The Elder Scrolls Online has come a long way since it first launched on PlayStation 4 back in 2015. The development team over at ZeniMax Online Studios has done a solid job in keeping the MMORPG relevant, with regular updates and huge expansions continually improving and expanding the overall experience. It's this dedication -- and my fondness for The Elder Scrolls -- that's kept me coming back to Tamriel time and time again over the last three years.
The Elder Scrolls Online gets a lot of negativity simply because it's not a traditional Elder Scrolls title. After the gigantic success of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, many wanted Bethesda to crack on with the next mainline entry in the series. Instead, The Elder Scrolls Online was announced, and a little bit like what's happening now with Fallout 76, some people lost their minds. It's more than fair to want more of something that you enjoy, but I'm willing to bet that a lot of the complaints come from those who haven't even given The Elder Scrolls Online a chance.
Now, that's not to say ESO (yeah, I'm not writing The Elder Scrolls Online another dozen times) is a stand-in for a traditional Elder Scrolls game, because it most certainly isn't. It's not just "Skyrim, only multiplayer" -- it's a full MMO with an Elder Scrolls skin. And boy is it a big MMO. ESO's game world is absolutely gigantic, and the map's so huge that each journey really does feel like a proper adventure out into the unknown. Striding into a whole new region after spending hours upon hours exploring the last makes Tamriel seem like a land of infinite possibilities.
As you can probably already tell, I don't think ESO deserves much of the stick that it gets. The game's got a large and dedicated community for a reason -- and the fact that the developer is able to put as much work into the project as it does perhaps tells you everything that you need to know. Funnily enough, though, I don't think it's the MMO aspect of ESO that makes it worth playing. It's the other half of the equation -- the RPG half -- that's always clicked for me.
ESO isn't a single-player game -- you obviously have to be online to play -- but contrary to what many may think, it's entirely possible to enjoy the vast majority of content alone. Unlike a lot of MMOs, a surprising amount of effort has been invested in making the release feel like your typical single-player fantasy RPG. All the non-playable character dialogue is fully voiced. There's a quest or two around every corner. There are lengthy, branching storylines that guide you from one location to the next, with recurring characters offering touches of personal investment.
Simply put, ESO is better at being an RPG than a lot of other RPGs -- and that's the case even when taking the presence of other players into account. There are quests in ESO that, dare I say it, are better than the ones that you'd find in an actual single-player Elder Scrolls game. Hell, they're delivered by better characters -- more memorable characters.
Impressively, player choice in ESO is more prominent than it is in the core series -- and that's quite bizarre when you stop and think about it. Numerous quests end with tough moral decisions that are yours to make. Characters that you've got to know over the course of several adventures can be killed off, and your actions are often referenced deeper into the game. It's the kind of thing I never expected when I first started ESO, but there's no denying that the ability to leave my mark on the story has kept me invested.
I'd argue that ZeniMax Online Studios has doubled down on these RPG principles over the last couple of years to great effect. Both Morrowind and Summerset -- the title's two biggest expansions -- have featured some of the best, most inventive quests in the whole game. And again, this is an MMORPG we're talking about.
I wanted to shed some light on this side of ESO because I'm sure that it gets overlooked all too often -- at its core it really is a surprisingly robust and well worked RPG. For me, the co-op and player-versus-player stuff is just the icing on the cake. I don't think ESO will ever truly shrug off the (mostly unwarranted) criticism that comes courtesy of it not being a "proper" Elder Scrolls title, but I'd encourage fans of the genre to at least give it a shot. Back in 2015, I never thought I'd be frequently returning to ESO just to see how single-player storylines would end.
Have you played The Elder Scrolls Online? What do you think of it as an RPG? Make some difficult moral decisions in the comments section below.
Comments 31
I just dont like all that online stuff. It forces me to stay with one game same goes for liveserviceeeeee games at €60 starting price just a joke.
@Flaming_Kaiser You can buy a brand new copy of ESO for about £9 now to be fair.
