Nightmares were an inherent part of the human being since its beginning. For many many years, various religions considered dreams (and nightmares) as prophecies of inevitable future events. Some brave ones tried to change the course of faith, with different results. And here the question comes: Is it truly possible to cheat destiny?

The quotation of John Lennons' words is strongly related to what we will encounter in Enderal: Forgotten Stories. Our story begins near a house in the forest. Our father greets us and then we go inside. Our protagonist asks for the rest of family and then a beautiful dream changes to a nightmare. Daddy accuses us of killing the rest of household and wishes we were never born (he also says some memorable words: 'The Dead never forget'). Then the nightmare ends and, simultaneously, another begins, but now in reality. We wake up under the deck of a boat sailing to Enderal. Our protagonist along with another guy boarded on pirates' ship illegally (funny) in Ostian, Nehrim, as we wanted to escape from the war in the country(maybe that one between the districts which we were able to witness in Nehrim, the previous game?). Soon our presence comes to the thugs' attention and our new friend is being killed. After that, we are being tied with the dead guy and thrown into the sea. Fortunately, we survived and then our story begins.

At first, it is needed to mention that Enderal is a modification for Skyrim, made by SureAI, a small German game studio with few other great and worth investigating game modifications (Nehrim: At Fates Edge, Arktwend: The Forgotten Realms[sureai.net] and Myar Aranath: Relict of Kallidar [sureai.net]). This exact mod is a version made for Skyrim Special Edition , which improves graphics, makes the game more beautiful with vibrant colors, water reflections, more natural sun and many many more. Some of the bugs from the original mode were also fixed. The rest of the game remains the same.The world presented in Enderal is similar in size comparing to that one in Skyrim, but it is absolutely more breathtaking. From idyllic sights of the Heartlands, by the mysterious and dangerous lands of Dark Valley, up to the dry and blood-soaked sands of Powder Desert, the world presented only awaits for a brave explorer to reveal its beauty. Another thing is the way of how many remarkable and fully voice-acted characters we will meet during our courage. We will also be able to strengthen our relationship with some of them, but in a more developed way than that one presented in Skyrim. Next to mention will be the overhauled system of leveling, similar to that one in the Witcher series (we meditate, what moves us to the unknown astral location where we are able to spend memory points in trees similar to that one from Skyrim), as well as the brand new mechanic: Arcanic Fever, which affects our protagonist each time we use healing spells or potions, and continues to rise, up to the level the character dies, so it is essential to maintain that level, which is possible by decreasing it by drinking expensive potions. (Finally, the food products come to use, but the health regenerates only while not in combat). For those who would like to solve all the mysteries of Enderal, you should prepare for about 60 hours worth of playing (sadly it is less than in Nehrim). For a big plus, it is good to notice some little references to Skyrim which trained eye will quickly encounter, and also after finishing Enderal, if you track the story carefully, it leaves in mind a feeling of emptiness, mixed with reflects about the worlds' laws and the role a small human does. On the other hand, for a little minus, there are few bugs, but a player with experience in using the 'tcl' command from Skyrim will not have a big problem. The soundtrack on the other side is a masterpiece, and indeed eases to memorize the game experience for a longer time.

To sum things up, Enderal: Forgotten Stories is an excellent example of how games (still remember it is a modification?) should be done. With its huge open world filled with great adventure is undoubtedly a title worth recommending. If only you have a proper version of Skyrim, and you enjoyed playing it, do not hesitate to download Enderal and let the game suck yourself into its world!




https://store.steampowered.com/app/976620/Enderal_Forgotten_Stories_Special_Edition/