Sky Shadowing posted:

Morrowind's opening is great because it gives you a lot of leeway right off the gate. You're free, given a point towards Balmora and said 'hey, you might want to look into this, but no pressure' but otherwise dropped in a town where the quests aren't particularly difficult. It's a good indicator of the game itself. It unfolds at your own pace.

Oblivion and Skyrim both have the issue (Oblivion moreso) where their Main Quests are the Big Important Events that threaten the world with Imminent Destruction, and there is no time to go off and do your own thing... Skyrim has the other issue where a major feature is locked behind the first few stages of the main quest...