The Elder Scrolls is one of my favourite game series, as I think my many editorials have shown. However, one game I had not checked out was The Elder Scrolls Online, despite the massive amount of world-building the game does. That is, until I was given a copy of the game this past holiday season and began my journey into Tamriel once again. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, as I am not really a fan of MMORPGs in general, but what I got blew me away.
The Elder Scrolls Online has been unlike any other Online RPG I have played and has actually convinced me that the genre is worth looking into some more. For starters, the game actually has a lot of single player content available and adds heavily to the world of TES and the series lore by building either on mentioned events or showing previously undocumented ones. Journeying across Tamriel and exploring the different regions is breathtaking and the combat is actually much more fun this time, while still remaining true to the spirit of the series.
Whether it is exploring the land of the Orcs, to stopping the Planemeld, or returning to Morrowind in a beautiful expansion that acts as both a prequel to that game and at the same time also managing to offer clues and hints to what happened later in the main series ( you have to love that non linear storytelling), Elder Scrolls Online has something for everyone. The more I played, the more I eased into playing with others and truly came to appreciate what the game had to offer. Teaming with other players to take on dungeons and quests is excellent, but I am also happy that there are mechanics to prevent griefers from bothering people playing by themselves. I love how ideas from Skyrim were taken and expanded and adapted for a multiplayer style such as expanding the marriage system and actually making it useful, and I hope more refinements are brought into the next mainline entry.
In general, I find myself seeing the improvements made to the gameplay and quest systems TES is known for, and I appreciate Elder Scrolls Online in a whole new way because of it. This game is a great platform to test out new ideas for future mainline games and see what works and what doesn’t. Previous game mechanics are also present but tinkered with to become more involved. This isn’t even mentioning the nostalgia value, such as returning to Morrowind and other classic locations and seeing what is different here. We even get some recurring characters from the series, making their earliest chronological appearance in a game.
There are a number of things I would like to see differently, such as a look at some of the other provinces of Tamriel that we didn’t get to see yet. I understand if some are being saved for a later mainline game, but it doesn’t feel right not having the full Tamriel be there. As well, while I like the changes to the combat, I feel the magic system needs some further refining as there are still issues with some spells when attacking. These are minor issues though and overall the game is fantastic!
The Elder Scrolls Online is many things. It is a game that brings the world of Tamriel to many people at once, as well as a game that allows the developers to test out new ideas for future games. But as the same time, it is a game that allows players to re-visit ( or finally visit) locations from previous games or that were mentioned in lore and see them in all there glory. I fully recommend checking this out and this is a must play game for any Elder Scrolls fan.
Note: I was given a copy as part of #IndieXmas, a #GamesMatter event by @indiegamerchick