In this review on The Elder Scrolls Online: Deadlands we will see the end of the events related to the narrative arc Gates of Oblivion
It has now been a year since this cycle began with the arrival of Flames of Ambition. The arrival of this small DLC featuring two dungeons kicked off the cycle of Gates of Oblivion which has transported gamers into one of the most characteristic worlds of the saga of The Elder Scrolls. Today the circle is closed and in this review we are going to analyze every aspect of Deadlands, the latest expansion of The Elder Scrolls Online.
The showdown
The beginning of this story arc brought us back to the world ofOblivion. Already from Flames of Ambition we had learned to appreciate the effort of the developers who, despite the not exactly happy period, have tried to revive ESO. A new atmosphere, a new sect to be dismantled and a little leap back into what it was one of the main chapters of the saga.
In this new DLC there were no deviations from the line drawn this year, nor have there been striking improvements in the narrative arc or in the gameplay in general. Deadlands is indeed an update that little in terms of gameplay. However, an explanation is easy to give. In fact, during this adventure we will find ourselves in a new “world” parallel, Fargrave precisely, suspended between Nirn and Oblivion. It’s easy to assume that the developers put more effort into creating this world than gameplay in general.
This “daedric plan” is characterized by a city with almost oriental tastes. If you could compare it to something, it would be like a huge bazaar. A crossroads for interdimensional trade and cultural exchange, where the Daedra live and survive. Here we will prepare our last attack on Mehrunes Dagon, finally settling the accounts. In short, the story is beautiful than predictable in broad terms, but the authors however, they gave us some welcome twists and that breaks the monotony of continuous research.
Characters and Setting – The Elder Scrolls Online: Deadlands Review
Our continuous search picks up where we left off, with the aim of destroy those little cells of the Waking Flame, the association that aims to evoke Dagon and the subsequent annihilation of the realms of Oblivion and Nirn herself. By our side in this adventure we will find old acquaintances, but we will also be accompanied by new characters.
The main of the latter is certainly The Anchorite, a woman with an unknown past, whose identity is hidden by a mask that cannot be removed. Among the old acquaintances instead we find again Lyranth, the Daedra who since the dawn of Gates of Oblivion has helped us counter Dagon’s “rebirth” and the expansion of his power over the other realms. Obviously each character, as always, it is well done and has very specific characteristics that make it unique. A characterization with controfiocchi, which is quite difficult to achieve, especially on a video game of this size.
From the point of view of the setting, however, the first painful notes arrive since the release of the title in the now distant April 4, 2014. For charity, the city of Fargrave is truly a delight for the eyes, with some truly wonderful views. However, in terms of the environment it is all rather monotonous, with patterns of rocks and hills spammed here and there that they fail to give a unique atmosphere. In general we see that it is a completely new world, but turning the entire map we can see a too excessive similarity between the various locations of the same.
The various plans of Oblivion then appear much more confusing than expected. As much as it is right to put magical turrets, which breathe fire when the top rotates on itself – just as it did in The Elder Scolls IV: Oblivion -, the climatic events seem too many and rather badly managed. Lightning strikes and tornadoes will stand between you and your targets. However cataclysmic events may fit in a pseudo-hell, overdoing these only leads to confusion and, instead of improving the game, they weigh it down excessively.
The door creaks shut – The Elder Scrolls Online: Deadlands review
As we mentioned at the beginning of this review on The Elder Scrolls Online: Deadlands, the story is not as unpredictable as hoped. However, being the end of a story arc, we couldn’t ask for more. Despite the predictability, however, however, he knows how to take us and in some cases surprise us thanks to some twists. The presence of such characteristic characters helps and not a little from this point of view.
Their presence though it can be invasive and not at all multiplayer gaming. In fact, in the various missions we will be accompanied by the usual group. This, however helpful in history, however, it makes the game almost a single player. It will in fact be like going around Skyrim with our huscarlo, without the need to join a group of other players. In fact, we will be able to complete the story on our own, even if this will affect the timing.
Certainly the various dungeons exist for this aspect, however it would not be bad to push gamers to collaborate to continue in the narrative arc. Although therefore there are some problems from this point of view, at least the structure of the secondary quests allows you to give a bit of versatility to the gameplay. The latter in fact are well structured from every point of view and allow you to vary from the monotony that could envelop the main story.
We know that such an explanation may seem somewhat obscure and will probably have confused some of you. However we don’t feel like going into more detail to avoid spoilers of any kind that could compromise the experience of each user.
Conclusions
We have reached the end of this review on The Elder Scrolls Online: Deadlands and therefore it is time to take stock. The expansion looks like the right conclusion for a story arc which started with Flames of Ambition and saw the biggest expansion with Blackwood. The story, as was to be expected, is a bit predictable, but with twists and turns involving some characters that they move the monotony of a continuous search for objects through the various maps.
The design, if in some ways it is well cared for and very representative, for others it leaves something to be desired. We will find ourselves seeing unprecedented beauties, like the city of Fargrave itself, but also a wandering along lands that are sometimes all too similar to each other and rich in natural events, or rather supernatural, which they will tend to weigh down the landscape.
During our journey we will never be alone. Some characters, unique and well structured as always, will accompany us continuously throughout the narrative arc. Although their company is highly regarded, this one it takes away any taste of wanting to look for other players to live the adventure with them. In short, the usual problem of ESO from the structural point of view that it makes this MMORPG look like an ordinary single player.
Despite everything though a certain reversal of direction was noted by developers in this respect. Obviously, such a change cannot happen overnight, but certainly can bode well for the future. This instills in us the curiosity to find out what awaits us with the next story arc, finally hoping that these long-awaited news will change the daily routine of the game a little.
For this review on The Elder Scrolls Online: Deadland, that’s all. If you haven’t already, you can buy The Elder Scrolls Online and its expansions at a really bargain price on Instant Gaming. In order not to miss future reviews and news from the videogame universe, keep following the pages of techgameworld.com!
Points in favor
- Well structured and diverse characters
- Settings …
- Twists…
- Slight change of course on the mechanics …
Points against
- … albeit with “heavy” additions
- … but linear history
- … but still not too delineated