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Spurred by Oblivion Remastered, I recently dipped back into Skyrim, and it’s still Bethesda’s finest thanks to its stunning world and the sense of adventure found in exploring its dungeons. However, it does feel a tad dated by modern standards gameplay wise. With little chance of seeing The Elder Scrolls 6 until at least next year at the earliest, new fantasy game Fatekeeper has caught my eye, and its brutal first-person action RPG stylings might just fill that Skyrim-shaped gap in my Steam library.
Revealed during the THQ Nordic showcase, Fatekeeper makes an incredible first impression. Its environments are absolutely breathtaking, and the first-person combat is immediately reminiscent of games like Skyrim, but with the impact, brutality, and intensity ramped up to another level. Wielding a wide range of swords, axes, toxins, and spells, you take on everything from gargantuan, horned demons to lithe, muscular, scaly beasts. Combine that with some impressive dungeon crawling, and we could have one of the best fantasy games this year on our hands.
“Venture into a handcrafted world where ruins whisper of past cataclysms,” developer Paraglacial teases. “Master the art of sword and sorcery and forge your path with relics, spells, and choices that shape who you become in this first-person RPG.” Your journey through Fatekeeper follows a focused main narrative, it explains, but the world around invites you to explore. The trailer’s early glimpses of its sprawling forests, treasure-strewn catacombs, and vast, underground temples make an impression on par with some of the best parts of Skyrim or Elden Ring.
Combat mostly looks to focus on one-on-one encounters, with enemies a little more involved than your average Draugr. You’ll need to watch attack patterns closely, look for weaknesses in your opponent’s guard or armor, and strike with precision. Taking cues from The Witcher, you might pour a paralytic poison onto your blade to impede your foe’s mobility. Or, you can take a leaf out of the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed book and use magic to lift a rival into the air and fling them bodily into a canyon.
So far, the pretty world and vicious battles already have me on board. But Paraglacial promises “rich progression mechanics that go far beyond surface-level stats.” That means considerations over whether you want to favor brute strength, agility and finesse, or cunning spellcrafting. Amplifying that further is plenty of loot; weapons, armor, and artifacts can be discovered to enhance your preferred play style, and to look good while you do it.
Paraglacial plans to launch Fatekeeper in early access via Steam this winter, so expect it in late 2025 or early 2026. You can wishlist it right now on Steam if you’re as curious as I am.
Whenever the Elder Scrolls 6 release date ends up being, we’ll make sure you know it as soon as we do. In the meantime, perhaps it’s time to finally think about upgrading to the best gaming PC for your budget in 2025 and ensuring your games shine to their fullest.
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