The Elder Scrolls Online Reviews

The Elder Scrolls Online: The Gold Road is a testament to good MMO development, and proves ESO is here to stay. A must play for Elder Scrolls lore fans, online and offline.

“The Elder Scrolls Online combines the best of Elder Scrolls with the worst of the MMO genre.”

Walking in Narsis.

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.

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.

If you're considering The Elder Scrolls Online, or looking for a new Massively Multiple Online Role Playing Game, you should definitely give it a shot.

Massively Multiplayer games have existed for many years, but in 2004 Blizzard’s World of Warcraft turned the genre squarely on its ear. Challengers such as Guild Wars, The Old Republic, and Final Fantasy XIV have tested their might and been well received, but none have yet been able to topple Blizzard’s juggernaut. The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) now steps into the ring, armed with 20 years of Elder Scrolls lore, 5 years of development, and a $15 monthly fee. Does it stand up to the titans of the genre?

Bethesda's big budget, massively multiplayer trip to Tamriel has some great ideas, but struggles with execution in places.

In theory, I can’t say enough good things about the quality of Elder Scrolls Online’s adaptation to consoles. It’s a faithful, smart and almost completely comprehensive way of getting the ESO experience. But it’s been over 15 months since I last visited Tamriel in the Second Age, and I was really saddened to see the game hasn’t become any more compelling in the interim.

The review’s already gigantic and there’s no way I’ll mention everything I want to, so I’ll keep things brief in the summary. If you’re after a more single-player-quest-focused MMO with an Elder Scrolls feel, with a helpful community that will rush to aid you at every problem, and don’t mind that a lot of the quests are just a matter of following waypoints then you’ll enjoy Elder Scrolls Online. If you particularly like the idea of a giant online fantasy PVP war as late-to-end-g...

Better at being an MMORPG than an Elder Scrolls game, The Elder Scrolls Online is still highly recommended to genre and series fans, as long as they adjust their expectations going into it.

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To be explicitly clear, if you don’t enjoy MMORPGs, you probably won’t enjoy The Elder Scrolls Online. Its strong character progression and combat systems better suit the offline Elder Scrolls games than in most MMOs, but it’s very much a game about adventuring with other players. As a fan of both MMORPGs and the Elder Scrolls series, I found it to be one of the most rewarding games in the genre in years. Even while it’s troubled by some extremely annoying bugs and will probably never look great, I’ve loved my time questing through Tamriel, and I look forward to logging back in soon. Note: Relive Leif's 170-hour odyssey in The Elder Scrolls Online by reading his Review in Progress Journal.