As a huge fan of Bethesda's games and the Elder Scrolls series in particular, I knew I'd have to eventually get around to this game. I've watched it go on countless sales, enticing players to give it a try, but I never had the opportunity to do so myself as I was already wrapped up with so many other great games. In fact, one of said games was/is another MMO by the name of Final Fantasy XIV. If you like either of these games, you will like the other.



Well, here we are, 8 years after release and I've finally gotten through the base game (no expansion packs) of Elder Scrolls Online.

If you've played The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, you'll be very familiar with the UI for the most part. What will be different is when you bring up your player menu. There are a few additional screens now: Store, Friends, Guilds, etc. These are to be expected with a fantasy MMO such as this. You can play in first or third person and sneak around pickpocketing from people if you'd like, just don't get caught!



The graphics are amongst the best in any MMOs I've played. You can crank them up to Ultra or Maximum and the game looks fantastic. There are of course other games that look better, but usually they are not MMOs. What I also really appreciate is that the graphics scale down enough where it's very playable on older computers or laptops with accelerated graphics (on CPU, no GPU). I tested it out on a slightly older Lenovo from the mid 2010s with an Intel Core i5 and on-CPU accelerated graphics. I was able to get mid 40s FPS with everything turned down to Low or Off. I then boosted the Texture and Shadow Quality to Medium and was able to get lower 30s FPS. This is very reasonable!



There's plenty of quests and side quests to do. It took me around 40-50 hours to complete the base game, and I am liberally using the term 'complete' here. There are dozens of other side quests and dungeons and such I could still do. With each expansion, you're probably looking at another ~40-50 hours of new content, at least. If you're used to tons of dungeons and questing in other RPGs, you'll feel right at home here.

Another thing worth mentioning is that in ESO (Elder Scrolls Online), you get to visit areas of Cyrodiil that haven't been seen in any other Elder Scrolls titles, such as High Isle and Amenos in the (at the time of this review, recent) High Isle expansion. This means there are plenty of new experiences for those craving more Elder Scrolls.



If you need a new fantasy MMO in your life, or you have been itching for a multiplayer capable Elder Scrolls game, this is it! It can usually be picked up during a great sale several times a year. I've sunk many hours into it (though nowhere near as much as the top players) and am looking forward to exploring more!