The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited

 PC
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 484 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 393 out of 484
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 484
  3. Negative: 66 out of 484
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  1. stormlegionx9
    Jun 9, 2015
    10
    A huge improvement over Beta version.

    + Best Graphics in the Genre + Best Combat in the Genre (shared with Tera) + Best Story in the Genre + Best Quests in the Genre + Best Professions in the Genre + Best Dungeons in the Genre + Most Detailed Landscapes in the Genre + Best PvP Endgame in the Genre + Best PvE in the Genre + Best RP in the Genre ... - Grouping Tool needs some    A huge improvement over Beta version.

    + Best Graphics in the Genre
    + Best Combat in the Genre (shared with Tera)
    + Best Story in the Genre
    + Best Quests in the Genre
    + Best Professions in the Genre
    + Best Dungeons in the Genre
    + Most Detailed Landscapes in the Genre
    + Best PvP Endgame in the Genre
    + Best PvE in the Genre
    + Best RP in the Genre
    ...

    - Grouping Tool needs some love
    - Endgame PvE isn't as good as it could be (especially when dungeons are so well designed)

    I couldn't be more happy with my purchase. ESO is the best game to have come in years. Amazing how they turned it all around. Go buy it.    … Expand
  2. Darkiboo
    Feb 16, 2022
    3
    Since ESO's transition to Free-To-Play and a Paid Subscription model, the game has failed to balance the two differing game environments.

    In Free-To-Play games, you can expect long wait times to complete activities, grinds to compel you to pay up for convenience, repetitive content only varied with additional purchases, and more RNG than deserves to exist in 2022. Even as a Paid    Since ESO's transition to Free-To-Play and a Paid Subscription model, the game has failed to balance the two differing game environments.

    In Free-To-Play games, you can expect long wait times to complete activities, grinds to compel you to pay up for convenience, repetitive content only varied with additional purchases, and more RNG than deserves to exist in 2022. Even as a Paid Subscriber, you must endure all of this.

    ESO prides itself on making hoarders and collectors of out every player. In order to experience convenience, you must experienced hours and hours of inconvenience. In order to attain gear, you must steadily fill a stickerbook that can then reconstruct any obtained gear for the very rare currency of transmute crystals. In order to make money, you need to purchase additional character slots, or own a second account, and complete the exact same set of money-making dailies to feel you can have a say in the ever-inflating marketplace. Every solution to the above problems and more can be solved with the purchase of the game's monetary currency: crowns, buying the newest chapter or DLC (they are separate), or being a paid subscriber to earn 10% increased gold and double transmute crystal storage--though you're likely never to reach that threshold.

    There is something for everyone in ESO and that has how the developer's intend for the game to be going forward. The plans for 2022 and beyond include adding even more superficial systems, creating more grinds and collection incentives, and overall inundating players with more choices than is healthy in a videogame. They do not revisit old content without great intervention and as a new policy in 2022 will not deepen any existing systems. The amount of options for your dwindling free time will be overwhelming to you now and more so in the future; with each day, you'll know you're missing out on something. This long, drawn-out playtime culminates in you playing ESO for decades to come--and still not completing any activity available.

    Elder Scrolls Online would do well to limit it's Free-To-Play model to a level cap or certain activities, allowing Paid Subscribers to actually reap the benefits of putting in money. But as it stands, you are no different than a chore-working robot, desperately trying to engage with the game that wants to instill unhealthy habits in you. 2022 will define what kind of player they want: the passive slave, or the struggling addict. Your love of the Elder Scrolls IP will be tested as you enable or rebel against this fate.    … Expand
  3. pixpaz
    Mar 5, 2016
    5
    I have played this game on and off since its beta 3 years ago. I have quit and come back 3 times. The reason I returned were the Elder Scrolls lore, the Art style and the story telling. The reason I quit are the boring, repetitive combat and the grinding. There is way too much grind in this game and it gets in the way of being able to happily "play the way you want to". Much of the grindI have played this game on and off since its beta 3 years ago. I have quit and come back 3 times. The reason I returned were the Elder Scrolls lore, the Art style and the story telling. The reason I quit are the boring, repetitive combat and the grinding. There is way too much grind in this game and it gets in the way of being able to happily "play the way you want to". Much of the grind is sneaky with some extra kind of grind added right when you think you have got somewhere by a different mechanic just before you can complete. Every achievement feels like a let down because you are rewarded with a big slice of grind cake.… Expand
  4. sunnybeach
    Jul 2, 2015
    6
    A huge world to explore and countless quests to do, with very good graphics and lots of voice animation. This, together with the foundation of one of the most known gaming series, should be the perfect recipe for new and groundbreaking AAA MMO.
    Sadly, it's not.
    After more than a year of playing and waiting, I have to say "enough is enough" and be honest about it to myself and others.    A huge world to explore and countless quests to do, with very good graphics and lots of voice animation. This, together with the foundation of one of the most known gaming series, should be the perfect recipe for new and groundbreaking AAA MMO.
    Sadly, it's not.
    After more than a year of playing and waiting, I have to say "enough is enough" and be honest about it to myself and others. I've been praising it for a long time. Even with all bugs from launch day that were not fixed, I kept my optimism and always gave ESO a good score. I just can't, any more.

