Share Your Opinions on TESV Here. (No Spoilers)

[Proditus]

I think there was plenty of Nord culture in Skyrim that was fleshed out. I think the main reason that Morrowind was praised for having so much culture was because it was so much more different than anything we're familiar with. When it comes to the Nords, the theme was vikings, vikings, and more vikings. We've already seen it before, so it doesn't feel special.

I will honestly say that the development was probably rushed. We have Todd Howard saying that the inclusion of werewolves was doubtful only a few months before release, and then we get the Companions that are centered entirely around werewolves. I can't help but think that the Companions and several of the other guilds were created in a very small window of time so they could meet the 11/11 release schedule.

I also agree with your thoughts on the cities. The big ones actually feel unique and full of activity. I just wish there were more of them. After going to Whiterun and Solitude early in the game, I was a bit disappointed when I made it to Dawnstar and Falkreath, to see that they were barely bigger than tiny little Riverwood. The main cities in Oblivion were pretty terrible, but there were eight of them as opposed to Skyrim's five. And while Solitude was a nice city, it didn't really have the majesty of what I'd consider a capital city, and it was more dead than any of the others. I guess it's still a reasonable tradeoff, but it'd be nice to get the best of both worlds.