A group of modders and GOG have partnered up to release Daggerfall Unity: GOG Cut, a collection of mods and user tweaks for The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall. The Daggerfall Unity project has been running for more than a decade, but it looks like it's now ready for the public.
What is Daggerfall Unity: GOG Cut?
Since The Elder Scrolls VI seems pretty far away, and since we didn't hear anything about it at this year's Xbox and Bethesda showcase, you might be jonesing for your fix of new Elder Scrolls content. If you're not too averse to old-school retro PC gaming, then you might want to check out Daggerfall Unity: GOG Cut, a newly-released compendium of The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall mods that's just been released over on GOG.com. It's a project that collects 40 different mods for the Bethesda RPG, ranging from visual overhauls to lore documents and even additional content.
Unlike re-releases of classic RPGs, like the Gold Box games that hit Steam back in March, Daggerfall Unity: GOG Cut is close to a total overhaul for the game. It includes mods like Cliffworms' Fixed Dungeon Exteriors and Detailed City Walls, as well as mods to overhaul things like glass textures and grass. You'll also find Regnier's Ambient Text, which adds a bunch of flavor text to Daggerfall, along with new quests and lots of other stuff. There's even a mod that allows you to pet the many animals you'll find throughout Daggerfall's world.
What's particularly interesting about this release is that Bethesda is completely on board with it, despite a somewhat controversial history with mods. When YouTuber GamerZakh released a video about Daggerfall Unity, his community began speaking publicly about turning the release into a fully-fledged mod pack for Daggerfall. According to GamerZakh, Bethesda was on board with his efforts and those of the modders, and so GamerZakh collaborated with the Unity developers to choose mods to include in what would become the GOG Cut of the pack. It's nice to see Bethesda playing ball with its community.
How to install Daggerfall Unity: GOG Cut
Since GOG and the modders behind Daggerfall Unity: GOG Cut are aiming to make the project as easy as possible to play, the steps for installing it are simple. All you need to do is add the game to your GOG library, then install it and play it. You don't need to do anything else; even if you've got a separate install of Daggerfall (since it's available for free on GOG), you can just play Daggerfall Unity as its own separate standalone experience. The modders do want you to note that the mod pack is still a work in progress, though, so you might encounter some technical issues. It's best to familiarize yourself with the quicksave key (F9) so you don't get blindsided.
Be sure to give Daggerfall Unity: GOG Cut a look if you've been looking for an excuse to try out this classic old-school PC RPG. It's totally free, so you won't lose much by grabbing it. Now all we need is Morrowind Unity: GOG Cut so that people can rediscover the truly classic Elder Scrolls games without fear of running into their endless jank and poorly-aged visuals. Hey, who knows; maybe the new Elder Scrolls game will make a return to the land of Daggerfall, and you'll be able to see where it all began with this mod pack.
