It may be a bit pointless to write a review on a game that has changed quite a lot since its launch and has even changed a decent amount since I started playing over 4 years ago with quite a lot of new content. But since I just got around to finishing the main campaign and the base game zones recently, I thought I'd write something.
I do really like this game. I don't have too much to compare it to in terms of MMORPG's because this is the first one I've ever really played so that may colour my impressions. My love of The Elder Scrolls world and lore is mainly from Morrowind since I feel its two sequels were lacking. ESO is definitely more of a theme park ride rather than a deep world to explore but I enjoy trotting around the breadth of zones that are just in the base game and they've added quite a lot more over the years. I like the questing and although the writing isn't amazing by any stretch, there's enough dialogue to keep you engaged. There is a lot of voiced dialogue too which is probably not very important for the MMO crowd but it's impressive. There is a bit of repetition in terms of quest setup with a lot of villages overcome by daedric monsters or possessed by something but I hear they have gotten better with that in the expansions. I do like how your exploration of a zone is guided by the main zone quests but gives you lots of jumping off points such as villages or caves that offer their own little side story and often are connected to the main story of the zone. It makes fully completing the zones feel satisfying.
The combat is pretty fun albeit can feel a little rote after the tens, if not hundreds, of hours you'll spend playing the game. The main criticism it gets is the light attack weaving which I do enjoy once I got the hang of it and it keeps you engaged with the combat rather than just waiting for ability cooldowns. There's a lot of build variety with the six, and soon to be seven, classes that are in the game right now. There's lot of abilities to use regardless of your class so you can hone in on something specific you want to do with a build.There's a number of different sets that do interesting things although with an MMO, there can be a lot of pressure to just follow the meta. Especially since a lot of good sets are behind 12 person trials or 4 person dungeons and you will want to be following some sort of meta to not get completely carried by a team. That said, and this is anecdotal on my part, the community in the game is pretty positive and helpful. I can barely think of any bad encounters I've had with other players which is more than I can say for other online games I've played.
When ever games have huge worlds, I always want there to be more than just combat as a means of interacting with it. If we are talking strictly about the base game, there was not a whole lot there. You could fish and you could craft. I do quite enjoy the crafting so at least that's something. I suppose you could talk to lots of NPC's but that usually came in the form of questing that would more often than not lead to something to fight. They have expanded this decently over the years. They improved the stealing mechanics and gave you more to do with it in the Thieves Guild DLC. They've continually added more to the housing system which goes along with the crafting system. There's also antiquities for finding unique treasures and a recent addition of a card game. I might not use all these additions that much but I always appreciate them being there to give the world more flavour.
I'm not that big into PvP in general in games but it really is not great here. Moreso because of performance and a lack of investment which has lead to a low player interest in it. I think there is a generally cool idea with the Cyrodiil area (where a lot of TES4 takes place). You have a series of keeps that players start sieges with ballistae and battering rams to control and then you can defend it from other players. It's an interesting push-pull of maintaining control over an area or expanding and it can really be exhilarating being part of a big team taking a keep. But there can be a lot of lag and I think the developers have given up with trying to improve it. In terms of more co-operative ventures with other players, the trials and dungeons are fun with some decent mechanics on them. The main thing that is bothers me here is that they clearly work hard on making a story and interesting visuals for them but I can barely experience it because the rest of the team is going to run past everything so I can really enjoy it. They should add some sort of solo mode for them.
Overall, it has some problems but I really do enjoy the game the running around the ever expanding world they've crafted. I am happy to keep playing through the large amounts of DLC they have added and continue to add. It feels weird to like this so much when I'm so down on Oblivion and Skyrim in relation to how brilliant Morrowind is but ESO is different enough that I can enjoy submerging myself in Elder Scrolls lore without making the unfavourable comparisons.
I do really like this game. I don't have too much to compare it to in terms of MMORPG's because this is the first one I've ever really played so that may colour my impressions. My love of The Elder Scrolls world and lore is mainly from Morrowind since I feel its two sequels were lacking. ESO is definitely more of a theme park ride rather than a deep world to explore but I enjoy trotting around the breadth of zones that are just in the base game and they've added quite a lot more over the years. I like the questing and although the writing isn't amazing by any stretch, there's enough dialogue to keep you engaged. There is a lot of voiced dialogue too which is probably not very important for the MMO crowd but it's impressive. There is a bit of repetition in terms of quest setup with a lot of villages overcome by daedric monsters or possessed by something but I hear they have gotten better with that in the expansions. I do like how your exploration of a zone is guided by the main zone quests but gives you lots of jumping off points such as villages or caves that offer their own little side story and often are connected to the main story of the zone. It makes fully completing the zones feel satisfying.
The combat is pretty fun albeit can feel a little rote after the tens, if not hundreds, of hours you'll spend playing the game. The main criticism it gets is the light attack weaving which I do enjoy once I got the hang of it and it keeps you engaged with the combat rather than just waiting for ability cooldowns. There's a lot of build variety with the six, and soon to be seven, classes that are in the game right now. There's lot of abilities to use regardless of your class so you can hone in on something specific you want to do with a build.There's a number of different sets that do interesting things although with an MMO, there can be a lot of pressure to just follow the meta. Especially since a lot of good sets are behind 12 person trials or 4 person dungeons and you will want to be following some sort of meta to not get completely carried by a team. That said, and this is anecdotal on my part, the community in the game is pretty positive and helpful. I can barely think of any bad encounters I've had with other players which is more than I can say for other online games I've played.
When ever games have huge worlds, I always want there to be more than just combat as a means of interacting with it. If we are talking strictly about the base game, there was not a whole lot there. You could fish and you could craft. I do quite enjoy the crafting so at least that's something. I suppose you could talk to lots of NPC's but that usually came in the form of questing that would more often than not lead to something to fight. They have expanded this decently over the years. They improved the stealing mechanics and gave you more to do with it in the Thieves Guild DLC. They've continually added more to the housing system which goes along with the crafting system. There's also antiquities for finding unique treasures and a recent addition of a card game. I might not use all these additions that much but I always appreciate them being there to give the world more flavour.
I'm not that big into PvP in general in games but it really is not great here. Moreso because of performance and a lack of investment which has lead to a low player interest in it. I think there is a generally cool idea with the Cyrodiil area (where a lot of TES4 takes place). You have a series of keeps that players start sieges with ballistae and battering rams to control and then you can defend it from other players. It's an interesting push-pull of maintaining control over an area or expanding and it can really be exhilarating being part of a big team taking a keep. But there can be a lot of lag and I think the developers have given up with trying to improve it. In terms of more co-operative ventures with other players, the trials and dungeons are fun with some decent mechanics on them. The main thing that is bothers me here is that they clearly work hard on making a story and interesting visuals for them but I can barely experience it because the rest of the team is going to run past everything so I can really enjoy it. They should add some sort of solo mode for them.
Overall, it has some problems but I really do enjoy the game the running around the ever expanding world they've crafted. I am happy to keep playing through the large amounts of DLC they have added and continue to add. It feels weird to like this so much when I'm so down on Oblivion and Skyrim in relation to how brilliant Morrowind is but ESO is different enough that I can enjoy submerging myself in Elder Scrolls lore without making the unfavourable comparisons.