Note: This is not a review, merely a first look.
Elder Scrolls Online has now seen its new expansion, Elsweyr, be released on PC and Mac and Bethesda was kind enough to send me the expansion to look at. I have been a fan of how ESO has changed since it first launched, and I must say that Elsweyr continues the tradition of improvement.
Everything felt smoother and easier to handle this time, and I love how the environment is set up. No spoilers here, but Zenimax Online has managed to somehow make the experience flow better than it did previously. Everything feels to be arranged to go faster, but not sacrifice any quality in the gameplay.
The world of Elsweyr is a lively one, and I really like the care put in to make it feel more true to the lore. Obviously it isn’t exact, but this is one of the first times I feel that the developers took a big risk in trying something new. Even Summerset didn’t feel like as much of a departure from previous areas, when coming after the Morrowind expansion. In contrast, Elsweyr actually feels like we have come to a new world.
The new abilities added by the expansion are a nice touch, and I cannot wait to go into more detail in my full review. What I will say now though, is that the developers seem to have taken criticisms of Summerset to heart, and a lot of the superfluous nature for abilities is gone. The new ones just feel right, and there is no padding involved. The new class is intuitively designed, and its clear this is a more experimental expansion, yet there is a great deal of polish involved.
Lastly, I wish to comment on the combat and overall feel of the controls. I was far more impressed now than with any mainline TES entry. This felt more like what the series should be and I want Bethesda Game Studios to follow Zenimax Online’s lead. The features of ESO are constantly be expanded and added, but it still feels intuitive. Everything about Elsweyr feels intuitive and that is something we need more of.
I will have a full review soon, but I want to state I am very impressed overall.