The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind (PC) Review

Welcome N'Wahs to the land of the dark elves, the land of the living gods, the land of political turmoil, the land of Morrowind - like with The Elder Scrolls III, not the whole Morrowind, though, "just" its central part, Vvardenfell. The great thing is that this is probably the most interesting place in Tamriel, as it feels more original than the rest (like the Norse/Celt-inspired Skyrim, or the stereotypically medieval Cyrodiil), something that has a lot to do with its unique look, as well as its fantastic lore, which is the best in the whole franchise.

Generally, The Elder Scrolls Online was always one cut above every other MMO in terms of its story, writing, and overall world-building, and this expansion makes things even better for those who don't just skip dialogue sequences in order to run straight towards the quest marker. As for the new storyline arc, it offers about 20+ hours of fun adventuring, with the plot revolving around the mortal God Vicec, the emergence of the Sixth Dunmer House, and a giant falling rock that's bound to destroy everything.

There are only two flaws here story-wise; one being somewhat of a nit-pick, the second a bit more serious. The small one is the fact that, while it's exciting for long-term fans to get to explore Vvardenfell once more, things can sometimes feel a bit too fanservice-y, as many names and familiar faces are thrown into the player's hands just for the sake of it, before getting to build some mystery around them, like the goddess Azura, for instance.

The second issue is the standard problem of every freaking MMORPG ever, which is how everyone is the "chosen," something that very few titles have managed to avoid, including The Elder Scrolls Online (and it's DLC), and it feels as if the Morrowind chapter emphasises that said problem even more so. In other words, this is still a game that struggles between being an immersive solo odyssey and a massive, online experience.

Summing up: new chapter, new stuff to read, new locales to explore - it's all great, and fans will have a blast here despite the flaws - not to mention that you can jump right at it, unlike in how expansions are usually handled in MMORPGs. What about the gameplay portion of it all, though? The biggest addition is the Warden, which is a new, surprisingly versatile and balanced class that favours all builds, especially bow-wielding spellcasters. It's basically a druid class, but one that can become a healer through Nature magic, a tank through Ice magic, or a damage dealer through animal summons.

Note that the Warden is more than decent in all playstyles… but specialises in none, as is the case in druid type classes in most MMOs. Furthermore, its ultimate skill is a bear companion, which is a tad disappointing, to be honest, as most TESO pets are, mainly due to their frustratingly lacklustre AI, as you can't really command it to do something specific. Furthermore, it's needless to say that the addition of a new class doesn't substantially changes things, therefore, in case you weren't that pleased from the fight mechanics at hand, don't expect this chapter to make any alterations to them.

As for those who don't really care about the solo/co-op business, and just want to kick their fellow gamers' behinds, this brings forth some fine 4v4v4 PVP, which lacks the large scale of the massive battlegrounds where more than 50 people would fight on, but, luckily, this also lacks the boredom factor, as one has to spend much less time before feeling that something has been accomplished, not to mention that the action feels much more balanced this way, although the matchmaking currently has some issues, as it can throw you in arenas occupied by heroes that are way more powerful than they should be.