Ever since its inception, The Elder Scrolls Online has tried to service the demands of two, very different audiences. Die-hard ‘Scrolls fans who ♉demand depth and the ability to go it alone, and MMO enthusiasts who crave a constant flow of fresh, exciting adventures to share with friends (and, sure, enemies). Unfortunately, ESO bears the scars of that tension, in that the interaction between its storyline and its MMO elements causes both to suffer. The result is an inconsistent blend that exists in🌠 the place where mediocrity meets competence.

On paper, this game nails the basics of a proper Elder Scrolls title. Many series trademarks, like starting off as a prisoner, 𝔉an elaborate character creation tool, and--oddly enough--basic quest design, make the move to MMO fairly well. Sadly, it's missing the unbridled liberty of its single-player counterparts. Instead of the series’ iconic open worlds and emphasis on exploration, you find areas effectively blocked off by high-level monsters. Instead of exploring that space alone and feeling that you’re someone chosen for a special journey by the powers that be, you shuffle along the same paths as everyone else.

And those well-trodden MMO paths cut into the franchise's sense of wonder. Some of my most memorable 𝓰moments with the single-player games in the series have been those times I’ve stayed up far too late at night just… wandering. In Morrowind’s Seyda Neen, I recall finding a chest of gold underneath some docks, leading me to ask: “Who left it there?" and “Why?” Elder Scrolls Online often attempts to capture that feeling, but only finds occasional success. One quest started with me tracking down a drunken soldier and ended with me attempting to stop an assassination plot on the king. That was a nice touch, but there are too few of these moments, and they don't come often enough as you play through the game.

Even when these moments do come, they are hampered by the game꧒'s MMO trappings. In that same quest line to save the king of Skyrim, one character presented me with a riddle. I had to solve it to uncover the King’s secret haven, but seconds later a quest marker popped up on screen revealing the exact location of the solution. For all the detail put into the game and its lore, ESO feels like an MMO wearing an Elder Scrolls costume.

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