The Elder Scrolls Morrowind engine might seem outdated by now, superseded by Skyrim, Fallout 4, and of course the vibrant new visuals of Starfield. But the Bethesda RPG game remains a reliable old workhorse, capable of surprising us more than 20 years after it first launched. We’ve seen mods, overhauls, and even a full Morrowind remake, but the tech underlying Bethesda’s beautiful beast is useful for much, much more. Enter RoboWind Construct, a new shooter with hints of System Shock, Deus Ex, Half-Life, and maybe a glimpse of an alternate universe where Starfield was built as an FPS in the ’90s. And it’s all, somehow, built on the same systems as The Elder Scrolls Morrowind.
OpenMW is a longstanding project that rebuilds, iterates, and improves The Elder Scrolls Morrowind engine. Rather than using the engine directly, OpenMW reconstructs it from the ground up, and then implements changes and improvements – it looks like Morrowind, but none of the assets or code are actually lifted from the original engine.
RoboWind Construct represents perhaps one of the most ambitious OpenMW creations to date – a sci-fi corridor shooter. It couldn’t be much further from Morrowind itself, yet they somehow share the same computational DNA. Take a look at RoboWind Construct’s latest trailer:
An “independent, non-profit project developed by a team of a couple of people,” RoboWind Construct feels like a loving homage to early ‘00s PC FPS games. Gone are the autumnal golds and coastal greens and greys of Morrowind.
This is a slick, fast-paced shooter with a distinctive futuristic visual style. Red Faction, Serious Sam, and maybe a little Return to Castle Wolfenstein – RoboWind Construct feels like stepping back in time.
We’ve also got new footage of Skywind, a huge modding project that aims to completely rebuild and remake Morrowind in the improved Elder Scrolls Skyrim engine. Take a look at a huge 20 minutes of Morrowind remake gameplay.
Alternatively, try some of the best old games still available on PC to relive some of those ‘90s boomer shooter memories. You’ll also want to play the other best games like Skyrim to experience some of the other variations on Bethesda’s open-world formula.
And naturally, if you’re heading out into the stars, you’ll want our guide to all the Starfield romance. You also need to check out the best Starfield mods.
Still looking for more? While a good Starfield wiki can be a handy source of information, our new Starfield Database goes further, offering you daily news, searchable databanks, and even interactive tools.