When we think of The Elder Scrolls, we think “arrow in the knee” memes, dragons, more memes, and how Skyrim is still being rereleased and kept alive 9-years after its initial release. Naturally, the promise of a free mobile game resembling a full-fledged entry from Bethesda raised more than a few eyebrows from fans. And then they announced it was going to be ported to the Switch, a platform that has shown it is capable of more than just mobile gaming. What we want from an Elder Scrolls game is to feel like we’re going on an adventure, with perilous quests, elves, and magic – like a fully realised D&D experience. So while it may resemble a Scrolls-esque aesthetic, it’s no surprise it falls flat: maybe from a few too many arrows in the knee…
The story is initially interesting, starting after customising and choosing your characters race – as is the custom in the Elder Scrolls series – when you are told your character is a surviving member of a group known as the Blades. However, your hometown was destroyed by the dramatically named Bloodfall Queen, which naturally means it is up to you to uncover the motive behind her attack, while rebuilding the town itself. The story is only “initially interesting” as the further into the game you progress, the story becomes more haphazardly conveyed through disinterested NPCs – despite the fact that it’s their town laying in ruins around them. Perhaps the trauma of the attack left them bland and jagged? Most other Elder Scrolls games manage to make use of the open-world exploration design to convey aspects of the story through NPC dialogue and cryptic clues in a way that adds to the adventure feel of the game; this does not translate to the small scale of Blades, however.
The gameplay itself offers two distinct modes – one where you set out to bash your way through brainless enemies, and one where you rebuild your bleak little hometown and skip bland NPC dialogue. Your hometown acts as a hub world where you can select missions, from story quests and side-quests, choose which ruins to rebuild, and ultimately try to stave off being conned out of real-world currency in exchange for green gems to speed up the painfully slow cycle present in this “free-to-play” game. The promise of rebuilding your town and seeing it flourish should be a rewarding experience, as it was in Bravely Default or the underrated Level-5 PS2 gem, Dark Cloud. However, dull NPCs and drab visuals make it somewhat uninspiring.
The main “action” segments take on a first-person dungeon crawler style, as opposed to the large open world adventure most associated with the Elder Scrolls series. The short pickup and go nature of these dungeons does, admittedly, work well for the portable nature of mobile gaming, though while smashing goblins in the face with an axe might be vaguely engaging at first, the linearity of the dungeon designs and combat stales after a while. For one thing, the adventure aspect is totally removed in favour of what is effectively a series of long, themed, monotonous corridors with few-to-no hidden pathways.
As you explore, you’ll find various types of chests with items ranging from swords and armour, to the usual items and loot that act as a reminder that this is trying to associate with the Elder Scrolls banner. Yet again, however, the excitement of uncovering Scrolls paraphernalia and themed loot is quickly dispelled by a Remarkable Spell of Monotony and plagued by the ever-persistent reminder that gems and micro-transactions exist. In effect, you’re reminded over and over that this is a grindy mobile free-to-play with a Scrolls aesthetic – and a poor one at that.
Combat in the Elder Scrolls games has always been somewhat simplistic but added something interesting to the mix to make it stand out. Here, combat is well-done for the most part, even if it does boil down to whacking things and occasionally shooting magic. To bludgeon foes, the right and left triggers raise and swing weapons in their respective directions, and you can raise or lower the attack with the thumb stick, allowing for combos to build up. Pushing “up” raises your shield, which can be used to parry and stagger enemies if timed correctly, making for a simple, one-v-one mechanic that works within the limited boundaries of it’s single-corridor dungeon design – and by extent, the limitations of the mobile platform it was originally designed for.
As well as melee attacks, you will also unlock magic and elemental attacks, each with their own perks to enhance abilities and grant special moves. Combat in Blades does work for what it is, though comparatively of course it lacks some of the depth and freedom granted to players in other titles. Though in fairness, those other titles are designed to be significantly larger in scale. In Skyrim for instance, players were given the freedom to approach enemies however they deemed fit, with ranged attacks and sneak attacks, as well as the ye ol’ faithful bludgeoning maneouvre. While it is understandable that combat would be restricted to accommodate the mobile platform, there is an impression that something could have been added, namely ranged spell attacks: it’s hard to see why we can’t simply cast a fire spell at a distant foe…
As well as completing side-quests and the story mode, The Elder Scrolls: Blades also features some online modes. If rebuilding your hometown is outstaying its welcome, there’s a PvP Arena mode which sees players take the simplistic, one-on-one combat to a competitive arena against other players. If anything, it is more entertaining knowing that you’re up against other people rather than hordes of braindead Goblins. Abyss mode similarly might be seen as a more enjoyable distraction from the main game, giving you the option to vent your frustrations with the game’s otherwise poor design on unwitting creatures without having to return to the drab town your character calls home. Neither of these modes are particularly “great” in a broader sense, but within the Blades package, they certainly stand out, with player guilds to join as well. Though it’s hard to see anyone truly committing time to them, all the same…
It’s frustrating the game is effectively a straight mobile port on a platform that is far more capable. The idea that the Switch “can be played as a tablet, therefore it should be treated as such” is a cause for frustration. From a visual stylistic view it carries the Elder Scrolls aesthetic, yet graphically it is disappointing they didn’t try to optimise it within the Switch’s capabilities, especially as games like Skyrim and Breath of the Wild run on the system with their massive open worlds. It’s more than a little perplexing when the game stutters and struggles, even with a lot of very long loading screens.
Yet easily the most aggravating aspect of Blades and its free-to-play model are the green gems. As soon as the game loads you into your town, you’ll be met with more adverts for gems and traps to spend real-world money than there are interesting NPCs to talk to – and just to clarify, that headcount remains at a solid zero. Basic mechanics from rebuilding houses, repairing weapons, or crafting and brewing potions add a timer that more often than not takes far longer than you might have time or patience for. Which is where gems come in handy… at least for Bethesda. Gems help speed things up. What’s worse is that quests require a certain strength level of your character, which naturally means you need to take on numerous missions to grind levels and gear. However, at later stages in the game, this becomes noticeably harder as the requirements to even partake in quests practically force you into eyeing up additional gems to help you along. While Bethesda have toned down this aspect of the game, it leaves a poor impression, nonetheless.
No doubt if you’re an Elder Scrolls fan, you might be hesitant to take a look at Blades in the first place. After all, it’s very rare that mobile tie-ins work out particularly well. In this sense, The Elder Scrolls: Blades is just another attempt to lure fans of a beloved RPG franchise to invest in a free-to-play ploy that inevitably tries to trap players into spending money on micro-transactions down the line. Which is a shame, given there are other free-to-play games available on Switch – and mobile platforms – that offer a more worthwhile experience. It just so happens The Elder Scrolls: Blades is not worth taking an arrow in the knee, even as a free download.