I agree that if you just treat it as an solo RPG then it's an ok game. The problems it has are the same as all other MMO games though; end game content and the toxicity that it engenders. If I wanted more macho BS in my life I would just go out more; as it is, I see enough of it IRL, and I play games to escape that kind of thing, so it doesn't appeal to me. You know the sort of thing "if you don't have xxxx DPS we won't play with you or help you". Life's too short. Other that that it's a good game, and, to me anyway, an appetiser for the next proper ES game.
Ya know, I haven't played an MMO since back in my WoW days from ~2006 until 2012-ish and Guild Wars before that.
Reading your write up on how the game has a more RPG focus compared to MMO and additionally seeing how the game dropped it's monthly fees a few years ago is making the first leap tempting.
I spent god knows how many hours playing ESO and loved every minute. I got up to Level 50 and then started the Veteran quests. Even though its a MMO I simply played it like a standard RPG. Unlike FFXIV you're not forced to team up with people to continue the story. There is loads to do with other players if you like and guild quests and all that jazz, but, I can't be arsed with that.
I remember playing FFXIV and had to do a team quest to continue with the story and one person in the team actually sat his character on the floor and refused to continue. He/she would only continue if I changed my character to a TANK rater than some wizardy thing!!! Suffice to say I left that group and joined another and cracked on, with what was otherwise, an excellent game.
I just found the enviroment to be sparse, it felt really empty and just overall appearance was washed out and boring, the few quests I tried were dull. I may have cared more for ESO generally if I'd played a Scrolls game before, I havent. Skyrrim VR is on the shelf, sealed.
@ShogunRok The Elder Scrolls Online Tamriel Unlimited... wut
I have this game and have spent maybe six to eight hours with it. So I still feel like I'm very much in the hand holding, tutorial part of the game, which is always the least interesting part for me. I'm struggling to get past it.
The mid-2000's PC graphics aren't making me gag to get back in, though I'm trying to be okay with it. After reading this article, I think I'm inspired enough to give it another shot.
I played the demo a while back and couldn't really get into it. I think the actiony style of the combat threw me off and the fact that the character felt a little weightless. I'd been playing the excellent FFXIV for 3 years so I don't think that helped.
I think I've outgrown the endless MMO or FTP games (Warframe, etc). After a decade plus of EverCrack and WoW, I'm done with the grinding. I do miss the community, but not the endless grind and constant RNG Goddess fight
I’m partially tempted to try this even though I’m not one for mmo’s. I wouldn’t play by myself but I’m looking for some games to co-op with one other person and I’ve been thinking about this. Idk, I’m still on the fence.
"There's a quest or two around every corner"
Surely understatement of the year! When I first started playing this I was actually quite overwhelmed with just how many quests I was picking up.
@ShogunRok Great write up man. I recently have just discovered TES with Skyrim on the Switch and.now going back and playing Oblivion on the Xbox One. Xbox has ESO as part of it's Game Pass and I have thought of checking it out.
Do they have a GOTY edition that includes all the Expansions or do you have to buy them separate.
I tried TESO for several months after it was first released. Having been a huge fan of the elder scrolls series, I wanted to give it chance. I agree that the MMO combat and progression gameplay mechanics of the game are good, and that there is a huge, varied, world to explore. That being said, there were many things that eventually grated on me until I simply lost my ability to have passion for the game. Some of these things I probably felt because I was a huge fan of the series, and are a matter of personal preference.
(1) Too many aspects of the lore were butchered, retconned, or otherwise set forth in a way that made no sense, especially for those of use that have played Morrowind. People being allowed to settle on Vvardenfell other than the Temple? Dark Elves allied with Argonians? Yes, there are technical reasons behind the alliance, but they are dull and uninteresting. The whole set of three alliances mechanic seems like an excuse to allow for pvp, rather than a well-written piece of lore.
(2) The class system is bland and uninteresting, with few abilities. Very few of the classes actually have roots in elder scrolls lore in the context of previous games. There are two few class abilities, and the ones that do exist lack creativity.
(3) There's too much "everybody can do everything" going on. You can experience another part of the alliance's content, join any guild, have few drawbacks to becoming a vampire/werewolf, etc. This makes playthroughs bland and discourages playing through different factions
Played ESO a bit ago and I enjoyed it for a short while. But the class system is boring and unimaginative, there's no real proper endgame and it lacks a lot of depth that other, proper MMORPGs have. I'm also still salty from when they nerfed Templar healing abilities because streamers were crying that they couldnt solo kill dozens and dozens of players in pvp with their nightblade builds because the Templar's healing was "too op". That plus the One Tamriel thing is what killed the game for me, being able to join buddies in other alliances is great and all but it took away all sense of progression and made levelling up pointless.
