The Elder Scrolls Online

Enough defining design elements of the Elder Scrolls single-player RPGs have been successfully grafted onto the traditional MMO template to make The Elder Scrolls Online feel like what an Elder Scrolls massively multiplayer online game ought to be.

If you wanted TESO to be a Skyrim sequel, you're going to be disappointed. If you wanted it to be another World of Warcraft clone, then stick to Lord of the Rings Online. If you are looking for something fresh in a familiar setting then you are in for a feast.

A perfectly executed game that manages to merge some of the best aspects of TES and MMOs, resulting in a very remarkable game. Great progression, tons of options, fun combat, insane amount of content and a very promising PVP are some of its virtues.

When I look at The Elder Scrolls Online I don’t see an MMO that is finished. I see an MMO that has a solid foundation built for it with a vibrant, adventurous future ahead of it. The notion of expansion into the worlds we love and know from the non-MMO games is an exciting one. ESO brings together a solid amount of single-player experience that we know and love from previous Elder Scrolls titles and mixes it in with intriguing and grounded MMO elements. That mixture sometimes doesn’t work, but there’s plenty of room for adjustment.

The Elder Scrolls Online carries on the tradition of gaming we know and love with a twist of adding in MMO.

The Elder Scrolls Online is a suprisingly fresh take on the MMORPG-genre, but when you are searching for a cooperative version of Skyrim, you came to the wrong place. If you are searching for a new MMO, however, you should really consider trying this one out. The level system removes the grinding and the first person perspective gives you a fresh take on the genre.

Despite its problems ESO is a game that's fun for more than 100 hours and if Zenimax listens to the players, it can even become a great game.

Zenimax had a steep mountain to climb: They had to cater to both the expectations of fans of Offline-Tamriel as well as demands of online-mechanics. And even though the result is far from perfect and seems to lose focus here or there, I don’t regret any of the rather large amount of time I’ve spent with TESO.

The legend has entered the MMORPG arena with all of its glory. Although its coming was celebrated with a classic Bethesda Bugfest, it still holds onto the series' roots firmly and despite all its errors, it is still a lot fun to wander and explore through Tamriel's lands.

From story to scale, The Elder Scrolls Online does its single player predecessors justice while at some parts struggling to find its own identity.

The Elder Scrolls Online is a solid massively multiplayer online experience.

Nevertheless the quests are fun, the world still good to explore, the combat great, the community wonderful (apart from those damn spambots) and the Alliance War a wildly ambitious and impressive experiment. Elder Scrolls Online is, by the skin of its teeth and a lot of hard work from Zenimax, a success.

The essence of the franchise is always present, and TESO, although not as immersive as previous games like Skyrim, is far superior to the one you can find in other MMORPGs. You should have, though, a group of friends playing it, or else the subscription price won't be worth it.

ZeniMax and Bethesda did a great job turning the Elder Scrolls into in an MMORPG. The amount of players doesn’t always match with what TESO’s trying to do, but when it works, it works really well. With its mountain of content it’ll be long before you’ll get bored with it.

The Elder Scrolls Online is a ton of fun in an outside-the-box sort of way. It can't seem to decide whether it wants to be single player or MMO, so be prepared for some in-between weirdness, but nothing that really detracts much from the experience. Between Guilds, crafting, PvP, and dungeons, it has all of the makings of a solid MMO.

The Elder Scrolls Online is a remarkable MMORPG that keeps the essence of the original series. The game could have been more original in the design of its missions, but its PvP mode and the high quality of its contents are very good.

While the £8.99 monthly subscription charge is hard to justify for any game, this one does a fine job of combining everything we love about the single player experience in a multiplayer environment.

Elder Scrolls Online is neither a true Skyrim sequel nor another World of Warcraft clone, but developer ZeniMax Online has constructed a halfway house that will satisfy fans of both franchises.

That the development team has been able to retain the mechanisms of play together with the depth of the content in the face of a breed of gamer whose capacity to consume is unrivalled, is perhaps the game’s biggest achievement. Now all Bethesda has to do is keep up the pace.

With its wide array of diverse locations, nice visuals, engaging quests and interesting PvP, The Elder Scrolls Online has a lot to offer despite its lack of freedom and exploration; with an absurd amount content, you’ll be occupied for a long time.

If you can stick through the starting areas to around Level 10, find several friends to group with, and stomach the litany of technical flaws, The Elder Scrolls Online will more than grow on you. Whether it remains that way will be determined when I review the endgame content more thoroughly several weeks from now.