    - PVP that is nothing more but a zerg campaign and is so lag infested, many are lucky if they can level up their characters with PVP alone or play without rubber banding
    - general lag and disconnects even after 1+ years
    - 2 thirds of the game is nothing more but huge grind. The biggest problem of ESO is the way it's managed. Soon after launch, some players were already at max level and were being vocal about nothing to do. ESO management decided to prove how out of touch with running MMO they are, so they simply and quickly added a huge amount of "something" to do. They basically said "go play as other alliances", which added twice as much questing and "something" to do while completely destroying any kind of immersion a player might feel and making those 2 thirds of the game a complete grind. You just do quest after quest in a desire to get to the end as fast as possible, as you soon realize you are just a donkey following the carrot. Without any story to back this up.
    - non functional grouping tool. Can anyone name a MMO that has been developed in recent time and had a tool for making groups, but that tool was not working properly, or at all, for more than a year? Well, now you can. You need to spam chat box or stand in front of the dungeon entrance in order to get a group. If you are a PC player, that is. Console players don't have chat, so they are forced to stand in front of the dungeon entrance to get a group or listen to a heavy breather on their voice chat.
    - no new content for more than a year
    - promises that turn into excuses and/or silence
    - which leads me to appalling communication by devs, CS dept or anyone from ZOS. Instead of their official forum, they use reddit for update information and their own forum for reading practice, as they rarely comment on anything. Vast majority of official representation in their own forum is forum moderation and one liners. There are countless threads asking for information about problems, ideas, feedback and they are left without a single official comment or pointer.
    - CS system which is the biggest grind fest in recent history and is ALREADY dividing players into have and have nots (in terms of the amount of CPs) and this is only going to get worse as CP grinders will continue to get more and more ahead of casuals. ZOS's only response (silent and sneaky one without any previous comments) was, and still is, to nerf popular grinding spots.
    - combat system that has (without prior knowledge or understanding by the devs) introduced animation cancelling, which brought macroing into the game. And that is only because ZOS deemed that the effort to improve combat system would take too much work, so they simply turned what had begun as an exploit, into officially sanctioned behavior. Even after many players warned them it will lead to macroing. At which point they used their "silence" card. Giving macro-ers carte blanche to start spreading through Tamriel.
    - cash shop is the only thing that has seen any kind of update, in more than a year. It appears they spend more time developing new (just a different skin) cash shop items than they do fixing bugs or working on a new game content.
    - what started as challenging and fun combat experience has turned into "play with one hand while eating a sandwich with the other" playground.
    - no new content for more than a year
    - ESO management is just bad

    Graphics: 8 (it would get 9, but after a while you notice that delves (solo dungeons) are simply copy pasted, and the entire world is in different shades of gray, green or brown.)
    Sound: 7
    Community: 8
    Role playing:8
    Performance/lag: 5
    Service: 2

    Value: 6.5

    This is my own, personal review and does not reflect the opinion of many ESO players. I have been playing ESO from PC launch and have seen all good and bad that is ESO. I am not a hard core player, so I usually find the desire to play a good game for at least two, three years, but ESO is just not worth the effort as it does not give you anything new, different, challenging or fun after you've completed one 1-50 run. So even alt-ing is out of the question.    … Expand
  5. Telembrium
    Mar 24, 2018
    1
    The Elder Scrolls Online is a another "triple a" MMORPG that fails to provide a unique experience or even basic roleplay functionality. It is, in essence, a collection of fetch quests given out by characters you could care less about in a world that, despite having the entirety of the elder scrolls universe available to it, fails to provide any sort of unique world, story, or environments.The Elder Scrolls Online is a another "triple a" MMORPG that fails to provide a unique experience or even basic roleplay functionality. It is, in essence, a collection of fetch quests given out by characters you could care less about in a world that, despite having the entirety of the elder scrolls universe available to it, fails to provide any sort of unique world, story, or environments. You bet your rear end that there's a cash shop, an ("optional") subscription fee, an upfront cost, as well as DLC to buy for it, though.

    After suffering through an uninspired "You are the chosen one." style tutorial which treats you like you've never played a game before, you're dumped on a dumpy island where the game ushers you towards speaking to more uninteresting characters. After that, it's back to more tutorial-esque "look at the enemy and mash m1" combat that desperate begs for an auto-attack function. At this point, I couldn't stand it any longer and began to search for interesting content, only to find that the game is just a big, bland set piece filled with hostile trash mobs. In about an hour of wandering outside the city of Daggerfall, I only found two characters I could actually speak to. The first was a generic merchant with bad voice acting. The second was some insane guy who accused me of being a mudcrab. This is the only interesting character I encountered in the game. Although I felt bad doing it, the man had insulted my honour, and I was obligated to kill him. Surprisingly, the game let me do it, but unsurprisingly, it went right back to being lame by putting a bounty on my head despite the fact that there were no law-abiding characters for miles around to report me. I gave up on it right there.

    On top of this, the game looks bad, despite being gigantic in size. It has blurry textures, regular pop-in rendering, a weird issue with rendering shadows that causes interlocking grid-like patterns overlaid on things, poor-looking character models, animations with too few frames, death animations that rival the original Half-Life in fidelity, and environments that feel like the same twenty or so props were just copy and pasted indefinitely over a displacement mesh.

    Furthermore, the game's website is godawful. Normally, I wouldn't even critique this, but using this website for even ten minutes is aggravating. I had pages take several MINUTES to load, as it loaded a seemingly blank page and then reloaded itself repeatedly, as if a scripting element were broken and it didn't know what to do. It would do this even without any browser plug-ins installed. Navigation was awful. There were header links on different pages of the site with the same titles that would bring you to completely different areas. You would have to log in multiple times for no apparent reason. Sometimes the log in button wouldn't work at all, and you would have to refresh and re-enter your details (after the several minute loading loop finished, of course). It was the closest thing I've experienced to using dial-up in a nearly a decade.

    If you want a game in which you can actually role-play, this isn't it. This is another generic "Bullet Sponge Trash Mob Killing Spree: The Totally Original Button Mashing EXTREME Edition" MMO. I don't even know if there is anything to do other than combat. The tutorial didn't show anything apart from that and lock-picking. The lock-picking, by the way, was so unintuitive that I had to Google how to do it, though I had admittedly been skipping all the dialogue at that point, as it was insufferable. I can't tell you a single unique feature of this game, other than its facade of being an Elder Scrolls game and its unprecedentedly large file size. Between that, the poor graphics, the horrendous website, and, of course, the quadruple dipping in monetisation methods, it's quite clear that the motives behind its creation were in greed rather than passion.    … Expand
  6. Forgewolf
    Jun 26, 2015
    8
    Many of the things the game does right:

    1. Lore and plenty of it! 2. Quests feel a bit more dynamic. Its not always kill or collect X amount of things. Some bosses have to be defeated/killed in a specific way. Quest guidance is simplistic to follow, making grinding not so painful. 3. Many ways to making gold. Through quests, crafting, stealing, etc. 4. Werewolf transformation =    Many of the things the game does right:

    1. Lore and plenty of it!

    2. Quests feel a bit more dynamic. Its not always kill or collect X amount of things. Some bosses have to be defeated/killed in a specific way. Quest guidance is simplistic to follow, making grinding not so painful.

