The Elder Scrolls Online

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.