Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Elder Scrolls The Elder Scrolls: Blades - free to play, first-person RPG for mobile platforms

Joined
Oct 15, 2018
Messages
862
Location
Ali Ghaylān
They delayed it after the Fallout 76 electric boogaloo, so I reckon they were going to use the public to beta test it. So instead now they'll actually pay people to do that, like ya know, everyone else.

Will it maybe be the first time Bethesda releases a game that doesn't feel unfinished for three months after release?
 

jf8350143

Liturgist
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
1,277
Why don't they just release Elder Scroll 5 on mobile? Shouldn't it cost less than this?
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
Oh yeah, this thing is sort of out:



https://www.usgamer.net/articles/elder-scrolls-blades-misses-part-of-makes-elder-scrolls-great

Elder Scrolls: Blades Misses Part of What Makes Elder Scrolls Great, Adds Microtransactions
It's a good translation of Elder Scrolls, but it's missing something.


The only thing that prevented fans from revolting when Bethesda announced Elder Scrolls: Blades for mobile was the fact that there was a vague teaser trailer for Elder Scrolls 6 beforehand. Even with that firewall, the question remained: Can a proper Elder Scrolls experience be translated to mobile? Today during the Bethesda Game Days, I finally had a chance to play Elder Scrolls: Blades and the answer is, "Somewhat."

The demo, which I played on an iPhone, offers part of the dungeon-diving experience you'd expect from the franchise. It threw me into the Abyss, an endless dungeon that players can plunder for loot—every floor you clear gives you a bit of experience and gold for completion. You keep going until you die, at which point you can revive right then and there with a scroll, which you can buy with real-money microtransactions. Alternatively, you can head back to the surface with your spoils.

Elder Scrolls: Blades does look the part. Visually, it has all the hallmarks of a modern Elder Scrolls game. There's the soft glow of dungeon candles, the luminous cave plants, and the ancient weathered stone of a ruin. Bethesda knows how to dress a game to evoke the feeling of Skyrim.

But then you try to plunder the shelves or tables of a dungeon, and the truth is laid bare. Elder Scrolls: Blades doesn't let you hoard items like a kleptomaniac. You can't take everything not nailed down and sell it to a local vendor to fund your ongoing quest. To me, Elder Scrolls games are about filling your bags with the loot of the fallen, and the forgotten bits of whatever organization has long left a region. You can't pick up anything in Elder Scrolls: Blades outside of the bags of gold and chests that occasionally drop. It turns Elder Scrolls into a primarily combat-based game, and that's never been the series' strong suit.

In combat, you hard lock to any enemy you encounter. To attack, you have to tap and hold on your touchscreen. It's an unwieldy system compared to simply tapping to attack, and using some abilities isn't much better; you have to tap onscreen icons and wait for the move to activate. It honestly doesn't feel like you have total fine control over your character, even though Elder Scrolls has never aimed for finesse in any entry.

The worst facet is the mechanic clearly aimed at drawing more microtransactions. When you get a chest in Elder Scrolls: Blades it has a timer on it. When you open a chest, that timer begins to count down, and the timer is seemingly higher depending on its rarity. I had one chest that opened in seconds, but another that took 3 hours. That might be better in live conditions, but I doubt it. Regardless, it didn't feel great in the demo. You can spend gems to open a chest immediately, but gems cost real money. Hell, it looks like you can buy chests directly with gems if you want.

It doesn't paint the best picture for Elder Scrolls: Blades, which likely had an existing perception as a grab for cash. I can see it being enjoyable for the hardest of hardcore Elder Scrolls fans, as it definitely sells the look of the series, but what I played on the demo wasn't the most compelling mobile experience in terms of play.

And that's before we get to where it feels a bit deficient compared to a proper Elder Scrolls game. Bethesda is promising a lot, with full quests and an entire city players can build, but none of that was apparent in my demo. I can play Skyrim on my Nintendo Switch portably right now, and I'd prefer a mobile experience that was closer to that. Sadly, Elder Scrolls: Blades doesn't look like it.

Elder Scrolls: Blades is currently in early access on Android and iOS.

dollars.png
dollars.png
dollars.png
dollars.png
dollars.png
 

ColonelTeacup

Liturgist
Joined
Mar 19, 2017
Messages
1,433
Both the quartering and Yongyea made videos talking about Elder Scrolls online lootbox and microtransanctions. The game is centered entirely around them to what is apparently the worst degree. Two examples:
1:You have a town. Your town needs supplies, such as lumber. By paying rubies, you can speed up lumber production, allowing you to build up your town faster.
2: You can buy a top of the line sword with rubies. Whether all the best gear is through microtransactions or not, is yet to be seen.
 
Self-Ejected

aweigh

Self-Ejected
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
17,978
Location
Florida
i just read an article about this piece of shit and they charge you real money to open chests if you don't want to wait to open them lol

just. fucking. lol.
 

Deleted Member 16721

Guest
I don't understand bitching about microtrnsactions that aren't forced on you. Ignore them. It's simple, just ignore them completely and either play the game for fun or play something else. See how easy that is?
 

ColonelTeacup

Liturgist
Joined
Mar 19, 2017
Messages
1,433
I don't understand bitching about microtrnsactions that aren't forced on you. Ignore them. It's simple, just ignore them completely and either play the game for fun or play something else. See how easy that is?
Why play a game centered entirely around stealing money from you.
 