    3. Many ways to making gold. Through quests, crafting, stealing, etc.

    4. Werewolf transformation = Awesome

    6. It's a bit confusing to start, but once you figure how things work or run, its easy to keep coming back for more.

    7. Has improved since the Beta launch

    8. Playing in first person is better than playing in Third Person.. Odd for an MMO, but its works well in this game.

    9. Haven't not felt that "WoW Clone" experience yet. It does feel like an Elder Scrolls game.

    10. Character customization like any other Elder Scrolls game.

    --------------------------------
    Minor Flaws:

    1. Subscription value needs improvement. I believe that 10% bonus to gold and exp should be raised by 1% every month you stay subscribed. That would get me to stick with it longer.

    2. The Crown store is a good concept to help fund the server costs, but it feels like it's missing content to truly make it feel like a premium service.

    3. A little annoyed at the increasing cost for carry capacity of both inventory and bank space.

    -----------------------------------
    Only two major flaws I've noticed so far from playing.

    1. Lack of new, interesting, deep and expansive content. World just feels a bit hollow, like its missing something.

    2. Feels like a Massive Singleplayer Online game. There are other players you see, other people you see talking.. but the interaction is not there. We need to see something to bring the community together and in a way that makes us want to actually interact with each other    … Expand
  7. TsukasaHiiragi
    Oct 30, 2017
    4
    Always ignore all the 10 fake/paid reviews, they are the worst on metacritic. The sad fact for EOS is that, honestly? Its broken, the core of the game is just broken and Beth/Zeni don't care as long as people continue to spend money in the crown store.

    If you've played any MMO, you'll understand this EOS does not bring anything new to the plate, it just rehashes the same principals    Always ignore all the 10 fake/paid reviews, they are the worst on metacritic. The sad fact for EOS is that, honestly? Its broken, the core of the game is just broken and Beth/Zeni don't care as long as people continue to spend money in the crown store.

    If you've played any MMO, you'll understand this EOS does not bring anything new to the plate, it just rehashes the same principals over and over, new zone? Same quests...fetch this...talk to that person, whilst in this department the game is pretty much playable until you meet broken mobs and ruins the experience completely.

    EOS ranges from being fun and playable to frustratingly broken, imagine running into mobs that frequently knock you through the world or throw you to the other side of the zone, often killing you in the process or WORSE - being banned because you're exploiting the scenery because that 2H mob used uppercut skill and keeps knocking you through the floor into the world below... or another common issue is invisible enemies...trust me, the bug list is fairly extensive.

    Now, add insult to further injury with the crown store and Beth severely over-monetizing the game, they literally want to sell you everything, and it isn't cheap either. Then comes the psuedo 'free' to play as long as you buy the game, lets make things clear - YES you can play free, but with some very heavy limitations which will heavily impact everything you do, essentially if you want to seriously play, then the monthly subscription is required.

    There are more issues such as requiring you to join a trade guild if you want to sell items (auction system), this system has always been controversial but frankly, it sucks and is needless complicated and annoying, there are addons which can help - but not by much.    … Expand
  8. Pronounce
    Nov 5, 2017
    3
    I had high hopes for playing in the realm of Mundus on the planet Nirn, but what ZinMax is offering to the MMORPG community is quite depressing to me.

    Comparatively you just have to look at active reviews to see what's going on. The 2004 released WoW base game, not including the expansions, has 14 reviews in the last year, and 2014 released ESO has 4 reviews in the last year.    I had high hopes for playing in the realm of Mundus on the planet Nirn, but what ZinMax is offering to the MMORPG community is quite depressing to me.

    Comparatively you just have to look at active reviews to see what's going on.

    The 2004 released WoW base game, not including the expansions, has 14 reviews in the last year, and 2014 released ESO has 4 reviews in the last year.

    According to Wikipedia: "In February 2017, it was announced that the game had surpassed over 8.5 million in retail sales having around one million monthly active players."

    I suspect that the people who are still buying and checking out ESO are bored Skyrim players depressed over the fact Bethesda isn't going to deliver a new Elder Scroll title anytime soon.

    If that's you, then I recommend you stay in Skyrim and pass on purchasing ESO.    … Expand
  9. DemonHeroKing
    Nov 13, 2019
    0
    It was a good game until level scaling! What the point of leveling up if you don't feel stronger, that's the whole point of an RPG. Absolute ****
  10. Rohaldos
    Nov 5, 2015
    9
    One of the best mmo around.

    The storyline is just great and the quests are very interesting to follow. The Graphics is just fantastic and the Dungeons are very well designed. It is incredible the level of details and lore that you find adventuring in game. The combat system is very dynamic and fun play. You can play the game mouse+keyboard or Gamepad using third party software( i    One of the best mmo around.

    The storyline is just great and the quests are very interesting to follow. The Graphics is just fantastic and the Dungeons are very well designed. It is incredible the level of details and lore that you find adventuring in game.

    The combat system is very dynamic and fun play. You can play the game mouse+keyboard or Gamepad using third party software( i play with game pad sitting on the sofà :) there is nothing more relaxing!).

    I am very happy with the purchase, Bethesda is regularly releasing DLC expanding the story and the World.

    Who played the beta must try the game again.

    I give 9 out of 10 just because the game does not have native game pad support.    … Expand
  11. EasilyAnnoyed
    Nov 11, 2015
    9
    I had a chance to try this game in its original beta. I went in knowing it wouldn't be the same Elder Scrolls experience as Morrowind or Skyrim. But I felt it would still be a solid MMO with Elder Scrolls undertones. I was quite disappointed on both fronts, and passed at launch.

