My (Spoiler Free) Review of Gold Road

Tornaad · June 9

When Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road came out this past Monday, I was originally planning to just keep to my normal schedule of just playing at most an hour a day of Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) and then spending the rest of my evenings working on one of my numerous projects, but I quickly found myself so engrossed in the storyline that I dropped most everything else and spent the whole week (outside of work) playing ESO. It has been a long time since I have been that engrossed in a video game or anything else for that matter. Even many of the side quests were simply amazing. There were several that had me so emotionally involved that I almost found myself laughing or even crying. I would get off work, go on a brief walk with my wife, eat dinner, and then turn on ESO, and play until well after bedtime. Then, because of how excited I found myself about the wonderful storyline, I found myself waking up early, without an alarm, so I could spend a bit of time before work playing ESO. I’m in my 40’s and the story for Gold Road left me acting, and even feeling like I was in my 20’s again. One of the biggest praises I have for the combat team is that they added mechanics to many of the bosses in the game that made them feel like more of a challenge which helped with the overall feel of the game. I have been playing Elder Scrolls games since Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind came out in 2002, and Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road just hit the top of my list for my all-time favorite Elder Scrolls stories. Between it and Necrom last year, Zenimax Online has really knocked it out of the park. I hope they continue to release multiyear storylines possibly trying 3, 4, or even 5-year storylines.

JayR_Xx · June 9

I think the writing for Gold Road was top tier! The “big bad” was written in such a way that you were invested! Really enjoyed it!

Tornaad · June 9

JayR_Xx wrote: »

I think the writing for Gold Road was top tier! The “big bad” was written in such a way that you were invested! Really enjoyed it!

The moment they announced the villain last year, I knew where the story was going to go, and yet, I still found myself fully invested into the game. So, yes, they really did a great job on the writing.

soldierofzion82 · June 9

I was disappointed in the main quest for High Isle. Some of the chapters seemed to be missing something for a while. They would have good parts and just sort of drop off and get tedious. I totally agree that the writing for Gold Road is really, really good this time around. I haven't had this much fun with a story in a game in a long time. Whatever is going on in the writing department, I know the keep it up. This chapter is EXCELLENT!

Tornaad · June 10

soldierofzion82 wrote: »

I was disappointed in the main quest for High Isle. Some of the chapters seemed to be missing something for a while. They would have good parts and just sort of drop off and get tedious. I totally agree that the writing for Gold Road is really, really good this time around. I haven't had this much fun with a story in a game in a long time. Whatever is going on in the writing department, I know the keep it up. This chapter is EXCELLENT!

I hadn't thought about the idea of High Isle being built during the pandemic, but it makes sense.

opaj · June 10

I finished the Scribing questline last night and it was top notch. I'm going to take a break to collect some scripts and such, but I'm excited to hear that the writing throughout the expansion is just as great.

There's so much to love. The characters were all distinct and memorable, the plot was touching without leaning heavily on a big twist, and the voice acting was well directed. I appreciate that even the player dialogue was approached with care, and the NPCs were able to deliver exposition and lore without my character sounding like an ignoramus.

Tornaad · June 10

opaj wrote: »

I finished the Scribing questline last night and it was top notch. I'm going to take a break to collect some scripts and such, but I'm excited to hear that the writing throughout the expansion is just as great.

There's so much to love. The characters were all distinct and memorable, the plot was touching without leaning heavily on a big twist, and the voice acting was well directed. I appreciate that even the player dialogue was approached with care, and the NPCs were able to deliver exposition and lore without my character sounding like an ignoramus.

I vaguely remember a few points in the side quests where they have weird dialog options but for the most part, it's way better.

RaddlemanNumber7 · June 11

I finished the Main Quest today. I must say I really enjoyed it. It was the ending I had really hoped for. And maybe a Yellow Brick Road reference, which was a nice bonus.

Old_Foggy · June 11

I for one have really enjoyed Gold road and got the Wayrest Vanner Pillion Steed which was a nice reward at the end of it all. I may not use it all the time but it's another mount for my collection.

Thorncrypt · June 11

I haven't felt this way about a questline since I played through the main story of Wrothgar. ZoS managed to humanize the antagonist quite well and I was invested in the storyline and what became of the characters. Bravo!

Tornaad · June 13

Thorncrypt wrote: »

I haven't felt this way about a questline since I played through the main story of Wrothgar. ZoS managed to humanize the antagonist quite well and I was invested in the storyline and what became of the characters. Bravo!

I had the same thought about the antagonist. I was really excited about the way they portrayed the antagonist.

FlopsyPrince · June 13

Tornaad wrote: »

When Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road came out this past Monday, I was originally planning to just keep to my normal schedule of just playing at most an hour a day of Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) and then spending the rest of my evenings working on one of my numerous projects, but I quickly found myself so engrossed in the storyline that I dropped most everything else and spent the whole week (outside of work) playing ESO. It has been a long time since I have been that engrossed in a video game or anything else for that matter. Even many of the side quests were simply amazing. There were several that had me so emotionally involved that I almost found myself laughing or even crying. I would get off work, go on a brief walk with my wife, eat dinner, and then turn on ESO, and play until well after bedtime. Then, because of how excited I found myself about the wonderful storyline, I found myself waking up early, without an alarm, so I could spend a bit of time before work playing ESO. I’m in my 40’s and the story for Gold Road left me acting, and even feeling like I was in my 20’s again. One of the biggest praises I have for the combat team is that they added mechanics to many of the bosses in the game that made them feel like more of a challenge which helped with the overall feel of the game. I have been playing Elder Scrolls games since Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind came out in 2002, and Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road just hit the top of my list for my all-time favorite Elder Scrolls stories. Between it and Necrom last year, Zenimax Online has really knocked it out of the park. I hope they continue to release multiyear storylines possibly trying 3, 4, or even 5-year storylines.

The only "different mechanics" I see is a lot more ground effects that can easily kill you off, especially if you get caught on the wrong foot....