Huge Elder Scrolls classic gets fan remaster 27 years after release

1996’s The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall has received a full-fledged fan-made remaster titled Daggerfall Unity, complete with mod support.

Daggerfall doesn’t seem to get talked about as much as its sequels like Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, but it clearly has a special place in the hearts of Bethesda fans, particularly Gavin Clayton, who has spent roughly nine years working on Daggerfall Unity.

Described as an “open source recreation of Daggerfall in the Unity engine” on the project’s website, it became available on Dec. 30, and aside from mod support, it boasts updated graphics, improved controls and draw distances, and various quality-of-life adjustments. Unless Bethesda decides to do its own official Daggerfall remake, this may be the best way to experience the game. While it received critical acclaim back in the ’90s, it was still riddled with bugs, and many elements feel incredibly outdated nowadays.

Daggerfall Unity does require you own a copy of the original game on PC, but that’s hardly an issue since it’s available on Steam as a free download. There is also a huge number of mods already available; examples include wholly original quests and overhauls to certain gameplay mechanics.

These sorts of passion projects are always admirable, and Clayton has received plenty of praise on social media for imbuing new life into a game Bethesda seems to have very little interest in revisiting. If leaked documents are to be believed, the studio plans to remaster Oblivion, though whether that ever sees the light of the day is another question.

If not for your dedication and love, Daggerfall would have remained an obscure, barely-played and spoken of DOS bug-filled relic.

I bow to thee, wish you the most fulfilling of rests and will follow your next project with much anticipation!

Happy new year, Interkarma!

— Cliffworms (@Cliffworms) December 30, 2023

I’ve always wanted to play this game I grew up around the time this game released and never got a chance to play it I’ll try out the unity version when I get a chance, I’m ordering a steam deck this weekend I wonder if daggerfall unity will run on steam OS🤔

— Drewski Gaming (@drewski9376) January 3, 2024

Amazing, wonderful! I can’t wait to start alllllll over again. 😅👍
In all seriousness, everyone has done so much great work with Daggerfall Unity and it’s been fascinating to watch this project develop over time from the beginning. Congrats everyone!

— Happy Sharks 92 (@happysharks92) December 30, 2023

If you’re an avid Elder Scrolls fan and have the means to play it, it’s worth checking Daggerfall Unity out, especially if you’re burnt out on replaying Skyrim for the umpteenth time or were unimpressed with Starfield. Plus, Elder Scrolls 6 is still years away from coming out.