    Once the game went buy-to-play and I got to see what people were saying about the game, I took an interest.    I had a chance to try this game in its original beta. I went in knowing it wouldn't be the same Elder Scrolls experience as Morrowind or Skyrim. But I felt it would still be a solid MMO with Elder Scrolls undertones. I was quite disappointed on both fronts, and passed at launch.

    Once the game went buy-to-play and I got to see what people were saying about the game, I took an interest. My wife and I both took a chance and grabbed a copy. Within 2 days, we took up the optional premium subscription. It's that good.

    The experience is not flawless, but it's damned good. The crafting system works. With only a few exceptions, the main stories AND side quests are fun and engaging. The game supports addons, and some are very useful. Hunting for skyshards in random dungeons is great fun. The classes are well-thought out and feel good to play. The build customization offers a reasonable amount of choices, though I wish some of the skill choices were a bit more meaningful. The world feels more alive and definitely feels more Elder Scrolls than it used to. The single player TES games it isn't, not at all. But the flavor is there, at least in some capacity.

    Performance in this MMO is generally good. There are typical MMO weak points such as FPS drops in major towns or when many players are on screen flinging spells. There are some bugs and even the occasional crash. However, these things are infrequent and I find they don't interfere with my enjoyment the way they do in SWTOR.

    Bugs and imbalances exist (it's an MMO afterall) but Zenimax has definitely been on top of things with support patches. I'm actually very impressed with their cadence of support updates. They have also released DLC updates to the game to give players more to do.

    All said, I find fantasy MMOs WAY overdone and predictable. And yet, this game keeps me coming back for more. So believe me when I say if you like the Elder Scrolls, or MMOs at all give this one a try. You'll find something to like.    … Expand
  12. keithianw
    Aug 17, 2015
    10
    To me it's the best MMO out there. Combat is fun, quests are top of the line, great voice acting, great graphics for an MMO, good community of you find the right guilds, love the dye system, endless possibilities for your character as you can pretty much play any role with any class, justice system was a welcome addition, smarter NPCs then most MMOs, PVP Is better than most or all outTo me it's the best MMO out there. Combat is fun, quests are top of the line, great voice acting, great graphics for an MMO, good community of you find the right guilds, love the dye system, endless possibilities for your character as you can pretty much play any role with any class, justice system was a welcome addition, smarter NPCs then most MMOs, PVP Is better than most or all out there, mega server pretty guarantees that population is a non issue, lots of room for growth. I just wish anchors were more varied and meaningful, dungeons a bit more varied, more world boss random type events, and more side RPG things to do but again to me it's the best MMO out there currently.… Expand
  13. alex_dragon
    Jun 3, 2015
    7
    it is indeed alot better than than when it was first launched. however there are several problems that remains to be fixed, there needs to be a trade system like in guild wars 2 like the black lion market where players can sell/buy items. doing that in ESO is so hard and buying items from NPCS is extremely expensive.

    questings in the game is still quite boring and does gets old really    it is indeed alot better than than when it was first launched. however there are several problems that remains to be fixed, there needs to be a trade system like in guild wars 2 like the black lion market where players can sell/buy items. doing that in ESO is so hard and buying items from NPCS is extremely expensive.

    questings in the game is still quite boring and does gets old really fast. costumes bought from the crown store can't be dye into different colors.

    for combat its just click click click and click just like in skyrim, no real hitboxes as long as you aim for the body. PVP is very unique in this game and the siege looks amazing compared to guild wars 2 , however there will be more lag as the game is very heavy in graphics.    … Expand
  14. Huxhux
    Jul 2, 2015
    10
    Everything about this game is so great. I love the character customization which truly lets you choose your playstyle, and gives you the opportunity to switch between roles. I love the itemization. It's not like WoW/FF XIV where it's just an infinite grind add-ons after add-ons. I love the massive and clever PvP. I love the world of tamriel. I love ZOS team and specially their supportEverything about this game is so great. I love the character customization which truly lets you choose your playstyle, and gives you the opportunity to switch between roles. I love the itemization. It's not like WoW/FF XIV where it's just an infinite grind add-ons after add-ons. I love the massive and clever PvP. I love the world of tamriel. I love ZOS team and specially their support team.
    Brilliant!    … Expand
  15. CandarianGaming
    Oct 17, 2016
    9
    Decent diversity in quests, beautiful places to explore, epic boss battles, fun to play solo or/and with other people. Elder scrolls online is exactly what it is
  16. magnusnet
    Nov 23, 2015
    0
    How this game can get a score of 9.0 is baffleing if you look at all the long term issues that it has had since launch that haven't been fixed or have worsenned.

    The game makers are nothing but a bunch of liars first of all, they promised a subscription game, they failed. They promised new exciting content: they failed. The quest is the worst of all TES games, the multiplayer? well    How this game can get a score of 9.0 is baffleing if you look at all the long term issues that it has had since launch that haven't been fixed or have worsenned.

    The game makers are nothing but a bunch of liars first of all, they promised a subscription game, they failed.
    They promised new exciting content: they failed. The quest is the worst of all TES games, the multiplayer? well it's been over a year since new raids have been implemented.
    They promised multiplayer battles with hundreds of players: Look up videos on the internet about the LAG on primetime.
    They introduced the champion system which creates the biggest unbalance in the game, we had to fight to make them limit it but new players will still be unable to compete with old players.
    Class balance is horrible.

    Do yourself a favor, don't waste time & money on this dying game (at least the PC version is dying).

    Game deserves a 6 at most, but since it has a 9.0, I'm gonna have to go with 0 to help bring things to balance.    … Expand
  17. DaedricLord
    Mar 20, 2016
    0
    I bought this game on sale solely because I wanted to experience more of the Elder Scrolls. But the result is terrible. I will get to the details for you now.

    Positive: Graphics are nice for a MMO. Initial character creation. You can have eight characters. Negative: World feels empty and bland, not even close to anything from Elder Scrolls games like Morrowind, Oblivion    I bought this game on sale solely because I wanted to experience more of the Elder Scrolls. But the result is terrible. I will get to the details for you now.

