Ranking All Games Published By Bethesda Softworks From Worst To Best
Let's review the Bethesda archives: from Elder Scrolls, to Wolfenstein, to....Rogue Warrior?
The surprise announcement that ZeniMax Media/Bethesda Softworks has been bought by Xbox Game Studios is the definition of game-changing. While most news headlines will focus on the exciting mutual future of these companies, what about Bethesda Softworks' past?
While Bethesda's name is unanimous with developing the Elder Scrolls & Fallout titles, they are also one of the biggest independent third-party game publishers around, and also house a wealth of incredible in-house studios.
To break it down, while Bethesda Softworks has been making games since 1986, in 1999, ZeniMax Media was formed as a parent company of said studio. The Softworks name was retained strictly for the publishing wing, while the game development side was monikered Bethesda Game Studios. Since then, Softworks has been pumping out a colorful barrage of games, that started off with quick movie tie-ins but have become more refined, focused, and exciting over the years.
Now that the spotlight is not just on Bethesda Game Studios, but on ZeniMax Media as a whole, it's a ripe time to examine their entire output from meager beginnings to growing into a powerhouse publisher.
Keep in mind, this covers Bethesda Softworks as a publisher, so all the games are post-1999 (meaning no early Elder Scrolls games). Also, in an effort to streamline the long list, some lower-tier mobile or portable games have been omitted.
33. Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot (2019)
Wolfenstein in VR seems like a no-contest slam dunk, especially considering Bethesda's strong track record with VR ports and adaptations. Unfortunately, it's just not the case with this slim and cumbersome effort.
The title has you man the intimidating Panzer Hound for the majority, an interlude that's fun and cathartic in the main installments, but here gets repetitive after the first five minutes. The rest of the 90 min runtime is then padded out with some lever pulling and drone zapping... that's about it.
It's graphically impressive, but with all this potential, including the involvement of both MachineGames and Arkane Studios, this move to VR really should have been so much better.