Elder Scrolls Online may not be for everyone. But I’m happy and proud to say it’s a game I can stand behind and support with my wallet. It strives to be different from the usual theme-park MMORPG, and it also faithfully represents the Elder Scrolls universe through lore and gameplay. ESO is an excellent MMORPG, with a lot to offer fans of The Elder Scrolls. It does need a few key refinements, but I will be subscribing for a good time to come, and I can’t wait to see how the game improves over time. If you’re on the fence, give it a go, or at least be ready and willing when the inevitable free trial system shows up. You just might be glad you didn’t listen to the critics.

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.

Yes Bethesda pulled out all the stops and got professional talent to voice the NPCs. It has a huge impact on the gameplay.

I think the framework is there, but there are some painful missteps that are holding it back. MMOs are a constantly evolving ecospace, so it’s possible we’ll get there, but for now I’ll cautiously say…maybe.

A solid, meaty title. It has hours of gameplay, satisfying character trees, and a wealth of online role playing experiences to churn through. It’s safe and secure. It serves up the classic habitual MMORPG experience, albeit with a “Tamriel Twist”. And for many gamers, this will be fine. But Bethesda have created an example - not an evolution - of the genre.

The Elder Scrolls Online has great potential, but wastes it on failed group gameplay and general bugginess of the game. Subscription fee and the stuff left exclusively to Imperial Edition feel a bit questionable too. [May 2014]

Great at telling stories, with a gargantuan world to feast upon, but its MMO failings let it down. [June 2014, p.60]

If you’re an Elder Scrolls fan who has always wanted to play one of these games in co-op, this is the next best thing, at least for the time being. However, if you’re looking for Skyrim: The MMO, this will likely disappoint.

The Elder Scrolls Online is offering time-proven game mechanics that are functioning and frequently entertaining, while following tasks dipped in narrative gravy create the impression of a living virtual world. At the same time, however, TESO does not bring anything exceptional that would let you stared open-mouthed.

The Elder Scrolls Online is a good MMO, but it is not the masterpiece it could have been if ZeniMax dared more, and if they did not hurry to release it.

Something good is being brewed here by Zenimax. The Elder Scrolls Online definitely needs a lot of work just to be able to reach other MMOs, but by playing this game you get a feeling that the online version of this franchise could become a milestone for the genre.

All in all, The Elder Scrolls Online is a pretty good game. It's not outstanding, and it's not terrible.

In the end, the feeling I have with Elder Scrolls Online is something strange, because I like it enough to want to play it, but not to the level of an MMO. I’m not compelled to make the necessary commitment.

The Elder Scrolls Online retains most of the elements that made the series famous in a new astounding experience. The transition from offline to online is smooth and the game itself is fun. Unfortunately the monthly fee and lots of bugs partially ruin the experience.

The Elder Scrolls Online needs a lot of work to become a competitive entry in the MMO market because right now it really does not know what to be. Is it a co-operative TES? Is it a single player game? Is it a MMO? Every time we found something good in it we had something else spoiling all the fun, such as lack of features, polishing or common sense.

A few more months in development might have made a considerable difference. Still, this will probably make quite a splash when it arrives on consoles. On PC, though, TESO doesn't do enough to differentiate itself from the competition.

Visually, the game is consistent, but that consistency is boring and drab. The game itself is punctuated with exciting moments, but overall it's just above average and I have a hard time recommending that in a subscription MMO. If you're a big Elder Scrolls fan, give it a try. If not, there are better choices out there.

The main quality of The Elder Scrolls Online is the giving of a good answer to the fans asking for an MMO Elder Scrolls for years. But objectively, it's not the best MMORPG around, nor the best episode of the series. Consequently, the game has good moments but it never enters the unforgettable kind. And the subscription seems very high at the end of the day.

Under the surface, not enough has changed to the formula that separates The Elder Scrolls Online from existing free or established properties, and I would find it genuinely hard to recommend to anyone seeking an experience outside of a cosy, well presented, box.

Elder Scrolls Online presents an honest attempt to freshen up the MMO genre. It wants to offer fans a pure Elder Scrolls experience with a focus on story and characters, but with its fairly sloppy multiplayer mechanics the game gets a bit boring. Despite quite a few good ideas, Elder Scrolls Online sadly fails at several points. It's still a game that will really speak to a variety of players though.

This is not the huge mess some people claim nor the masterpiece some others say. It's a good MMORPG with some issues that you can enjoy if you can forgive them.