    Positive:

    Graphics are nice for a MMO.

    Initial character creation.

    You can have eight characters.

    Negative:

    World feels empty and bland, not even close to anything from Elder Scrolls games like Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim. It is populated with players, boring NPCs with no character, and very little lore.

    Quests are repetitive and boring.

    Combat has zero RPG feeling, feels very arcade and grinding. Skills are not even close to those in Skyrim, they are very much dumbed down and have an arcade feeling that caters to non hardcore RPG players.

    Difficulty is unbalanced, instead of making enemies scale nicely with you like in Skyrim, you run into enemies you kill easily, and those that kill you fast even though they are 30 seconds of walk from the town where you started, not in some obscure dungeon.

    Getting equipment is a nightmare, you either scurry around for crafting ingredients or if you are lucky buy some for absurd prices, finding equipment is a chore. Expect to run around in Soul Shriven equipment for quite a while. Complete opposite of Elder Scrolls games where you find equipment in every dungeon and you can loot it from your enemies. In this game looting is not well implemented at all. And yes the wear of the equipment is back, you will have to fix it after a while, thank God they removed that from Skyrim.

    No immersion in Elder Scrolls universe in this game, it feels like a MMO on which someone slapped some Elder Scrolls elements here and there.

    If you were expecting a light version of Skyrim you will be greatly disappointed. Same goes if you expected a MMO with a good amount of Elder Scrolls lore.

    I will give it some more time but so far I am not impressed in the least and I think I wasted 23 dollars I paid for this. It has all the downsides of a MMO and nothing of value copied from Skyrim.    … Expand
  18. FRAge
    Jun 9, 2015
    0
    The combat system is broken. The servers are terrible, im unable to play. The world Tamrial is empty and lacks interesting lore and quests. Everything feels like a grind, not once have i come across an interesting quest, even with 9 hours put in the game.
  19. nimander99
    Jul 1, 2015
    10
    The best MMORPG on the market right now (imho). This is a MMO not a single player rpg like Skyrim, as a long time MMO player and a fan of the Elder Scrolls series this game has hit all my benchmarks for a fun and immersive gaming experience.

    The combat and sort of classless system DESTROYS all other mmo's in the genre, I guess you could compare it to Tera but ESO has non-root combat so    The best MMORPG on the market right now (imho). This is a MMO not a single player rpg like Skyrim, as a long time MMO player and a fan of the Elder Scrolls series this game has hit all my benchmarks for a fun and immersive gaming experience.

    The combat and sort of classless system DESTROYS all other mmo's in the genre, I guess you could compare it to Tera but ESO has non-root combat so the flow is more fast-paced. You can literally find several thousand in-game books that deliver the kind of lore you would expect from the Scrolls series plus the inclusion of the Justice System which allows open world thievery i.e pick pocketing and burglary was a must and will give you hours of joy! The Champion System allows for basically 3600 additional levels of progression although it is horizontal progression.

    Clearly I am a fan of the game that doesn't mean I can't be objective, there have been some tradeoffs as far as graphics go but it still captures the 'feel' that you've become accustomed to from other games in the series. The group phasing can sometimes get annoying but it continues to be refined and is almost not noticeable anymore.

    New conten is on the horizon, now is the time to join! I hope to see you in Tamriel ;)    … Expand
  20. Tixpen
    Aug 1, 2015
    10
    My favorite MMORPG , great story , a big world with 4 main quests (3 for the factions, 1 for molag bal), great soundtrack and voiceacting.

    The pvp is very funny and needs strategy, and every class is important in it.
  21. snostorm8
    Aug 30, 2015
    10
    Iplayed this game in the beta, all it did was make me want to go play skyrim, so thats what i did. However since TU, the game is amazing, it feels like a elder scrolls game now which was all i ever wanted from it.

    The good -Lore, great for fans of the single player games. -Best quests in any MMO HANDS DOWN, engaging, well voiced, and actually interesting!! -Great PVP -Amazing    Iplayed this game in the beta, all it did was make me want to go play skyrim, so thats what i did. However since TU, the game is amazing, it feels like a elder scrolls game now which was all i ever wanted from it.

    The good
    -Lore, great for fans of the single player games.
    -Best quests in any MMO HANDS DOWN, engaging, well voiced, and actually interesting!!
    -Great PVP
    -Amazing soundtrack!!
    -Great lanscapes and graphic
    -Enjoyable dungeons
    -Grinding doesn't feel like grinding.
    -MASSIVE amount of content, im 100 hours in, and about halfway through 1 faction out of 3, and i still have hours of pvp to enjoy along with that.

    The bad
    -Guild stores need to be revamped
    -Grouping outside of my guild is hard to do.

    Simply put, buy this game if you liki MMO's OR Elder Scrolls games, im not a fan of MMO's, and yet i love this game!    … Expand
  22. konju
    Jun 24, 2015
    10
    The amount of bashing this game took is unreal. The competitors must be really afraid. Makes me wonder how games like crappy WoW still manage to live on when it's not even close to ESO.
  23. mithcell
    Jun 24, 2015
    10
    Terrific game. Absolutely the best MMO ever created.
    ZoS has really turned it around, this is the TES game we all expected.
    Looking forward to future updates, like Imperial City etc.
  24. wildbear247
    Sep 7, 2016
    9
    Been playing this game for a little over one year. Initially I gave this game a 6 because there were some key elements that were missing/flawed, and the the developers were mostly quiet about if/when they planned to address these elements. Missing/flawed elements included things like changing character appearance, changing character race, improving loot drops, fixing PvP lag, no PvPBeen playing this game for a little over one year. Initially I gave this game a 6 because there were some key elements that were missing/flawed, and the the developers were mostly quiet about if/when they planned to address these elements. Missing/flawed elements included things like changing character appearance, changing character race, improving loot drops, fixing PvP lag, no PvP dueling or other small scale PvP features, etc. Thankfully the developer has addressed all of the areas above (including adding other good and unexpected features) and the game continues to evolve and get better. I'm bumping my score from a 6 to a 9 in response. The developer could still improve on interacting with the player base in a more transparent way, so I'm withholding the 10 rating until I see that happen.… Expand
  25. Herbert-West
    Jul 21, 2015
    4
    They made an MMO about Elder Scrolls, rather than an Elder Scrolls MMO.

