The Elder Scrolls Online is still bring us to place in Tamriel we'll probably never see in the main series. Is it a very condensed version of the maps? Yes, absolutely. Will it explore the lore and give a sense of place as much as the main series, if we can even hold the main series to that standard these days? Probably not. Is it still fun to run around and talk to characters in this version of Tamriel? I certainly think it is. This one is about the Khajiit and we all love those folks. It's cool to see the different kinds of Khajiit, or furstocks as they decided to call them here, as opposed to only the one type we've seen in pretty much every other Elder Scrolls game. You can see little kitty cats and giant lions just chatting away.
I usually enjoy the main story of these DLCs but after playing a lot of them the last few months, there is a pretty apparent formula to them. World ending threat starts and we need to find a MacGuffin to power you up to beat it. This is a wider problem in fantasy but as someone who still finds comfort in these fantasy stories, I do enjoy them. I do usually like the characters they build up around you, whether they be new or returning characters. It makes it feel like it's more than just the playable character doing literally everything. I will say this chapter did work through villains quicker than I was expecting. I kept thinking one character was going to the final big bad till you kill them and move onto the next. The actual big bad had a ton of health that the fight, although still not challenging, could have some mechanics rather than the usual beat everyone before they even finish their dialogue because the overland difficulty is so easy. The dragons, while clearly pandering to Skyrim fans, lead to some decent set pieces throughout the story. This Season of the Dragon storyline was the first year long story where the four DLC releases all told a continuous story. I haven't played the final part but I enjoyed the first dungeon DLC that builds up to the release of the dragons and the the second one that shows you some wider consequences of dragons being present. The year long stories don't seem to have been that popular among the playerbase but I want to call this one a successful endeavour from what I've played so far.
A new chapter usually introduces a new gameplay feature. Elsweyr came with a new class, Necromancer. I do not begrudge them adding new classes because people are always asking for them so it's clearly a worthwhile addition. For me though, I've always only played one character who uses the base game class, Nightblade and even if there was a way of switching classes, I still probably wouldn't. As far as new gameplay features go, it may as well not exist for me outside of seeing other players using the unique skills for the class. Overall, I did enjoy Elsweyr and am eager to move onto the smaller Dragonhold DLC to finish the Season of the Dragon.
I usually enjoy the main story of these DLCs but after playing a lot of them the last few months, there is a pretty apparent formula to them. World ending threat starts and we need to find a MacGuffin to power you up to beat it. This is a wider problem in fantasy but as someone who still finds comfort in these fantasy stories, I do enjoy them. I do usually like the characters they build up around you, whether they be new or returning characters. It makes it feel like it's more than just the playable character doing literally everything. I will say this chapter did work through villains quicker than I was expecting. I kept thinking one character was going to the final big bad till you kill them and move onto the next. The actual big bad had a ton of health that the fight, although still not challenging, could have some mechanics rather than the usual beat everyone before they even finish their dialogue because the overland difficulty is so easy. The dragons, while clearly pandering to Skyrim fans, lead to some decent set pieces throughout the story. This Season of the Dragon storyline was the first year long story where the four DLC releases all told a continuous story. I haven't played the final part but I enjoyed the first dungeon DLC that builds up to the release of the dragons and the the second one that shows you some wider consequences of dragons being present. The year long stories don't seem to have been that popular among the playerbase but I want to call this one a successful endeavour from what I've played so far.
A new chapter usually introduces a new gameplay feature. Elsweyr came with a new class, Necromancer. I do not begrudge them adding new classes because people are always asking for them so it's clearly a worthwhile addition. For me though, I've always only played one character who uses the base game class, Nightblade and even if there was a way of switching classes, I still probably wouldn't. As far as new gameplay features go, it may as well not exist for me outside of seeing other players using the unique skills for the class. Overall, I did enjoy Elsweyr and am eager to move onto the smaller Dragonhold DLC to finish the Season of the Dragon.