The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood

If it has been a while since you have visited Tamriel, then Blackwood is definitely a great place to jump back into The Elder Scrolls Online. There will be a familiarity to the game, as the new features of Companions and Oblivion Portal do not add too much to the game. Whereby the Greymoor expansion added Antiquities, Blackwood simply offers a friend to journey by your side. But in saying that, these companions are a welcome addition to the online RPG – allowing those singleplayer types to enjoy a pseudo multiplayer experience.

Though Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood piqued my interest because of its familiar characters and areas, and though they were exciting for a short time, I never found myself excited to push on in this chapter.

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.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood delivers more of the same – albeit this new helping is a step up from last year’s Greymoor expansion in its often funny writing and striking map layout. Blackwood leans hard on its nostalgia, but it actually manages to feel like an appropriate prequel to Oblivion without forcing you down too many of the same paths. Its companion system is definitely worth checking out, too, but it may not be enough gameplay variety to recommit a fan who is tired of ESO in general. For those of us who are still happily jogging along on the treadmill, though, there’s plenty to do and see here, if for no other reason than to simply fortify your understanding of Elder Scrolls lore.

Over the course of its expansions, The Elder Scrolls Online continues to deliver what is expected of it ... or almost. With Blackwood, the content available is certainly interesting, especially when you are a fan of Oblivion, but you should not expect more. By choosing to direct it towards new players, Zenimax Online is probably forgetting its hard core a little on the side of a road that is too monotonous. The observation made in 2019 as in 2020 is therefore the same here, and what could be understandable at the time is much less so in 2021 when the competition sometimes competes with ingenuity to surprise us. A first warning shot that must however be weighed in view of the work carried out on the lore, which is still as fascinating as ever.

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.

ESO Blackwood feels and plays more like an interim update than a significant new expansion. That could change with new additions over the next year, but I think it’s time for ZeniMax to step back and take longer than a year to create these new expansions. Fan service is fine, but it should be anchored to something more solid and substantial as well to make it worthwhile. Until that happens, just wait for a sale.