    Score given solely on the fact that it's buy to play now, try it out, but don't expect much.
  26. BlackBear1994
    Jun 16, 2015
    10
    Excellent online gameplay and fluid combat. The graphics are what you can really expect from a 2014 MMO and the PVP full of intensity. Love it! While it had a rocky launch it has improved so much and is definitely one of the best MMOs currently out there.
  27. fasadasd
    Jun 24, 2015
    10
    So many haters lol. I guess Blizzard is finally afraid because ESO so much better than WoW you can't even compare. That garbage needs to disappear already.
  28. Barnews
    Jul 5, 2015
    4
    The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited can be described as another boring MMORPG.

    Yes. It is sad but true. It's not only problem with TESO but with almost all MMORPGs. TESO developers tried to change some things in common MMORPG formula but i think they did not suceed. There was a lot of potential to be sure but the result is quite a mess. It was definetly not worth monthly    The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited can be described as another boring MMORPG.

    Yes. It is sad but true. It's not only problem with TESO but with almost all MMORPGs. TESO developers tried to change some things in common MMORPG formula but i think they did not suceed. There was a lot of potential to be sure but the result is quite a mess. It was definetly not worth monthly subscribtions nor the cost over 50 EUR right now in shop. If you can get the game cheap, you can try it.

    GOOD

    The game is not all bad. There are some things i like. For example questing locations. Atmosphere of weather (rain, sunny days) and day and night cycle. Exploring is quite fun. Skills and Atributes system also was good. You can really make your character as you want. Unique and interesting.
    But thats all.

    BAD

    There are a lot of things that are not done well.
    I feel that the game is not immersive and fun overall. The world, small details like music, graphics, towns scenery, voice acting (accent, khajjits are horribly voice acted) and many other things are really bad. They take the immersion from the game. The questing is faceroll! World bosses are faceroll. I had not good feeling when i soloed everything. There was almost no satisfaction from playing.

    The storyline in TESO is so DUMB. Really boring and i would be more happy without it. The guild and trade system has bad design. The loot is boring too.

    RESULT

    TESO: TU is not an AAA game. Its not even AA game. There is enough content, soem good game elements, but thats all. Everything else feels bad or average. Even graphics feels often very dull. It's not worth full price. I recommend you to buy it with decent discount somewhere if you really want to play it.    … Expand
  29. ArchBOg
    Oct 10, 2015
    1
    Wait a second please. I really want to "review" this game. But what's the problem with ESO? Downloading speed is holy crap. Maybe I must keep my PC turning on with ESO launcher for at least 7days.
    Before I get on this game, I already feel tired.
  30. Mashille
    Jun 11, 2015
    10
    This game is a very well done mixture of normal Elder Scrolls games with an MMO. The world is beautiful with great open expanses with, probably, the best lighting system I have ever seen in a game. The combat is Dynamic and skill based which involves movement and is very well done and extremely fun and addictive. ALL characters are fully voiced and all have their own story to tell withThis game is a very well done mixture of normal Elder Scrolls games with an MMO. The world is beautiful with great open expanses with, probably, the best lighting system I have ever seen in a game. The combat is Dynamic and skill based which involves movement and is very well done and extremely fun and addictive. ALL characters are fully voiced and all have their own story to tell with some great detail in quests, caves and dungeons. A very good community. End game dungeons and raids are very good for MMO players to enjoy with a massive amount of content. Over 300 hours easily.

    Although the game is not like it's predecessors and single player elder scrolls games ti still has the feel of one. being able to go into first person with vast open zones. Although there is not as much freedom in exploration as in Skyrim, it is still very good and rewarding.

    The 'Skill' system is one of the best I have seen in any MMO with the freedom to use any weapon or armor with any class. Classes are also very open and free but all players still have access to deep and meaningful charterer progression.

    The graphics are not as good as 'Next Gen' games but that is due to it being an MMO and for MMO standards the graphics are amazing. Especially when you think about the 200 Vs 200 PvP battles and sieges which are awesome.

    Another great mechanic is the phasing which makes you feel as if you are actually making a difference to the world you are in. A good example of this would be A quest where A city had been overtaken by werewolves and I had to complete an attack to drive them out. After I finished the quest all the werewolves were gone and the city was filled with friendly NPC's.

    Questing is very good with meaningful decisions that can really make you think. Most quest progression is shared although not all quest progression is shared so at some points your group members will be separated from you until they get to the same point in the quest. However this does not take away from the greatness of the game. The main story is engaging with interesting characters and fun missions.

    Overall the game is definitely worth a buy for most people and is definitely worth a buy.    … Expand
  31. Tanikaze
    Jun 11, 2015
    10
    Great game after a long year of updates, bugs, and quick fixes. I don't know really how to sum up the 2000 hrs spent in game.
    The story narrated here is more interesting than the Skyrim one, the combat is a mix of MMO ''skillbars'' and ''action'' melee fights. Endgame is well made, with daily dungeons, raids for 12 pple, open PvP in Cyrodil (whole Oblivion's huge map), and an useful (but    Great game after a long year of updates, bugs, and quick fixes. I don't know really how to sum up the 2000 hrs spent in game.
    The story narrated here is more interesting than the Skyrim one, the combat is a mix of MMO ''skillbars'' and ''action'' melee fights. Endgame is well made, with daily dungeons, raids for 12 pple, open PvP in Cyrodil (whole Oblivion's huge map), and an useful (but hard to master) crafting!
    There are some minor problems like animations, but in a game with no cooldowns it's obvious.
    Sry for my english.

