It's a good time to be a fan of The Elder Scrolls. Oblivion Remastered has brought the classic Bethesda RPG back into the mainstream, and we've recently seen a major update for the Tamriel Rebuilt mod. Now comes another big reveal – a new 20-minute gameplay demo for giant fan project Skywind, which aims to recreate Morrowind in the Skyrim engine. It's been two years since we last got a full showcase of this nature, and it's looking very impressive, demonstrating the likes of underwater combat and new spells. In even better news, the team tells PCGamesN it's seen a "significant" rise in interest lately as more people offer their .
Built by a team of volunteers, working on everything from scripting to asset creation and voice acting, Skywind is a reimagining of the third mainline Elder Scrolls game in the RPG. In the new video, seen below, we get to follow the quest to rescue Joncis Dalomax, Knight of the Imperial Legion, from a cult of Malacath worshippers holed up in a Daedric ruin.
There's a lot to watch out for if you're an eagle-eyed Elder Scrolls enthusiast. You'll notice the addition of the imp-like Scamps and reptilian Daedroths, designed to feel true to the original's designs. Later, you'll see a little underwater combat, something which wasn't previously possible in Skyrim but has been included here. You'll note spells such as the classic Morrowind pairing of Mark and Recall, allowing you to set a location that you can instantly transport back to (saving a long trek back to Fort Buckmoth).
We also get a more general progress update to close out the video. The Skywind team says all base game art and writing is complete, leaving just the likes of extras and bonus flavor texts. "Almost all essential creatures" are modelled, spellcrafting and the UI is "close to complete," and progress is continuing on animation and asset implementation. It estimates that roughly 60% of the interior level design is finished, while only Red Mountain, Ashlands, and Zafirbel Bay remain in-progress for the exterior settings.
Speaking with me about the impact of Oblivion Remastered, the project's community manager 'Egrets' says, "It's encouraging to see Bethesda are still invested in their older fan-favorite Elder Scrolls games, both with Oblivion Remastered (which we at Skywind have been playing and enjoying) and with the show of they've given our sister project, Skyblivion, and the modding community in general."
"The remaster has caused a significant uptick in general Elder Scrolls interest across the web, and as part of that, we've seen additional activity in the Skywind Discord and with volunteer applications," Egrets tells me. "As one example, earlier this month, we got down to just six uncast voice acting roles, including filling both male and female Dunmer, which we'd previously struggled to find enough actors for."
There's still no release date for Skywind, but we'll be sure to let you know when there are more details in that regard. For now, if you're eager to keep up to date or would like to offer your services as a volunteer, you can do so via the project's official website. It's looking to reopen applications for composers soon, with combat music a particular focus, along with seeking out 3D clothing modelers, and finding voice actors for the last few roles, which include Dagoth ur, Vivec, and Yagrum.
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