MMORPG’s (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) are huge massive beasts when it comes to size and scale in the gaming world. And as such, they can be very difficult to review. The amount of time people invest into the right MMORPG racks up into the 100’s/1000’s of hours. They will have large worlds to explore, multiple races of characters to reach level caps, different skills trees to invest in for each of those characters. And to help you along there is PVE and PVP content to delve into. Such is the scale of an MMORPG, it is accepted that there will be glitches, issues, launch problems and regular server downtime to improve said problems and fix bugs. And The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited is no different. Looking back at that list you can probably see why this genre of game can be difficult to review. Which is why this is more of a ‘review so far’ piece rather than a full review of the game. I haven’t ‘completed’ ESO, in fact I have likely barely scratched the surface. Luckily, I managed to get a good impression of the game when it was first released on PC, which helped me along in getting this review done. MMORPG’s are rare on consoles, so to get one based on such a well revered series is great for consoles gamers. Whether the transfer to consoles is a good one however, is to be seen.
Firstly, this isn’t the next game along from Skyrim, it doesn’t really play like the usual Elder Scrolls game, but does use its history and lore to good effect. I’m not going to spend much time going through the differences of the game types, but know this – wandering off in different directions to explore random ruins to find new loot is not what this game is about. It is something quite different, and it is a game world that you can share with friends and strangers alike – whether that is a good thing or not really depends on you.
The first few days with ESO on Xbox One, clearly showed me that there were a few issues – gamebreaking at times. I regularly came across broken quests, with NPC’s not appearing or not being interactable (if that isn’t a word, it is now!) meaning said quests couldn’t continue. There were times where there were invisible enemies shooting me from god knows where. I couldn’t defend against them, or run away from wherever the damage was coming from, meaning I died, and lost durability on items (more on that in a bit). There was even a point where my own character disappeared and I was a static in the world unable to move. But these things happen, and after a few times restarting the game they always seemed to fix themselves. Annoying if you aren’t used to it, but veterans of the genre will tell you that it’s all part of the experience.
To start the game you create you character choosing one of ten races across three different alliances. There are loads of customisation options, from the expected height, weight etc. to even more in depth settings such a cheek and forehead shape/size. Each different faction (Ebonheart Pact, Aldermeri Dominion and Daggerfall Covenant) have their own starting zones after leaving the short tutorial area of Coldharbour, so there is plenty of replayability with new places and people to see with each faction that you choose. Fans of the Elder Scrolls will be familiar with plenty of the areas of the game, with places from past games making an appearance. Hell, the entire of Cyrodiil (the game world for Oblivion) makes up the massive PVP map. Where the 3 factions fight it out for control.
Let’s get into the actual gameplay then. The basics of the game are quite easy to grasp. The story is spelled out quite simply at the beginning – and you soon have a purpose. The real time combat system suits the controller well. Unlike other games of similar ilk, ESO has limited the amount of powers that can be mapped/used. This means controlling them can be linked to a press of the B,X,Y and the shoulder buttons. If you look at something like Star Wars: The Old Republic on PC for example, hotkeys are set up across all the numbers buttons on a keyboard – something that would not transfer over to a controller. But like I say, it works well in this instance, even if it does make it a bit more challenging to decide which skills you want to use at any one time. Don’t expect fluid combat like you’d see in The Witcher 3, or the Batman Arkham series for example, but just a solid system that suits the game, and in first person view, will make fans of the single player series feel right at home.
So far so good then, it all sounds very promising. Now all we need is something to keep you invested. And here is where I think ESO falls a little flat. Yes there is a LOT to do here, but the vast majority seems a bit like filler content. There is SO MUCH fetch questing going on, and it wouldn’t be so bad, but the NPC’s inject so little life into what they are saying, I found myself constantly skipping all the dialogue and just running off, completing the quest, and running back to turn it in. It is a game that quickly turns into a bit of a grind. Not necessarily a bad grind as such, I’ve seen worse, but it can become a bit of a chore to sit through for long periods of time. If it wasn’t for the Elder Scrolls element, I may not have persevered.
You may have noticed I’ve not mentioned the multiplayer aspect yet. And it’s because, from what I have been able to see so far, the console community is just not ready for this type of game. On PC, there is a text chat that is present on the screen allowing gamers to chat with each other, look for people to group with, trade with etc. It was clear that this couldn’t be implemented on console. The compromise has been an area voice chat, and a looking for group option in the menu to try to group up with like minded players, whether it is a specific dungeon, or just generally joining up in the world. I’ve found issues with both; the area chat is usually silent of full of people who have left their Kinect on so you can hear them telling their dog to get out of the way of the TV. The grouping will throw you in with anyone else waiting on the list, and not one single person so far has talked to me, so we were just separate character, wandering about in separate places on the map, doing separate things – absolutely pointless. Joining up with friend I’m sure is great, but without that option you’re a lonely person, in a big world. In all fairness, the main campaign can be completed solo, as can some very (very) small aspects of the PVP. But doesn’t that defy the object of a game like this? If you’re lucky enough to find a guild of people that you can play with, then it will give a whole new depth to the game than you could have solo, and if I had been in that position it might have improved my initial impressions of the game.
My concerns also go to other aspects of the game. The mechanics in an MMO are very deep, something that (again) PC gamers are used to, but consoles gamers may not be. Things such as crafting, learning, enchanting and riding a mount. Everything that an MMO gamer would expect are present, but can quite easily be overlooked, and are not really explained enough. Everything is hidden within the menu. Granted it would take a very long tutorial level to go through all the different things you can do, but I just think it needs something a little bit more.
From what I’ve seen so far from ESO: Tamriel Edition, I am fairly impressed by how it has been transferred to console. But my impressions of when I played it on PC still resonate here. It still seems uncomfortable in its own skin. A game that can be played a lot solo, but doesn’t tick the boxes a solo Elder Scrolls gamer would want from a game, a game that should be played with others, but barriers to find the right ‘others’ make it difficult to experience it. There is plenty that I haven’t covered here, partly because I’d begin to waffle, and partly because I’ve not played enough to write about it – PVP for example. I hope to find a group of gamers that I can play with over the coming weeks to be able to amend this review, but if that doesn’t come to fruition, then I’m left with thinking – it’s a solid enough game, and if you’re looking to try an MMORPG on console, then it’s definitely worth a bash. If you’re an experienced MMORPG fan, and have experience on PC, then you should really stay there, because this won’t convince you to trade the keyboard and mouse in for a controller.
**Thank you to the XCN for the opportunity to review this game**