Sure, it’s been over seven years since the team at The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project began work on their massive Morrowind overhaul. But that’s no reason to give up hope - after all, Black Mesa spent over twice that time in development and somehow, miraculously, came out this year.
Our 15-minute demo picks up in the bowels of a ship outside the city of Sadrith Mora. From there, we get a brief tour of Morrowind’s overworld - foggy and fungal as ever - before picking up a companion in the form of Larienna Macrina. The rest of the clip takes us into the bowels of a Nchurdamz, a Dwemer dungeon in the style of Skyrim’s own steam-powered deathtraps, before beating the crap out of a hideous minotaur chap named Hrelvesuu. Here’s the part where I admit I haven’t played Morrowind, and thus can’t make an accurate comparison between the original Battle at Nchurdamz and its Skywind iteration. But it all comes across as very professional and well-built, with the team adding their own flourishes to the groundwork laid down by Bethesda 18 years ago - new writing, new puzzles, and a clean transition to Daedric ruins as the descent goes on. Of course, Skywind is still nowhere near finished. Skywind team member Amos told Eurogamer that this video doesn’t constitute a release announcement, but rather a sign that “progress at the moment is more consistent than ever.”