No.
The content in the game is oustanding and there is a huge variety of things to do in game. For me its one of the best games on PS4.
Elder Scrolls? More like Meh-lder Scrolls.
I try and try to get into this game, but I just can't do it. The combat is too floaty and flimsy feeling, the environments are sparse and uninteresting, the overall art direction and graphics are boring and, more often than not, downright ugly, and progression is incredibly boring. I just can't get into it when I can easily play and enjoy FFXIV much more with even paying a subscription.
Fully agree with this, bought ESO just before Summerset expansion and loved what I’ve played so far, have found zero toxicity in the game, found the world to be beautiful and full of reasons to explore, the combat is fun with plenty of interesting spells and skills to customize and the pvp stuff is very cool I’ve played it almost exclusively as a single player experience and as a game that I dip in and out of from time to time and clear a few quests. The quests as Ramsey says are well crafted with and often have branching elements to them, the NPCs tend to be varied and colorful and the quests are usually interesting. Highly recommend to any fan of Elder Scrolls who is looking for an experience to bridge the wait til Elder Scrolls VI
I have always enjoyed ESO, i dip in and out every couple of months to start a new character and check out whats new.
Well, one look at this comments section tells you how divisive this game is.
I enjoyed eso for a long time. I'd say 90% of the time I was soloing. Once I got to max level that is where the real MMO parts kicked in and I stopped playing. Great game overall though.
I got this on a Steam sale, but I haven’t tried it yet. It looks the most promising MMO to ever exist though, so I should at some point.
I enjoy Skyrim on my PS4. It looks good and performs very well on my regular and pro PS4's.
Although i may never have the time for ESO i have been curious about it and how well it performs on the PS4. Also how fast of internet speed is needed?
ESO is a buggy grind... a poor mmo and a worse addition to the Elder Scrolls universe... and yes I'm one of the fools that have invested years in the hope to see some improvement.... it hasn't happened yet!
I'm not into the hardcore end game stuff in MMOs, I just like playing through the main stories and hooking up randoms in dungeons. I absolutely loved FFXIV's Heavensward which I played mostly solo. Honestly, it has one of the most enjoyable FF stories that I've played in years.
@NoCode23 It performs very well on the PS4,. I've just upgraded to a Pro and it looks really nice with the enhanced mode or 4K graphics. Internet speed doesn't have to be that quick (I've resisted the urge to go over to fibre and am still on copper) and the only lag you tend to get is at busy way shrines on the map.
Overall I think it's actually one of the best games on the PS4 (if you're into fantasy RPGs obviously!) and regularly occupies most of my time on the PS4.
It's funny, a couple of years ago this site, and many others, were predicting the death of single player games; now it seem like anything but. Many gamers are bored with MMOs, because they are unimaginative, and if you want to play any kind of endgame, you are stuck with the same "git gud" bozo mentality that most sane people are desperate to escape from (like, if I wanted to join the army I would join the army). Other than that, most MMOs are just a boring grind. ESO is one of the better ones to be fair, but it's not great.
The game has changed massively since its launch over the years, not least with one tamriel. More recent additions of features like transmuting traits on armor n weapons plus jewellery crafting makes my terrible luck with RNG a lot more bearable. In the last 18 months I've hardly touched any other game & there's still loads of content and quests I haven't done. For 9.99 a month eso plus is great value giving access to all dlc areas (except morrowind n Summerset) and the free 1500 crowns with it gives the 9.99 value on its own, personally I'd pay that just for the endless space in the craft bag. The game can be glitchy n laggy but they do regular maintenance which helps. I have found, as with all in life, a few not so nice players but the overall helpful n friendly community makes the game even better as you'll always find someone to run end game content with once your ready. A lot of WoW players seem to be on eso nowadays so that must be a good sign!
it just doesn't really have much of an endgame tho..
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