting hurdle for Bethesda to try and tackle. They were one of the best gameplay innovations that Skyrim featured, and it may be difficult to give them up. However, it’ll be well over a decade since Skyrim launched by the time The Elder Scrolls 6 releases, and possibly over a decade and a half. Given that, it’s possible that the bulk of Skyrim players – many of whom likely aren’t replaying it over and over as dedicated fans do – will have moved on from the mechanic.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is currently in development.
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