Which one should i play first?

[SLEEP1E᠌ ☦]

Hey i want to buy an elder scrolls game but idk which one to start off fist on and to finish off but story wise

[Ilja]

You can start with Skyrim. It is the most modern game. While some lore might point to older games, you do not really loose a thing by not playing them first.

BGS is not too strict with their lore. Things might sometimes conflict with previously established lore.

[mickyluv]

They're set in the same 'universe' in different places and at different times. They're not directly connected like some franchises are, but later games will reference earlier games through lore articles.

I've only played Oblivion and Skyrim (and a little ESO). I think Oblivion is the better game, but it's so dated now it would be hard to recommend it to a new player. Go for Skyrim SE. There's a reason so many people still play it.

Hope this helps.

[Skumboni]

If you plan on playing Morrowind and Oblivion, I would suggest playing them in order as going to the older visuals and mechanics may be off putting. I would suggest that any game series you plan on playing should be played in order.

[SpeedFreak1972]

Indeed going from Skyrim to Morrowind maybe a bit off putting I mean in certain regards it's really an old game. Don't get me wrong it's a very good game, but from a very different era.

[steventirey]

From a story perspective, it really doesn't matter. Some of the characters will be the same, but the events of other games aren't brought up a whole lot. In when they are, it is done as vaguely as possible. Since you make your own character and can make a lot of choices for yourself, they keep the history vague so it can fit multiple different characters.

The only real exception is the ending of Daggerfall - they all happened simultaneously, even the ones that contradict themselves. There is a lore explanation for events (called a Dragon Break) like this.

I mean, it is all one connected timeline. But playing previous games isn't really necessary to understand what is going on.

[SgtScum]

The ES games are not sequels but each is a standalone experience you don't need to play any other ES game to enjoy. I'd say for the most comfortable ES experience get Skyrim as it has the most refined gameplay over the earlier games but it does 'dumb down' some earlier ES mechanics(in a positive way to me) to make the game more accessible. But with mods even og daggerfall using its unity remake can become quite fetching graphics wise and you can modify the gameplay to suit your needs and upgrade it to modern standards. Same with morrowind or oblivion. Mods really transform them into something you can enjoy now.