PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5, XBOX ONE/SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Set in the land of Tamriel, many years before the events of the series’ most well-known entries of Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim, The Elder Scrolls Online casts players as a fully customisable character who must attempt to regain their soul from the Daedric prince, Molag Bal. There’s much more to it than that, of course, with two major conflicts taking place that you’ll find yourself deeply embroiled in, and countless warring factions across the land that you can choose to involve yourself with whenever you please. And that’s before you even start thinking about the eight additional chapters that add so much more to the base game…
MMOs might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but ESO feels very much like playing a colossal version of regular single-player Elder Scrolls, albeit one with other players running around the place. You’re pretty much left to your own devices though, able to either travel solo or group up with others if or when the fancy takes you, so you’re never forced into buddying up with strangers if you’re generally averse to that sort of thing. Having said that, if you do decide to go alone, there will be some dungeons and bosses that are nigh-on impossible to take on without the assistance of other players. Forming a “guild” with other real-life pals is the way forward here, working together to beat the most demanding quests, but it isn’t essential at all. How you tackle the game is really up to you – work through the main questline, focus on exploring the world to uncover its secrets, or concentrate on becoming a master blacksmith or mage. You’re given a staggering amount of possibilities, and the world really is yours to uncover at your leisure.
With The Elder Scrolls Online having received more than 40 updates, improvements and expansions in the eleven years since its initial release – and with more planned to follow throughout the rest of this year and beyond – the “Premium Edition” gives players access to pretty much everything that the game has to offer in one single (and surprisingly agreeably priced) package. Not to be confused with the “2025 Content Pass” which only includes updates that will be released this calendar year, the Premium Edition features eight additional chapters (including those from the 2025 Content Pass) that take you through familiar locations from the Elder Scrolls series (including Morrowind‘s Vvardenfell and an expanded Skyrim) as well as some brand new locales and countless dungeons, zones, quests and storylines. It’s true that some features and content are still locked behind an additional paywall (the ESO Plus monthly subscription, which isn’t unusual for MMO titles), but you can easily spend hundreds of hours in the game before even considering investing in any of the additoinal bells and whistles.
After so many years of enhancements and additions, the amount of mechanics and systems that come into play can be a bit overwhelming, but, as with most games of this nature, things that feel almost impenetrable at first will become second nature after a while. Cross-play would enable newcomers to get to grips with things a bit more easily, as it would allow them to join any existing friends who are playing on different platforms who could then guide them through the game’s more cumbersome menus and mechanics, but unfortunately this has never been (and looks like will never be) an option for ESO. As it stands, though, for those who are looking for a gigantic world to explore, or those who just need to feed their Elder Scrolls addiction, the ESO Premium Edition will absolutely scratch that itch.
