Last week, I was given the opportunity to journey into the newest expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online, and explore the island of Vvardenfell, the gorgeous Vivec City and the surrounding mountains. For those who follow The Iris on Twitter or Instagram, you may be aware of the beautiful trip a number of Australian games journalists including myself were taken on to experience the Morrowind expansion. For several days, we experienced the beauty of Ooralba Estate in Kangaroo Valley, transformed as it was into the wilds of Tamriel, and undertook a range of themed activities like archery, forging and lockpicking – all essential to surviving in the world of The Elder Scrolls Online.
Throughout the trip, we were able to travel freely throughout Morrowind, taking on a variety of quests and encountering all kinds of danger. I mention this not to inspire a raging jealousy (although if you feel something burning, feel free to punch the nearest wall), but in an effort to be as transparent as possible. The journey that we were taken on was both beautiful and extravagant, and I will acknowledge that while it would have been easy to let this kindness foster some level of bias, I’m not parted from my journalistic integrity quite that easily. With that said, I will say that I enjoyed my foray into The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind immensely. What follows should not be considered a final review by any stretch, merely a contained preview of the forthcoming expansion.
Our newest journey into Morrowind begins on a ship. Your player wakes up in the hold, and is soon confronted by Naryu Virian, who demands you aid her quest to assassinate the leader of the Morag Tong. Joining the quest leads to your player being quite literally swept off their feet, and they soon find themselves on the shores of Vvardenfell in all its beauty. The island feels genuinely different from other Elder Scrolls worlds, and brings with it all kinds of wonder. I wasted a lot of time wandering around and marvelling at the sky scraping mushrooms, all manner of wild creatures and the sheer diversity of characters around me. The world of Morrowind feels alive, and is filled with character.
While I have only experienced snippets of the original game, it’s clear how much love and faith has been put into remastering the world of Morrowind this expansion. The attention to detail is frankly brilliant, and for those who have previously explored the world of Morrowind, there’s certain to be a level of pure nostalgia. For those yet to experience The Elder Scrolls Online, this expansion marks a great starting point, with a highly accessible and immediately intriguing story, and great characters to meet. One of my favourites was Lord Vivec, who has a striking half-gold, half-blue design, and key advice for the player character, and of course, Naryu, who guides your opening quest.
While there might be a certain amount of nostalgia exploring Morrowind for returning players, there’s still much to love for fans of The Elder Scrolls Online, and even newer players who may have never experienced this world. The new Warden class and bear companions make for fun additions in Morrowind, although I wasn’t able to properly explore and weigh the benefits of these new features. Another addition includes Battlegrounds, which allows for a range of player battles, although I was not able to experience this for myself.
What I did have the delight of experiencing was the party system. Though I had had previous experience with The Elder Scrolls, it was primarily in single player mode. I’ve always been much better suited to being a lone wolf rather than having to co-ordinate a team of unruly friends, but party creation was so fun and simple that it began to change my opinion very quickly. Player interaction was also very easy, and allows you to duel, trade or chat to friends in any way you see fit. Linking up with several of my fellow journalists, we soon began a quest line that took us from Vvardenfell, deep into its mines searching for a particular item. The party system is fairly effective, as it allows for real time tracking of other players in case anybody gets left behind, and also allows for shared experience gain. There was some confusion over quest completion however, as my team was not sure whether it was necessary for all members of the party to complete each part of the quest or not. Either way, we had great fun journeying across Morrowind, even when we each split off and went our separate ways.
One thing that struck me during my time in Morrowind was the sheer amount of content available. From the moment you enter Vvardenfell, you are hit with a variety of quests, and yet more options to talk to NPCs and take on more quests. Despite this, the amount of content never feels overwhelming, even when quests lead to more quests. Switching between goals is easy, and those familiar with past Elder Scrolls games will be quite adept at navigating the map and guiding markers. As I mentioned in my interview with ZeniMax’s Rich Lambert, The Elder Scrolls Online has long been focussed on quest-based stories, and Morrowind only continues the trend.
Many people may have dismissed the expansion as glorified DLC, but there is an absolute wealth of content to devour. Given that I was only able to spend a few hours in the world of Morrowind, I feel that I barely scratched the surface of the game. Indeed, I found hours slipping away even as I wandered aimlessly in the gorgeous landscapes. Quests generally feel solid and important, allowing you to gain much needed experience and furthering along what is a well built story.
Despite my genuine delight during the experience, there were still some minor pitfalls. The inventory and item system still feels somewhat limiting when compared to title to Oblivion or Skyrim. More often than not, enemies are not able to be looted, or carry minimal items on them like gold or dust. Often, there would be neat looking armour or weapons on the ground that were simply not available to be picked up and used. This generally makes finding more powerful items much more of a challenge, although it does make the quest for them marginally more rewarding. The levelling up system also presents a baffling UI that takes several moments to figure out. In one instant, I somehow managed to wipe all of my skill points, although I would point out that it may have been down to my own incompetence rather than the system itself. Travelling around Morrowind also brought with it a range of visual glitches, minor control issues and some jumpy camera movement, but nothing that particularly impacted my experiences of the game.
Overall, Morrowind is a brilliant and worthy addition to the Elder Scrolls franchise, and one that is sure to attract a range of new players. It skilfully balances accessibility for new players, as well as providing a range of new experiences for returning players, and those familiar with the Morrowind world. For those still cautious about joining The Elder Scrolls Online, the Morrowind expansion provides a great starting point, and with hundreds of hours of content to explore, there’s never been a better time to get started.
Thanks to Bethesda, Reboot PR, Ooralba Estate and Magnificent Nerds for a fantastic event! The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind launches on Playstation 4, Xbox One, Mac and Windows PC on June 6.
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