Reviews// The Elder Scrolls Online

More passionate fans might be more into this than I am. I know there are people out there who will get quite a kick out of exploring all of the most notable regions of the world, reading through the massive amounts of backstory to be found in the in-game books. But I’m afraid all of this is lost on me.

I’ve enjoyed the Elder Scrolls games since Morrowind for their gameplay, but I’ve never really been invested in the history of the world or any of the characters no matter how much Patrick Stewart, Max Von Sydow and Michael Gambon voice-acting they throw at me. It’s all a bit too dusty, dry and serious for me. I apologise if that makes me a terrible person.

Probably the most damning thing about the game is how frustrating it can be to play. Inventory issues quickly become a problem. I never thought I’d find myself defending Skyrim’s occasionally annoying weight-based inventories, but TESO’s limits mean you can easily fill up your pack with masses of paper and crafting materials which will need regularly sorting through in order to make space for proper loot. It won’t take long at all before you’re simply ignoring the multitudes of cupboards and crates littering every dungeon in fear of filling up with yet another dozen food ingredients.

Worse than that though is how difficult it is to navigate. Every time a big title focusing on exploration is released without a mini-map that’s the first thing people complain about. This should go without saying at this point but I’ll say it anyway. A mini-map would be fantastic.

The compass the game instead sees fit to provide you with is utterly useless, roughly pointing you in the right direction and vaguely letting you know whenever something is above or below you, which can make a pretty big difference when it comes to more elaborate locales. Having to stop and bring up your map so often takes you out of the action so much. And it’s only made more frustrating by the fact that the solution is so simple.

I realise I’d better go over the game’s more positive attributes now or risk being branded a mindless hater. And it’s not like there isn’t some good stuff here. The skill system is brilliant and just as deep as its main series counterparts. The basic principles are similar to Skyrim’s: your character possesses a range of skills determining your ability to use different weapon types and armour, skills which increase in level as you use them and gain experience. The main difference lies in the abilities that increasing those skills can unlock.

Skyrim allowed you to spend the perks you earned from levelling up to further increase your abilities through a wide range of mostly passive boosts. TESO, on the other hand, provides you with a range of special abilities which can be used in battle. Improving your weapon skills, for example, will provide you with a range of powerful attacks that allow you to cripple certain foes or cleave through multiple enemies at once.

Putting further points into your chosen skills increases their power further, and then at set milestones you’re given the choice to specialise said skill by choosing from different upgrade branches. A simple fireball may become even more deadly and burn a foe for longer after the initial impact, or instead explode to damage other foes near to its target. This customisation - combined with the considerable range of skills available – gives you a great deal of room to tweak your character’s fighting abilities to suit your own tastes.

Another highlight is the equally vast crafting system. This again is somewhat reminiscent of Skyrim, as you can essentially craft and upgrade armour or weapons, brew potions and poisons, and even cook a range of restorative foods. Early on there’s not much to it, but once you start to get some adventuring under your belt and build up a supply of resources then it gets quite rewarding to outfit yourself with your own equipment, especially considering that said equipment can be quite costly if bought from the assortment of shops.