If this is what Bethesda has to show after 8 goddamn years, then they're really fucking ruined. The technical abomination (as in some sort of deformed experiment a crazy scientist put together) this game presents is beyond forgiveness, and the soulful storytelling just doesn't have the strength to carry it as it's oh so poorly written. The same storyline (or at least bullet points) in the hands of a non-amateur writer would shine bright, but this is not the case here. I generally don't delve into details in these reviews, and to be honest, there are too many to remember right now (maybe I should've taken notes), but to me, the most heart-crushing things were the size for quality tradeoff in world-building (something Bethesda hadn't done yet, even in Fallout 76); and the constant immersion killers, may they be the abysmal facial expressions, the terrible character animation, recurring glitches from 17 years ago; outdated menuing; or just "things not working the way they were supposed to." I could see behind the veil at all times, and that is so very sad.

The Elder Scrolls is my favorite RPG franchise of all time, so... please: hire a fucking writer. Ditch this fucking engine.

Oh, the one-liner review? Sure: a great game given to the wrong hands. Perhaps in an al- oh wait, those are spoilers. Yeah, if you have Game Pass, avoid them, the story is kinda thrilling to watch for the first time.

Reviewed on Sep 08, 2023


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