    If you're never tried it when it was P2P, try now or you'll miss a great MMO...one that will grow for sure.
    Frenk_the_Vile (Brotherood of Steel, EU guild)    … Expand
  32. Neizir
    Jun 9, 2015
    10
    Undoubtedly one of the best MMOs out there! There's thousands of hours worth of content, epic PvP, plentiful endgame content and tons more, and all of that without a subscription fee. It's hard to pass up on ESO.
  33. Tanglebones
    Jun 10, 2015
    10
    Best graphics of all mmorpgs. Fluid combat, very good main quest and lots of exploration. A lot better than wow or tera imo. If they keep adding new content it will be among the greats.
  34. Renju
    Sep 22, 2015
    10
    This game is fantastic, without a doubt the best MMORPG I've played. Starting off, the graphics are simply brilliant.The quests have a great storyline and I love how certain choices during some quests actually have a permanent impact in the game. Absolutely love the crafting system, doesnt actually feel like a chore unlike most other games due to the awesome daily 'writs' system. TheThis game is fantastic, without a doubt the best MMORPG I've played. Starting off, the graphics are simply brilliant.The quests have a great storyline and I love how certain choices during some quests actually have a permanent impact in the game. Absolutely love the crafting system, doesnt actually feel like a chore unlike most other games due to the awesome daily 'writs' system. The NPC's also are more intelligent and you have to be careful when dealing with most of them. The combat system is brilliant, which makes PvP a lot of fun and it requires some planning and strategy as well. The only downside I've noticed is the grouping system which isnt as advanced and fast compared to certain other MMORPG's, however this isnt much of a problem if you're a member of a good guild...which is not difficult to find in this game. Definitely a must try for MMORPG fans, especially since they adopted the Buy-To-Play policy earlier this year.… Expand
  35. vipares
    Feb 1, 2016
    8
    I spent almost a month in game, started January 2016. So far i give it 10/10.

    1) Graphics - perfect, 2) Atmosphere - immersing, 3) Combat system - great combination of standard RPG and FPS genres, 4) Character development - best seen so far in MMORPGS, with dozens of viable builds for every class, 5) Performance & stability - had absolutely no issues yet, though, I hear there is lag in    I spent almost a month in game, started January 2016. So far i give it 10/10.

    1) Graphics - perfect, 2) Atmosphere - immersing, 3) Combat system - great combination of standard RPG and FPS genres, 4) Character development - best seen so far in MMORPGS, with dozens of viable builds for every class, 5) Performance & stability - had absolutely no issues yet, though, I hear there is lag in "Cyrodil" PVP zone, 6) Payment mode - "Free to play" - it is really "F2P", and not "Pay to win", but some end game content is inaccessible without buying expansions ( or "Downloadable content" / "DLC") how developer calls them.

    I am close to character level 50 now, which was "vanilla" maximum level. The grind is getting harder, and I hear that biggest grind is yet to come in terms of leveling veteran rank from 1-16. We shall see :)    … Expand
  36. unbornchikken
    Oct 3, 2016
    10
    Just one sentence: this is a masterpiece, one of the best RPGs that I've ever played (MMO acronym is missing for a reason, it works well as a single player RPG if you don't like massive).
  37. aerionmagnus
    Jun 9, 2015
    10
    Great game. Solid story, great combat. The game features around 600 hours of content if you don't rush it and take your time to explore. And then there's also PvP. It is no doubt one of the best and the biggest MMO games to-date.
  38. Augustus75
    Aug 22, 2015
    9
    This game is amazing. At launch it was a mess, and not ready for PC. I was given a refund by Zenimax my first week without a problem. I was invited to check the game out again over a year later, and I certainly did. I bought the game and am now a plus member. It's my favorite mmorpg on the market right now hands down. It's not perfect, but it's getting there.
  39. Jappp
    Sep 19, 2015
    6
    Game is enjoyable enough but extremely poor balanced for endgame because of "Champion Points".
    Old players essentially have an unlimited advantage over new players.

    Objective type of game play is non existent in pvp.

    Graphics are the best in the genre.
  40. Zhael
    Aug 24, 2021
    10
    Probably the best online mmo game I've played and I've play a LOT of them. I've played solidly for seven months now and cannot recommend it highly enough
  41. jeppyboi
    Dec 1, 2015
    9
    Best graphics compared to other MMO's - Addictive game play - so many character options and possibilities
    This game has plenty of potential - I agree this game has some bugs but they are not game breaking.
    Looking forward to further developments with this game
  42. DutchElf
    Feb 15, 2021
    10
    Really great MMORPG!!! I'm a big time Elder scrolls fan and this game helps me after I've finished the series. Very refreshing
  43. Cougargames
    Nov 1, 2019
    7
    A decently good mmorpg, that isnt great but neither amazing wich is kinda wierd for me to say beacuse ive spent alot of money on microtransactions on this game i cant event count all the apex mounts i have at this point and expansions and over 600+ hours on this game i cant say what it is, if its the endless content this game has to offer, mindyou only the expansions are somewhat good inA decently good mmorpg, that isnt great but neither amazing wich is kinda wierd for me to say beacuse ive spent alot of money on microtransactions on this game i cant event count all the apex mounts i have at this point and expansions and over 600+ hours on this game i cant say what it is, if its the endless content this game has to offer, mindyou only the expansions are somewhat good in terms of writing, you just get this urge o finish all the quests from the ebonheart pact to daggerfall covenant and etc its just never ends. And this game has heavily improved since its release. Now are there better mmorpgs yes but this game has its own things to offer id recomend it but Wow is a much bettetr choice if Im gonna be honest, thoe if you have never tried an mmorpg this is a good step in to see if its something you could get into since its much more casual friendly mind you this game has plenty of 12 + pve dungeons that are quite difficult and require teameffort but learning curve in terms of combat is easier here.… Expand
  44. ExCITmEnTz
    Apr 9, 2016
    10
    This game is honestly the greatest MMO RPG I have ever played, and may even be the single greatest game in general I have ever played. Everything is such a vast upgrade from when I first started playing the online beta in 2013. It's been quite amazing to see this game develop into the masterpiece it is considered today. After countless updates, Zenimax has turned there brainchild into aThis game is honestly the greatest MMO RPG I have ever played, and may even be the single greatest game in general I have ever played. Everything is such a vast upgrade from when I first started playing the online beta in 2013. It's been quite amazing to see this game develop into the masterpiece it is considered today. After countless updates, Zenimax has turned there brainchild into a benchmark that sets the standards for all true MMO RPG's. Even after considering the mechanics of the game, one can still conclude that the Lore in Elder Scrolls Online is superior to any other game series out there today. There just simply ins't a game out there that makes the player so emotional attached to the events surrounding your character. I in particular found myself reading through countless Lore wiki pages and subreddits just out of pure interest and joy. Even the game forums were filled with equally thrilled enthusiasts trying to get answers from company workers.

