Blades is a free to play dungeon crawler set in the Elder Scrolls universe, with some interesting ideas, but repetitive, even boring, levels and poor combat mechanics.
The Elder Scrolls: Blades is a simple dungeon crawler, with a nice progression system but repetitive gameplay during expeditions, that represent the core of the experience. The game's got lots of microtransactions since it's a free-to-play title, but the graphics are pretty outdated and there are no motion controls on Nintendo Switch.
I am an FTP player and cannot stop loving this game. I chose an Argonian and opt to never show the helmet. The weapon drops scale really well, it’s easy to gather the materials I need, and the enemy AI gets more and more challenging as my own combat skill and armor ratings increase. I love the setting of the elder scrolls games and the various ways to decorate the town. The town improvements remind me of Assasins Creed Brotherhood. The game is highly repetitive and the camera movement is a bit harsh to the senses and can induce nausea. Even with those critiques my satisfaction with this game as a nice escape and something that really feels like I can see my progress in is perfect. My town of Winterfell grows more beautiful by the day.
A year ago i download the game for my phone and it was a little annoying with all these timers for chest .After this game game out for switch they fix lot of issues and its not that much pay to win for me as a f2p player with 1) nice graphics 2)city management (casual simcity) 3)loots with upgrade system and enchants... BUT its not an Elder scroll experience as bethesda said to us . But free game i cant understand all these hate ... Its not 10/10 game its a low 8 for **** there is a plethora of improvement there and if bethesda help it like fallout shelters its gonna be more than than these 8.
The Elder Scrolls: Blades is a game with good ideas but bad implementation. While this story is scaled-down and has a unique twist to combat, this entry is riddled with bugs, monetization, and timers that can make this game a drag.
I don't hate The Elder Scrolls: Blades, at least conceptually. Bethesda's lightweight F2P Elder Scrolls game has all the hallmarks of the franchise but delivers them all in such a hollow way that it loses everything that makes the franchise beloved. You might find some enjoyment in the game, as I have done, but you will inevitably become weary of the dungeons, frustrated with the timers, and on Nintendo Switch, you will find the performance to be at times unbearable. Fans of The Elder Scrolls deserve better than this, but it's all they will get until The Elder Scrolls VI launches years from now.
The Elder Scrolls: Blades is a simple case of a mediocre game on mobile just not holding up on an actual console. Concessions made for mobile play just don’t make sense here. Not to mention when blown up to a TV or even the modest size of the Switch’s screen, Blades is pretty ugly. It's a downright joke when compared to the actual full Elder Scrolls game already available on the platform. Unlike other Bethesda mobile offerings like Fallout Shelter, Blades is a simplification of a complex game rather than a game built with mobile limitations in mind. When you take away the reason for those limitations, you’re left with an ugly mess of a game with nothing to justify its own existence.
The Elder Scrolls: Blades is a bland and repetitive grind, a free-to-play mobile game all dressed up like a proper Elder Scrolls title but lacking in any of the adventure, exploration, wit or charm of a mainline entry in the franchise. Combat here is dull, levels are small and linear, town-building is boring and everything is designed to frustrate you into spending your money on the gems required to override the constant timers that impede your progress as you level up and make your way through the barely existent story. It's a free-to-play title so you won't lose anything (other than your time) by giving it a whirl, but we reckon you'll have had your fill of this one in pretty short order, and there are lots of much better freemium experiences available on Switch to spend your precious time on.
This game is a creatively broken, anti-intellectual insult. Bethesda spat in our faces and, because saliva is a kind of "content," figured that it could monetise it. Sadly, the success that Blades has seen on mobile - and will no doubt translate to success on the Switch as well - just goes to show that when it comes down to it, consumers actually like being spat on, because it means that they are getting content.
For a free to play game it's actually quite addicting. If this wasn't a Bethesda game and an extension to such a popular franchise I think it would actually be well received.
Having said that, for this to be released with such enthusiasm when everyone is waiting for the next ****'s a choice. Hopefully they can gain customer confidence back but what a misstep.
A lot of people complain that this isn’t the next Skyrim, and they’re right. What they don’t realize is that it’s not supposed to be, it’s a very good free mobile ES game, turned into a ‘ok-at-best’ Switch game. It’s not open world, it’s free, and it’s designed to take your money with in-game purchases. It’s it mind blowing? No. Is it even close? No. Is it a free Elder Scrolls game? Yes.
The controls are simple, so anyone can pick this up, they are boiled down to the basics. In this case they seem to be TOO simple, why can’t we swing our weapons unless in battle? Why can’t we crouch? Why can’t we jump? It’s because none of those things are necessary here, it’s a bristling world, filled with almost nothing, it has a linear design, with no deviation needed. You go, you do, then you go and do again. And again. And again. Is it fun? Sure, for a bit. It’s a shadow of a full-on ES game, and boy does it feel like it. I find myself stepping away frequently, and returning some time later. Flat, one-dimensional NPC interactions don’t help it’s cause. For a free game, it’s damn good. For and Elder Scrolls game, it’s less so. Take it for what it is, and enjoy it until you get tired of it, then move on.
I was so hyped by this to that point I invested some money in this game because Im Skyrim fan. Bad decision. Possitives are great mood and graphics,arena with other players,someway guilds but thats questionable,battle system is weird but I found hitting and cover original and good. Its something like old dungeon crawlers,story is interesting for few levels,some special events challenges are little bit interesting and buliding the city,enemies are interesting and Ayleid ruins have pretty cool design but still they are all same. Negatives are no open world(except your city) just fast traveling to locked locations and just because of quest,quests are repetitive and some of them ,pay to win system in arena and main questline and even pay to play system because game getting harder and you need gems for real money especially to buy potions and materials,sometimes you have nearly full health and died of no actual reason because game want milk more money from you for revive scrolls,game by animations and offers of chests and weapons for real money feels like casino slot machines to make you addict on it and especially kids(shame on authors for that),npcs are half dubbed and other half is text so they say one sentence and rest is text on screen wtf,npcs just move but dont do anything else,bulidings are mostly with same design...Better you play Daggerfall for free than this. 4 points are because something is cool in my opinion but dont lift a bad game from dust.
This is a game designed for touchscreens ported to a platform with a touchscreen that has no touchscreen features in the port, with everything instead being relegated to your analog sticks.
That alone should give you an idea of how bad this is.
SummaryIn The Elder Scrolls: Blades you are member of the ancient order of the Blades. Forced into exile, you seek refuge in your remote hometown only to find it reduced to rubble. Now, it’s up to you to restore your town back to its former glory. Blades contains the many hallmarks Elder Scrolls fans enjoy from the franchise – beautifully rende...