The Elder Scrolls Online Reviews
A few well-designed systems struggle to overcome lifeless presentation. Capable, but ultimately hard to recommend.
It's tempting to write off subscription MMOs completely, but there are some signs of life in the sector: Final Fantasy 14 is doing quite well, and the forthcoming WildStar is in the final stages of a persuasive charm offensive with the MMO community. But there are only fleeting signs of life in The Elder Scrolls Online itself - and few of them have anything to do with The Elder Scrolls. Maybe this grand project sounded like a good idea in 2007, but now it feels like a leftover obligation: a game no-one really asked for, and a flawed premise from the start.
ESO is missing the spark that got us lost in Skyrim and Morrowind
The Elder Scrolls Online immerses you in its intricate quests and fantasy landscapes, only to undercut its strengths at every turn.
Whether or not The Elder Scrolls Online is for you will depend entirely on what you're looking for out of it. If you want a true Elder Scrolls experience, with all the freedom, exploration, and immersion that comes with it, you're likely to be disappointed.
Elder Scrolls Online is a good, fun game overall, but it's a better MMO than it is an Elder Scrolls game.
Where The Elder Scrolls Online fails is when it doesn't break enough from the traditional MMO formula, which is the same mistake other massively multiplayer games keep making, but the only places I've felt that weakness so far are in the monster behavior and quest systems. If the endgame and player-versus-player content I haven't gotten to yet also stick too close to typical MMO formulas, then it's going to be difficult for Bethesda to justify the cost of a subscription for The Elder Scrolls Online unless additional, fresh, and substantial story material is regularly added to the game for high-level players, maybe even on a monthly basis.
Inferior to competitors and predecessors in every respect.
[I]f you can stick through the starting areas to around Level 10, find several friends to group with, and stomach the litany of technical flaws, The Elder Scrolls Online will more than grow on you. Whether it remains that way will be determined when I review the endgame content more thoroughly several weeks from now.
Personally as an MMO player, I think I'm mostly going to be putting my time in the near future into Final Fantasy XIV and WildStar until that happens.
The Elder Scrolls Online combines the best of Elder Scrolls with the worst of the MMO genre.
What appeals to individual gamers is, of course, subjective but I’ve long felt that Elder Scrolls Online is the best MMORPG on consoles thanks to its world-building, lore, quests, story, and ability to reward both solo and group experiences equally. The recent introduction of companions made a solo-friendly game even more inviting. With the Enhanced Version, Elder Scrolls Online definitely steps up as the best looking and smoothest running MMORPG you can find on the PS5, and no longer feels in any way inferior to the PC version.
The Elder Scrolls Online is a solid massively multiplayer online experience. There is a variety of content both in the adventure and player-versus-player modes. A lack of risk-taking in the genre formula, however, holds the game back from being innovative or unique. Fortunately, the Elder Scrolls setting and lore are presented perfectly in addition to including one of the best player-versus-player systems in an MMO. Fans of the Elder Scrolls series who can overlook a monthly subscription fee are sure to find plenty to enjoy on their online adventures in Tamriel.
ESO is an excellent MMORPG, with a lot to offer fans of The Elder Scrolls.
Playing The Elder Scrolls with your friends may sound like fun, but after playing a bit, you might just end up wishing for the sweet release of Oblivion.
By their very nature, MMO's evovle - but as it stands right now, The Elder Scrolls online isn't a worthwhile investment. If you're an Elder Scrolls fan, you might want to give it a try but I do think you may be a teeny bit disappointed. If you're an MMORPG fan, there are some ideas here that you will certainly like.
The Elder Scrolls Online isn't a terrible game, but its shortcomings make it impossible to recommend, especially considering the diverse options gamers have in the MMO marketplace. It's possible that future updates will make the game worth revisiting, but quite a bit of the core gameplay would need to change for that to be the case.
Overall, Elder Scrolls Online does not revolutionize MMOs but is a solid entry in the genre. If you don't like MMOs or are getting burned out from them this probably won't change your mind, especially given its slow start. If you like the genre and also enjoy Elder Scrolls-style combat, however, then this game will likely be more your cup of tea.