    In all this game is more than just a MMO RPG. It is the key to a better understanding of how true beauty can become captured within a video game. The majority of gamers these days are blinded by the financially obsessed Game Developers that produce short term garbage. This game however gives us all hope though, that quality, meaningful games are still being produced without the intention of making quick money. If only all of the kids would ditch Call of Duty and CS:GO to play ESO. Maybe then could they still discover true purpose and enlightenment within video games. Life is more than just running around killing people, and this game emphasizes this point unlike any other game I have played to date.    … Expand
  45. Policcio
    Apr 28, 2021
    10
    An awesome MMORPG, the new WOW. The only flaw of this game is that is not translated into spanish.
  46. Damian_roar
    Mar 25, 2017
    10
    Giving this game a 10, most inmersive and well designed MMORPG of the moment (2017).
    Played a lot of mmorpg and tried to like them, but couldn't get into any of it until TESO.
  47. MARXENZOLOPES
    May 27, 2020
    8
    very good game, one of the best online. a vast world and many options. the elder scrolls
  48. Archemer
    Feb 13, 2020
    10
    Genuinely revamped the whole game. The champion points system has it's flaws but i really enjoy how the game feels now. It's more similar mechanically to.most aRPGs than a traditional mmo.
  49. Veles90
    Nov 10, 2021
    9
    Started playing in 2021., and I'm delighted, although I'm not a great fan of MMORPGs. Visually beautiful, with bunch of interesting quests and great lore
  50. Zalabar22
    Nov 14, 2022
    7
    I've spent over 1200 hours playing this game and still have things I've missed or haven't done. The amount of content in this game is staggering, I honestly believe I could spend another 1200 hours and still not do everything there is to offer. It's fun to play and I enjoy the lore and character building the game offers. Overall I really enjoy this game and think it may be one of myI've spent over 1200 hours playing this game and still have things I've missed or haven't done. The amount of content in this game is staggering, I honestly believe I could spend another 1200 hours and still not do everything there is to offer. It's fun to play and I enjoy the lore and character building the game offers. Overall I really enjoy this game and think it may be one of my favorite games of at time. That being said however I'm not sure this game is for everyone and can't rate it any higher than a 7.5/10. Zenimax has recently made multiple disliked gameplay changes, they've shown a lack of implementing good player feedback, forced subscription for proper inventory management, long ongoing bugs they refuse to fix, and a heavy emphasis on lootboxes and microtransactions for the coolest in game cosmetics. All in all, I still think this is a fantastic game with a lot to offer if you're willing to overlook the issues.… Expand
  51. dontezz
    Apr 24, 2022
    1
    I honestly would not recommend ESO to even die hard Skyrim fans. There are still game breaking bugs that have been around since launch that affect players that have't logged in awhile (Phantom Mail Bug). Stability and lag seem to have gotten worse over the years instead of better making pvp and moving around Towns terrible. Every major update is a month of game breaking bugs, and all yourI honestly would not recommend ESO to even die hard Skyrim fans. There are still game breaking bugs that have been around since launch that affect players that have't logged in awhile (Phantom Mail Bug). Stability and lag seem to have gotten worse over the years instead of better making pvp and moving around Towns terrible. Every major update is a month of game breaking bugs, and all your gear may be nerfed for "balance". The gameplay is very repetitive. This is a game of people who have been tricked into paying thousands of $$ and are trapped.I have heard a dozen people say they would quit except they spent so much $$ already and feel guilty. Don't get trapped.… Expand
  52. Rickyboblin
    Dec 26, 2022
    0
    They ran this game into the ground. Their “DLC” is like stacking more trash onto a teetering garbage heap with a loose foundation. I played 1000’s of hours and the game has only gotten worse since 2017. It was salvageable if they could have focused on gameplay instead of creating more “content” behind paywalls. Their content is just reskinned zones with fetch quests and a few must havesThey ran this game into the ground. Their “DLC” is like stacking more trash onto a teetering garbage heap with a loose foundation. I played 1000’s of hours and the game has only gotten worse since 2017. It was salvageable if they could have focused on gameplay instead of creating more “content” behind paywalls. Their content is just reskinned zones with fetch quests and a few must haves to stay in the competitive loop. You just feel used for your money when you are paying $15 a month and you have to buy a $60 expansion every year that ends up being free if you buy the chapter next year. They only screw over their loyal base of players. The pvp used to be kinda fun but they completely screwed up the class identity and the pvp content has been the same for 6 years.… Expand
  53. AAAStudios
    Jun 29, 2023
    10
    The best thing about The Elder Scrolls Online is being able to explore the world of Tamriel with friends!!!!

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. CD-Action
    Jun 29, 2015
    60
    Same old grind, same old lags, still no content promised to be delivered “just after the game’s release”. [06/2015, p.58]
  2. InsideGamer.nl
    Jun 24, 2015
    90
    The Elder Scrolls Online is not the best Elder Scrolls-game nor the best MMO. However, we did love spending tens of hours in Tamriel and this huge world does not seem to grow old quick. There are some flaws, but those are not even big enough to mention as in the end, Tamriel Unlimited is very entertaining, especially now that there are no subscription costs anymore.
    Read full review
  3. SpazioGames
    Jun 9, 2015
    80
    The Elder Scrolls Online is a solid MMORPG, with content for hundreds of hours and playable with no monthly fees. Ultimately, this Tamriel Unlimited confirms to be the best edition for those who want to delve into the fantasy world created by Bethesda twenty years ago.
    Read full review
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