The Elder Scrolls Online is probably the weirdest MMO I've played in ages. It is constantly torn between its solo RPG origin and the need to provide the usual MMO package "a la WoW". In the end though, it is highly enjoyable to play, and nobody will be bored in embarking on this adventure.

By their very nature, MMO's evovle - but as it stands right now, The Elder Scrolls online isn't a worthwhile investment. If you're an Elder Scrolls fan, you might want to give it a try but I do think you may be a teeny bit disappointed. If you're an MMORPG fan, there are some ideas here that you will certainly like.

A few well-designed systems struggle to overcome lifeless presentation. Capable, but ultimately hard to recommend.

Zenimax Online Studios was on an almost impossible task. Delivering an MMO experience on single player basis it's simply impossible, especially if you're sticking to traditional mechanics. Maybe, one day, reworked by patches and courageous changes, this will be a great MMO, but not today.

I think right now, the most prudent thing to do is to wait for ZeniMax to iron out all of The Elder Scrolls Online's kinks (including how it handles post level 50 content to make it less grindy), and play the console version of the game. Not only will it arrive with all of the updates from the PC version in tow, but it'll also have full native controller support -- which feels more natural than a mouse and keyboard in this instance.

The Elder Scrolls Online is a big game with a lot of work put into its creation. ZeniMax Online has created a large world with many quests and a cool PvP mode. The game tries to satisfy both solo gamers and MMO lovers, but the end result is short of expectations. TESO can be recommended only to the fans of the genre, who accept its flaws: repetitiveness, not very exciting combat and lots of simplifications. This "Skyrim online" is well made, but not very original.

The parts I dislike are where they’ve tried to shoehorn an MMO into the mix. The combat, level grind, grouping, and people all discourage me from wanting to play. The MMO components feel forced and generic, and the game would be more enjoyable without them. This comes from an Elder Scrolls fan though.

Eight years of development, a team consisting of even 250 people at some points, budget reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. It’s a pity that this ‘Skyrim Online’ disappoints both fans of previous Bethesda games and MMORPG veterans who expected some fresh air in the stale genre. [06/2014, p.44]

A well done MMO that can lure players not familiar with the genre. But if you've played MMOs before, this one doesn't offer anything new, nor anything exciting.

Gorgeous to look at and listen to, but rather forgettable to play. [Issue#249, p.65]

Whether or not The Elder Scrolls Online is for you depends on what you are looking for. It is not a conversion of the single player series that many might have hoped for.

With better MMORPGs already out there and seemingly more great ones coming, The Elder Scrolls Online is using the name to appeal to its large fan base, and I have no doubt some will enjoy, but for the rest, this game is an vacillating anomaly in a packed market.

Elder Scrolls fans will be put off by its rigid structure and weak storytelling, while your average MMO player will tire of wading through the wan questing to get to the good stuff. Even the good stuff isn't outstanding, and the game doesn't represent good value compared to its competition.

Hopefully, The Elder Scrolls Online will one day get out of its own way, and stop trying to stifle the very fun it's trying to provide.

We approached Elder Scrolls Online as fans of the series and as MMO lovers, but it came up short from both perspectives. It's missing that spark of magic that enticed us to get lost in Skyrim or Morrowind for months, or that made us happy to fork over a monthly fee just to access our current favorite game. It seems like so much effort was put into forcibly translating Elder Scrolls' style into the genre's norms, but the payoff for that effort isn't there.

The Elder Scrolls Online makes the fundamental mistake that most quests have been written as single player adventures. Other players disturb the illusion, instead of being the reason you'd want to keep playing. Good combat, very fun PvP and deep character development can't hide that ESO makes one too many compromises and estranges RPG- and MMO-lovers in the process.

A lot of really great potential is held back by a huge amount of bugs.

60 days was more then enough time for me to determine that I would rather spend my time elsewhere.

Players who seek the traditional fantasy MMOG experience may find something of value in TESO, because it has evidently been built with them in mind. But it is difficult to imagine many others investing hundreds of hours in a place this bland, in a formula this familiar, and in a game this demanding of both your time and your money.

The Elder Scrolls Online is frustrating. It has moments of sheer class, but they’re consistently tainted by bugs. I love the PvP, but it’s pointless playing when the rewards are so slim. I like the questing, but huge numbers of quests are simply broken. I love the world, and the lore, and some of the systems they have produced. But my enjoyment of them was undermined by poor design.