A Fresh Take on Classic RPG Formula
This game delivers exactly what RPG enthusiasts are craving—a compelling blend of Elder Scrolls exploration with Elden Ring’s challenging combat philosophy. While many players haven’t reached the credits yet (a testament to how much time gets spent treasure hunting and exploring every nook and cranny), there’s enough content to confidently recommend this to fellow RPG lovers.
A Refined Progression System
The game employs a satisfying three-pronged XP system that feels both familiar and fresh. Like Oblivion, skills improve through use, with each level-up granting experience points. However, you’re not entirely dependent on this organic progression—traditional quest completion and combat kills also provide substantial XP gains. This multi-layered approach eliminates the tedious grinding that sometimes plagued pure skill-based systems.
Character creation offers meaningful choices through class and background selection, providing early bonuses to archery, melee combat, and other specializations. The six core attributes—Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Spirituality (magic), Perception, and Practicality (crafting/healing)—each begin at a single point, with one point available per level-up to distribute as you see fit.
The perk system is impressively deep, with each attribute governing multiple skill trees:
Strength: 4 trees, 81 total levels
Endurance: 3 trees, 42 levels
Dexterity: 4 trees, 61 levels
Spirituality: 4 trees, 81 levels
Perception: 3 trees, 50 levels
Practicality: 4 trees, 59 levels
This extensive customization ensures that character builds feel genuinely distinct and personally meaningful.
Combat: Challenging but Fair
Many players initially choose a stealth-archer build but find themselves gravitating toward two-handed weapons and hit-and-run tactics. The combat strikes an excellent middle ground—more punishing than Oblivion’s forgiving encounters but significantly more approachable than Elden Ring’s brutal difficulty spikes. While you can absorb several hits, the frequency of enemy encounters makes careful resource management essential. Dodging becomes crucial rather than optional, rewarding skillful play without feeling oppressively difficult.
World Design: Dense but Sometimes Overwhelming
The opening area alone can consume over two hours of time, filled with rich lore and environmental storytelling that rivals the best RPGs. This depth of content in what’s typically a brief tutorial space speaks to the developers’ commitment to world-building throughout the entire experience.
However, the progression pacing occasionally feels misaligned with the world design. Upon reaching the main island, players encounter equipment requiring level 8 with maxed attributes mere steps from the landing zone. While this suggests multiple viable exploration paths, it also creates jarring difficulty walls that seem to discourage the very exploration the game otherwise promotes.
The fast travel system errs on the side of convenience, perhaps too much so. Nearly every landmark offers a travel point, which streamlines navigation across the expansive world but undermines the travel-based skill progression and reduces the sense of journey between locations. Players accustomed to more deliberate travel systems may find this abundance slightly immersion-breaking.
Living World Details
The day-night cycle meaningfully impacts gameplay, with merchants keeping realistic hours and enemy behavior shifting with the time. During exploration-heavy playstyles, this rarely causes inconvenience—likely because this approach naturally aligns merchant visits with business hours. It’s a subtle touch that adds authenticity without becoming obtrusive.
Crafting: Simple Yet Rewarding
The crafting system focuses on accessibility over complexity, allowing creation of weapons, armor, potions, and meals across two primary skill branches. Initially, you’ll need to locate specific crafting stations, but perk investments eventually allow crafting at portable campfires—a game-changing convenience for extended exploration.
Recipe acquisition through NPC interactions and found books encourages thorough exploration and social engagement. The portable campfire system deserves special mention: deployable almost anywhere outside restricted zones, it becomes invaluable for wilderness adventures. Upgrades require rare consumables, but generous fast travel options make this limitation manageable rather than frustrating.
Technical Considerations
The game runs smoothly overall, though there are occasional quest-breaking bugs where enemies become trapped in geometry, preventing bounty collection. Additionally, the transition from full corpses to bone piles creates smaller, sometimes problematic hitboxes. Minor frame rate stutters occur occasionally, though these may relate to display settings rather than fundamental optimization issues.
The developers appear committed to addressing technical issues, suggesting continued post-launch support. This represents excellent value for RPG enthusiasts seeking a more challenging Elder Scrolls experience. The game successfully bridges accessibility and difficulty while offering genuine depth in character progression and world exploration.
