The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood Reviews
The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood provides plenty of enjoyable content, but it may not be enough to breathe new life into the MMO.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood is a dense expansion that delves into what made Oblivion so good, featuring a great story and more.
Blackwood is a brilliant throwback to Oblivion, but it feels like a starting point for a grander tale. Players going into Blackwood expecting a full-fat expansion experience will feel slightly letdown. Its dedication to 2006s Cyrodill shines through with the spaced out content making the overall zone feel a little empty. Still, the content itself is a job well done, ticking all the boxes to keep players entertained, but new features like Blackwood's companions work best when revisiting older zones.
Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood is a solid expansion to ZeniMax's popular MMORPG, explaining the rise of Mehrunes Dagon and introducing new mechanics that can be expanded upon in future chapters. Fans of Elder Scrolls Online are likely to find something they really enjoy about the Blackwood zone and story despite some of the drawbacks, and new and solo players can have a much better experience diving in and facing challenges if they start with Blackwood, thanks to the new features.
Blackwood brings an intriguing new story full of conspiracy and demonic dangers to The Elder Scrolls Online, and while that's good, it's the addition of Oblivion Portals and A.I. Companions that really make the latest expansion a winner.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood feels like an expansion developed with a different degree of maturity. Rather than adding new classes or skill lines, it focuses on improving the new player experience, while also adding intriguing new story content and world events. The addition of AI companions also makes the solo experience much more appealing, although obviously you'll still have to look for flesh-and-bone teammates if you want to tackle tougher trials and events. Overall, a solid expansion pack, although we wish we could have had a better look at the Seal of Endeavors system.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Elder Scrolls Online cannot be faulted for lack of content, and while each new expansion opens up new, unexplored regions or folds older Elder Scrolls lore and landscapes into the game, the DLC is starting to feel pretty formulaic. The new Companions are definitely a welcome addition to those of us who prefer to play solo, and Blackwood has a main quest, cities, and characters that are worth exploring. Blackwood — the region and the DLC — might be an odd and confusing place for new players to start their journey with the game, but for long time players the Companions and nostalgia factor baked into the expansion might be enough to give them a bit of fresh energy.
I am a huge fan of the entire Elder Scrolls franchise, and have played ESO since beta. My absolute favorite Chapter was Elsweyr and that will forever be a hard one to top, but Blackwood was quite enjoyable. The addition of Companions is fun for both new and veteran players, but I am kind of left feeling like this could have been a DLC rather than a full-blown Chapter. I had a good time questing through the area and completing the main story, and the throwbacks to Oblivion with the story and portals were very cool. I definitely hope to see more Companions added to the game, even if it's through the Crown Store. My only request is to add on to the already amazing story that is being told!
ZeniMax has outdone themselves once again with Blackwood. Ever since I started reviewing additions to The Elder Scrolls Online (which was back when Murkmire came out), I've been impressed time and again. While I was not as impressed with the majority of this chapter, I was pleasantly surprised in the end. Blackwood is a great introduction to this year's Gates of Oblivion event. I can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds.
ESO: Blackwood is familiar territory for fans of the universe. While it provides heaps of armour sets to collect, enemies to defeat, and captivating characters to meet, it won’t be anyone’s favourite. This chapter of the MMO lacks an unseen and astounding setting, like Elsywere and Summerset had before it. However, as a complete package, The Elder Scrolls Online continues to be one of the best quality MMO experiences.
The Elder Scrolls Online Blackwood is a must have for fans and this expansion really fleshes out this universe even more with exceptional storytelling and world building, not to mention plenty of challenging and rewarding battles along the way. It's time to invest your time into the world of The Elder Scrolls Online again!
The care placed in the phase of level design and structuring of the rooms – never superficial or anonymous – are able to make The Elder Scrolls Online Blackwood an excellently crafted reinterpretation of what we experienced in the fourth chapter of the TES saga released back in 2006, and now "resurrected" among the moors of ESO.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Blackwood provides content for those looking for some Oblivion nostalgia but also a new experience when it comes to Oblivion Portals and its tale. While not perfect, Companions shake up combat adding a new way to play solo, but does not do away with the multiplayer aspect of the game. The chapter has a great story to experience with some returning characters that players will be happy to see. If you're a fan of the Elder Scrolls games and looking for a new adventure that ties in with Oblivion, you'll want to pick up this one.
Bethesda promised that The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood would be the perfect place for both newcomers and veterans of the series and kept its promise! If you love MMORPG but were afraid to enter the huge world of ESO without preparation, now you can safely do it.
Review in Polish | Read full review
The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood has much to offer new and veteran players alike, with customisable companions being the highlight, giving players more goals to achieve and good reasons to revisit old zone content.
While The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood has leaned less on nostalgia than originally thought, its unique additions such as the Companion system, the addition of new public dungeons to experience, Oblivion Gates, and new quest-based puzzles, it’s just enough to get a veteran player back in and enjoying what The Elder Scrolls Online has to offer. For lore junkies, this is a perfect addition as it does a lot to build up to the events of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
As a whole, the Blackwood chapter is an excellent addition to Elder Scrolls Online offering a rousing narrative, a new landscape to explore, and companions to aid you in your adventures.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood offers a lot of new content, just like previous chapters for the popular MMO. The storyline and new region feels a bit less special than heavy-hitters like Elsweyr and Summerset and the expansion doesn't offer any new classes and skill lines. It's not a bad chapter, but it's by far the weakest expansion for ESO so far.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
If you haven’t noticed, I’m a huge fan of The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood. It’s just altogether a perfect example of why I love this game. The world, the lore, the new mechanics, Oblivion Portals, it’s just all so well done. And this is built on top of everything Elder Scrolls Online has already done, and molded around One Tamriel.
Blackwood and it’s new companion system is the best addition to ESO since the “One Tamriel” update.