Review — The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset

Venture to the homeland of the High Elves, the majestic Summerset Isle, in the latest chapter of Elder Scrolls Online.

While the announcement of The Elder Scrolls 6 might have been the biggest news for the franchise this summer, we should not forget that Bethesda’s popular MMO The Elder Scrolls Online received a new chapter with the expansion Summerset. The time has come for our heroes to visit Summerset Isle.

An Idyllic Trip

While the previous large expansion Morrowind took us to the mystical island of Vvardenfell, Summerset takes us a bit further down memory lane. For me personally, it is also uncharted territory, as I’ve never played the first Elder Scrolls game. So the nostalgia factor will be less prominent here and my trip to Summerset Isle was a visit to a place I’ve only heard about: the majestic island of the High Elves.

Truth be told, Summerset Isle is a downright beautiful area, with its vineyards, lush flora and part Medieval part Elvish fantasy inspired architecture. Its colorful and joyful scenery create a vastly different setting, especially when compared to Vvardenfell. The new island feels smaller than Vvardenfell, but there is still lots to do and discover. The most majestic part of the island is the capital, which really gives this White City vibe from Lord of the Rings, though I did find the city more confusing to navigate than other capitals in the game.

A story of Political Intrigue

A new area isn’t the only reason to buy a new expansion of course. On of the strongest points of The Elder Scrolls Online are its story campaigns that are almost as good as those found in its singleplayer siblings. Summerset also offers an engaging story campaign that sets off after the queen decided to open the borders of Summerset Isle. Infused with mystery andpolitical intrigue, it once again leads to the player saving the world of Tamriel from the Daedric threat. Completing the story campaign should take you around 8 hours, which may vary depending on whether you rush through the dialogues or race to the locations or not of course.

There’s of course also a whole array of side quests and activities in which you can partake. I didn’t complete all side quests in the game, but the ones I did were of rather high quality. They weren’t simple fetch and deliver quests. While roaming the island, you’ll also encounter public events, dungeons; delves and world bosses. There’s also a new Trial, ESO’s equivalent of a raid, though it is a rather short trail. So there’s plenty to do aside from the main questline, whether you’re a solo or group player.

Earn Your Worth

While Summerset sadly doesn’t introduce a new class, it does bring two new skill trees, one related to the new job system and one related to a new guild you’ll meet. The first one is jewelcrafting, allowing you to create your own rings and jewels. It’s a feature that you kind of would have expected to be implemented earlier and it sure is a welcome addition now that it’s finally here. If you don’t own the expansion, you can even still buy jewelry crafted by other players, so everyone can take advantage of it.

The other skill line is the Psijic Order skill line. This skill line offer new new combat abilities that even allow you to manipulate time. In order to unlock them, you’ll need to join the Psijic Order, a secret and mysterious society of mages that resurfaces after 350 year to deal with the impending doom. This Order comes with its own location, the Isle of Aeternum, but also with one of the most tedious quest I’ve seen in the game. And to be honest, I just couldn’t be bothered with it.

All of the things mentioned above are the biggest additions this expansion has to offer, but they also come with other quality of life improvements for both PvP and PvE that further refine the gameplay of The Elder Scrolls Online. These changes are not groundbreaking but further improve an MMO that is already one of the better out there on the market. It seems the game is slowly reaching its true form and I especially like how the game doesn’t neglect solo players, even if an MMO is inherently a social experience.

All in all, I am glad that ZeniMax Online Studios managed to improve the quality of their quests. But both as an expansion and as a new area, Summerset doesn’t feel as big as Morrowind. And while it doesn’t rely on feeling of nostalgia as Morrowind did, it definitely suffers from that feel of “more of the same”. Especially as it doesn’t really introduce any innovative changes to the game. My sentiment is more or less the same here as when I reviewed Morrowind: while I enjoyed the expansion for the most part, it won’t keep me hooked on the game. But if you still frequently play Elder Scrolls Online, Summerset is an essential buy.

3,5/5

Reviewed for PlayStation 4