The Elder Scrolls Online Review

The Elder Scrolls Online Review (4)

Later, you discover another escalating instability, as three factions- the Daggerfall Covenant, the Aldmeri Dominion and the Ebonheart Pact vie for control of the Imperial City and land’s iconic White-Gold Tower. With each alliance designated by a different creature and a struggle for an emperor’s cathedra known as the Ruby Throne, comparisons’ to George R. R. Martin seem inevitable. Undeniably, TESO’s storytelling is proficient, raised by well-written dialog, and first-rate voice acting- but lacks the pathos which drives A Song of Ice and Fire. That said, the game’s expansive areas, which encompass everything from the swampy Black Marsh, lush plains of Cyrodiil, and snowy peaks of Skyrim, help to adhere Elder Scrolls’ geography and mythology into a cohesive piece of lore.

About 45 minutes into The Elder Scrolls Online, the leash is unfastened, and players are allowed to dictate their own destiny. Naturally, missions abound, indicated by NPCs with a marker over their heads. Unlike many other MMOs, where it feels as if the world isn’t altered by player actions, TESO demonstrates tangible change, marked by seemingly irreversible events. Naturally, decisions come into play as well- it’ll be interesting just how much these can influence the overarching narrative. One shortcoming which plagues the game is the lack of completely autonomous exploration; move into an area soon and you’ll be attacked by swarms of high-level enemies and missions which are far above your current pay-grade.

The Elder Scrolls Online Review (5)

Undoubtedly, combat draws inspiration from the Skyrim’s tenets, albeit with a selection of five hotkeys. Holding down the right mouse button puts players into a defensive stance, while the left button initiates either a melee or ranged attack; holding down the button for longer period increases the power of the strike. Courteously, opponents telegraph their offensives, with red translucent shapes displaying area-of-effect spans and red outlines around an enemy advising for players to sidestep an imminent strike. While battles feel immersive in TESO’s default first-person view, players might prefer the third person perspective when scrapping with several nearby foes.

Consistent with Elder Scroll canon, crates, bookshelves, urns, boxes, and tables conceal a sundry of items. But before long, searching every vessel in the expansive world becomes a bit of a chore. Fortunately, for crafters, most items are out in the open, allowing players to stockpile supplies with ease. Pleasingly, the vocation doesn’t feel like an empty endeavor- with dedicated players able to create good which compete against valuable dungeon spoils. Certainly, TESO seems to have the foundations for a thriving economy- it’s be interesting to see if the developer’s intentions take hold.

The Elder Scrolls Online Review (6)

As virtuous as many of The Elder Scrolls Online’s components are, it’s the title’s multiplayer elements which reveal need for improvement. Public dungeons can be disappointing affairs, as players skulk hallways filled with the corpses of freshly slain foes. Likewise, respawning mini-bosses tends to become magnets for avaricious players- soiling the thrill of what could have been an engaging confrontation. Likewise it’s frustrating to open successions of treasure chest, only to realize it’s been emptied by a player twenty steps ahead of you. Ideally, the developer would implement some type of phasing to lessen the impact of miserly loot whores. Although players can working cooperatively without linking through a more official LFG systems, TESO’s group functionality grants access to multiplayer-only dungeons.

Beyond a few malfunctioning quests, The Elder Scrolls Online needs improvement in its PvP realm. After hours were spent learning how to become competent in combat, the real pleasure was found in performing reconnaissance missions or the thrill of traveling in a large group of mounted warriors rather than engaging in the confrontations themselves. Conflicts felt unfocused with little sense of unit cohesion, and even when I was dispatching enemies or offering AOE assistance, it rarely felt as if my actions were making that much of a difference. Overall, other MMOs have offered better interpretations of large-scale conflict, and TESO needs a bit of improvement is this area.

The Elder Scrolls Online Review (7)

Unmistakably, the game’s other stumbling point is its price. After a sixty dollar investment for the base game, participants must still ante up a $15 per month subscription fee to play the game (following a complementary 30 day period). For MMO aficionados, this might be a fair proposition- since The Elder Scrolls Online is unquestionably one of the better entries in the genre, and is poised to release a substantial quantity of additional content. For more casual gamers and those easily aggravated by bugs or wayward online behavior, it might be worthwhile to adopt a wait and see approach with TESO. If ZeniMax shows a resolute effort to quash bugs or drop the purchase price, then the game could receive a full recommendation.

The Elder Scrolls Online was played on the PC with review code provided by the publisher.

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

23 comments

  1. I don’t remember seeing a MMO on this site…ever?

    Slightly curious, but I’d never but a MMORPG at launch.

    • I worry when Robert is doing MMO reviews, but I guess there’s not enough money made in just covering NISA, Atlus, XSEED, Tecmo-Koei, and SEGA games. (that’s all I care about really)

    • Halfman Halfhorse

      Tank, DPS and LFG are the new lolicon, Hatsune Miku and dood.

      This is a Robert Allen review?

      • I’m thinking he was a closet WoW player this whole time.

        Really good review. I read it all. Who else did? Be honest!

  2. Just noticed the second page. Wow, that is one epic review.

  3. I hate to ask- but is there’s controller support. I’m used to play Skyrim with my 360 controller.

  4. I was pretty close to buying an online code for $44.00. Hell, I might break down this weekend.

  5. No score?

  6. Waffles for Supper

    Good review, but you need a page 3 to talk about the graphics and animation. Is it improved or still really stiff?

  7. PSA: You have to input a credit card number or 30 day card to use the free 30 day trail. What kind of bullshit is that Bethesda?

    • PSA: I just read like 20 paragraphs and didn’t see a score after reading them. That really sucks.

  8. My ex was really looking forward to this game. So while I SHOULD want to play, I associate it with him. I need to get over it.

    The graphics look pretty good. I wonder if the PS4 version will be just as good as the PC version.

    • If you have a decent PC, I’d go with that. You can use the keyboard to communicate and the graphics will probably be better. I’m sure the Xbone will be 720p/30fps.

  9. I was fortunate to get into the beta- playing enough to get my fill. Unless those goes F2P, or $10 a month, I probably won’t play. In some ways, I prefer Skyrim.

  10. Kind of a clinical review. I don’t know if its fun after reading it.

  11. MMNowayjose.

    I hate online games. SP or GTFO.

  12. I’m peeved enough that they locked off the imperials that I’m thinking about not buying this. For $60+$15 a month they should be hungry for even more money.

  13. For me the big thing about MMO are how many of my IRL friends are playing. Not than many jumped on the TESO bandwagon.

    • I’ve shamelessly played more MMO’s than I’d like to admit, and I completely agree with that comment. It is very hard sometimes to progress or move forward when you’ve got dungeon quests, or some sort of epic quest line to go for either class or armor related and that’s just stating the usual pet peeves of PVE without friends. When it comes down to PVP is a completely different scenario, which most of the time battlegrounds and PVP world servers don’t seem balanced out in terms of user/advantage, and without someone on your side it does become somewhat of a chore. All there is about MMO is usually how you adapt with the community around it, otherwise there’s not much fun to be had.

      • For me, MMOs move too slow. Raids are just level grinding with other people, IMO. plus, there’s not an endgame, so all the work never gets a real payoff.

  14. So far, I’m liking TESO, but I understand your issues with the game. PvP isn’t really that fun.