Deleted Member 16721

Guest
Why play a game centered entirely around stealing money from you.

It's far from stealing. Don't click the buy button and ignore. Or ignore the game. But why bitch. Some people want to pay money and do all that stuff we deem silly. More power to them. If I play the game I'll ignore it, or maybe not, maybe I'll drop $1k to open a million chests, who knows. But they're not putting a gun to your head.
 

ColonelTeacup

Liturgist
Joined
Mar 19, 2017
Messages
1,433
Why play a game centered entirely around stealing money from you.

It's far from stealing. Don't click the buy button and ignore. Or ignore the game. But why bitch. Some people want to pay money and do all that stuff we deem silly. More power to them. If I play the game I'll ignore it, or maybe not, maybe I'll drop $1k to open a million chests, who knows. But they're not putting a gun to your head.
The game is designed entirely around the microtransactions to make it nearly unplayable without them. And the microtransactions are overpriced. Why even play a game like it? Further, why are you so desperate to defend a shitty mobile game.
 
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
1,875,971
Location
Glass Fields, Ruins of Old Iran
When you open a chest, that timer begins to count down, and the timer is seemingly higher depending on its rarity. I had one chest that opened in seconds, but another that took 3 hours.

...is that hyperbole? Oh, chests are an item you can pick up. I thought you had to save and quit with your character standing in front of the chest :lol:
 

Deleted Member 16721

Guest
The game is designed entirely around the microtransactions to make it nearly unplayable without them. And the microtransactions are overpriced. Why even play a game like it? Further, why are you so desperate to defend a shitty mobile game.

The game is coming out on PC, it's not just a shitty mobile game. And I'm defending microtransactions in general. So much whining about them when they can be easily ignored. Let people who want to use them use them, and the rest can either ignore their existence or just play something else.
 

taxalot

I'm a spicy fellow.
Patron
Joined
Oct 28, 2010
Messages
9,613
Location
Your wallet.
Codex 2013 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015
Microtransactions are fine as long as the gameplay experience isn't designed around it.

As I said, I do not find these obnoxious for a game to play on the shitter. But I still wish I had better games to play on my phone and so far the only alternative seems to be console games under emulators. I wish there was a decent control scheme to play Daggerfall on the shitter on a phone, but it's jusst not there.

TL;DR : those games are fine for what they are as long as they don't want to steal my private data in the process.
 
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
50,754
Codex Year of the Donut
The game is designed entirely around the microtransactions to make it nearly unplayable without them. And the microtransactions are overpriced. Why even play a game like it? Further, why are you so desperate to defend a shitty mobile game.

The game is coming out on PC, it's not just a shitty mobile game.
Shitty mobile ports are not PC games.
yet people here seem to have no problem lapping up shitty console ports
 

Turjan

Arcane
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Messages
5,047
The game is designed entirely around the microtransactions to make it nearly unplayable without them. And the microtransactions are overpriced. Why even play a game like it? Further, why are you so desperate to defend a shitty mobile game.

The game is coming out on PC, it's not just a shitty mobile game. And I'm defending microtransactions in general. So much whining about them when they can be easily ignored. Let people who want to use them use them, and the rest can either ignore their existence or just play something else.

You cannot ignore microtransactions in a game that is entirely designed around them. Yes, you don't need to pay and can wait for hours instead. Yes, you don't need to use the arena mode and avoid meeting players that outright bought the best stuff with real money, because the game seems to be designed that way. However, being designed around microtransactions translates to being designed to annoy you as long as you don't pay up. And the one point you are right about is that this will result in me playing something else. Because the game is garbage.
 
Last edited:

vonAchdorf

Arcane
Joined
Sep 20, 2014
Messages
13,465
Not being able to destroy crates or loot fallen enemies was the first thing I noticed. Combat is stupid so far, even compared to Skyrim.
 

KeighnMcDeath

RPG Codex Boomer
Joined
Nov 23, 2016
Messages
12,863
Damn videos disapearing:


Getting paid to beta-play would be fine if the pay is good and i have lots of games lined up. Dont give a crap how shitty as long as the $$$ comes into my bank account.

Probably have to praise the games even if you hate them but that's business.

But could i live with myself as the crapside of the gaming force turns me into a lifeless husk?
 
Last edited:
Self-Ejected

aweigh

Self-Ejected
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
17,978
Location
Florida
actually defending microtransactions lol

just say you hate gaming bro

just. fucking. lol
 

Metro

Arcane
Beg Auditor
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
27,792
There's no defense for it. But you can still enjoy a game for a few hours ignoring microtransactions. Fallout Shelter was cute for a bit.
 

ColonelTeacup

Liturgist
Joined
Mar 19, 2017
Messages
1,433
The game is designed entirely around the microtransactions to make it nearly unplayable without them. And the microtransactions are overpriced. Why even play a game like it? Further, why are you so desperate to defend a shitty mobile game.

The game is coming out on PC, it's not just a shitty mobile game. And I'm defending microtransactions in general. So much whining about them when they can be easily ignored. Let people who want to use them use them, and the rest can either ignore their existence or just play something else.
Defending microtransactions? They're an integral part of the decline of videogames to the point where games are sold piecemeal to customers to maximize profits. You're defending a practice based entirely around conning you out of as much cash as possible.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom