I've played and loved all the Elder Scrolls games and am wondering which other series comes closest to giving the Elder Scrolls experience. Here are the games that come to mind. Curious to see what other gamers think.

Well, Kingdoms of Amalur has pretty much everything, gameplay wise, that TES has. It's only more "high fantasy". And boring

Divinity 2 is completely different from TES however.

Haven't played the otehrs

I'm playing Divinity 2 right now. While a fun game on it's own merit, it is certainly lacking when compared to TES... Trying to figure out what to play after Divinity 2, I was hoping it would scratch my Elder Scrolls itch haha.

Honestly, nothing. TES is one of a kind.

Risen tends to have better thought out and more punishing combat. It had nicely animated and more thoughtful crafting as well. You play a preset character with some wiggle room over which faction you join.

Fable just wants you to have fun and be a big kid. It gleefully welcomes you into its world and provides you with the tools and skills to interact with it and more likely goof around in it.

Arx Fatalis is a dungeon crawler with its tongue stuck firmly in its cheek when it comes to its voice acting and writing. A well implemented melee system and a cracking magic system tie together to make a gem of a game.

Never tried Gothic, Two Worlds or Divinity

It'd be helpful for you to describe what an "Elder Scrolls" experience is to you.

For me its a thinly veiled above and below dungeon crawl that is a mile wide and an inch deep - a big dumb hero fantasy essentially that is choking on its own fluff. It's going to be different things to different people though and that'll influence how you compare it to other titles.

Are you looking for a game with a large world that rewards exploration? A mix and match character and combat setup? The ability to create a character to look how you want and go round joining factions? A dungeon crawler with above ground sections? A character and narrative led experience through a fantasy world?

Fallout 3. It's not a fantasy game, but it pretty much plays like "Oblivion with guns" with much work put into world design and the exploring aspect.

Hicks233 - I'm looking for a game that does everything TES does (nonlinear, open world, exploration, action combat, factions to join, several quest lines, build your own character, player houseing or some type of item storage other than standard inventory).

Legion64 - That's the reason I didn't list Bethesda's Fallout games, it's basically scifi Elder Scrolls (and I've played them).

I just heard about an awesome sounding Kickstarter that does at least some of the things you're looking for in TES alternatives: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=242472205

Fable 3 hands down (I'm [censored] joking don't touch that piece of [censored])

tbh, I can't think of anything....

I never played Gothic, but from what I understand it's the closest thing to the TES series, minus the ability to craft your own character.

Definitely not ES, but I liked it. Different strokes...

Not single player, but I vote for LotRO.

I spent most of my time in that game listening to John Cleese comment on everything and shaking people's hands.

I bought it right before Skyrim came out. Kept me busy for a couple weeks until 11/11/11.

If you don't mind an isometric perspective and turn based combat then Fallout 1 + 2 ought to scratch an itch, stronger characters and writing, slower pace.

For a semi-linear world, (oh how I hate the complaints about linearity) factions, action combat, storage/stash then Stalker is also worth looking at.

For a different type of flavour combined with some interesting bugs and a pre-determined character then check out Boiling Point: Road to Hell. Quite an indepth system of needs and addictions in that. Good number of factions and effects on relationships between them. Come to think of it - despite its occasional glitchiness it really did kick ass...

Dragon Age: Origins has the character creation, campaign, an amount of exploration, (it's not a walking simulator though) combat and spread inventory across party members. No player housing though.

Fallout Tactics is an underplayed gem as well. It makes use of the statistics and skills of Fallout 1 + 2. Retains the perspective but adds vehicles, real time (with action points) combat and gleefully focuses on wholesale slaughter. Equipment can be stored across party members, Brotherhood Bunkers and vehicles as well. Playing it currently and having an absolute blast.

Far Cry 2: Lots of terrain to explore. Two factions. A choice of predetermined characters that can have boosts to abilities and weapons. Safehouses and vehicles and a range of objectives to complete on top of a central storyline. Verrrry pretty game as well. Just has some iffy pacing with guard patrols.

GTA San Andreas: Stats, exploration, mayhem.

Outcast: A number of worlds to explore. Less a case of factions but a good range of characters to interact with. Strong inventory selection and a wide range of objectives. Gorgeous soundtrack as well.

Elite 1/2/3: Factions, a universe to explore. HUGE.

Pathologic: A large town to explore. Distinct factions tied to the narrative, reputation matters. Three pre-set characters to choose from. Safehouses and storage available. Some pretty odd and interesting objectives to complete. It's also an exercise in gaming maschism. It's tough.

The Void: A well... plane of existence I guess you'd call it - to explore, exploration depends on unlocking narrative stages though. FIrst person perspective. A pretty much unique inventory and "weapon" system. "Factions" that are intrinsic to the narrative. A variety of narrative based objectives and a compelling atmosphere and art style.

Ha, Nothing wrong with liking it. It just put me to sleep

I'm already following Frontiers on Steam

None. Might as well pack up and go home. No other series purposely tries to be as terrible as TES.

Fallout: New Vegas does everything better in it's own ground. A truly marvelous game.

I couldn't agree more however, I think the OP wants a fantasy game like TES to which, I can't think of any.....

The Witcher series.

Gothic and Risen are decent as well IMO.

its a bit of an older series, but "Might and magic", Specifically 6-8

IMO the mark to which all open world RPGs should be measured by

(Avaliable on gog.com)

Voted other.
The Baldur's Gate series does it for me.

Gothic, the 3rd in particular.

I'm gonna say either Dragon Age or the Witcher.