Ignore Old Reviews 4–5 Years Ago
The game has had a lot of patches since release which addressed many of the issues it had early on. Gameplay is much smoother now & graphics look excellent on modern devices. I started playing in 2024 and it’s easily my favourite mobile game, especially the arena PvP combat! I highly recommend joining a guild & the tight-knit Discord community. For newcomers starting out, checkout: bladesarena(dot)com! To Bethesda: I sincerely hope you bring out a new patch soon and keep this game alive, thank you.
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I decided to give this game a few more chances
I have been playing Elder Scrolls games for decades and I have enjoyed them immensely. This one is a bit of a disappointment, especially since one day one might have 5 revival scrolls and purchasing 5 more in a deal with 6 healing potions for 200 gems, within 20 minutes the 5 scrolls and all of the healing potions are used up in one quest. I wonder if this would have happened if I hadn’t purchased them. The next day, I checked my revival scrolls again and all of a sudden I’m down to 2 left when I didn’t even play the game during that time. If this is the way Bethesda thinks is a good way to make one buy more stuff, that’s really lousy and dishonest. I might love/hate this game but right now it’s more the latter. The character and gameplay also have issues of not walking or performing actions correctly. I thought those issues were bad in the other games but this one is one of the worst. Shops still don’t offer much needed ingredients and I have 2 smithies and 2 alchemists’ shops, upgraded to nearly the town’s level and everything is expensive. I start a day out with over 150,000 septims, spend and earn some but by the end of the day, all but 5,000 are left. Besides upgrades, ingredients are outrageously expensive and not easy to find.
I don’t know what happened to my original review but since it disappeared, I took screenshots.
I don’t know what happened to my original review but since it disappeared, I took screenshots.
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Come a long way
I’ll admit the game was a little boring when it was first released but by George is it entertaining now! Get in on the arena.
Also love the city building/ customising aspect, would be great to see in the main games rather than just a house.
I’d love for some more content to be added to this game but maybe that time has passed now.
Recommend getting into it and joining a guild for arena glory either way.
Also love the city building/ customising aspect, would be great to see in the main games rather than just a house.
I’d love for some more content to be added to this game but maybe that time has passed now.
Recommend getting into it and joining a guild for arena glory either way.
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Response from developer
Greetings. Thank you for taking time to review Elder Scrolls: Blades on iOS. If you have any feedback on how to improve your game experience, you can provide it at https://beth.games/3sAINS5 . This will ensure the Developers get your thoughts directly from you. Thanks again! - Bethesda Customer Support
Fun, beautiful and immersive, but with a shelf-life.
Graphics, music, UI and gameplay, and great story provides addictive immersion in the game. 2 things which are likely to make me stop playing soon: 1. Dungeons are all either exactly the same (about 3 variations, with very minor differences), so it feels very grindy. 2. I’m now at L20 and the difficulty of the quests has outrun my ability to survive them. I’ve tried to upgrade my equipment, but can’t get much past where I am. I’m using different load outs for different situations, but still almost impossible to survive. It’s a shame - I will prob have to stop playing. Is it just me I wonder?
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Poor balance and bug ridden
So, after spending countless hours on this game, I’m left wondering why I ever bothered. Soft enemy scaling means you will never be able to defeat everything in the game, no matter how much you grind away. Even if you spend money on this game to get the late game gear early, you will still find yourself in scenarios where a mage can kill you in one go using a flurry of spells. Enemies have clearly infinite resources and ability cool-downs. I’m unsure if this is something that starts happening after a certain level, but I can tell you for sure, that around level 56, mages will be able to use 5 spells in rotation which will leave you 0 chance to survive the encounter.
This is all without mentioning the bugs. Too many times will a successful block, still result in health being taken from you. An ability that lets you step back to dodge and heal at the same time to this day, still bugs out 30% of the time, stunning you and letting you get hit more by following attacks, killing you with no chance to do anything.
I do wonder if this game’s devs have actually tried to play the game at this level, but I’m left convinced that there is 0 thought or care for those who have actually spent a long time playing, due to the initial game loop being enjoyable overall. The late game is atrocious, leaving me wondering if I should have spent my time watching paint dry instead.
This is all without mentioning the bugs. Too many times will a successful block, still result in health being taken from you. An ability that lets you step back to dodge and heal at the same time to this day, still bugs out 30% of the time, stunning you and letting you get hit more by following attacks, killing you with no chance to do anything.
I do wonder if this game’s devs have actually tried to play the game at this level, but I’m left convinced that there is 0 thought or care for those who have actually spent a long time playing, due to the initial game loop being enjoyable overall. The late game is atrocious, leaving me wondering if I should have spent my time watching paint dry instead.
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Some good and bad points
Pretty good graphics for a mobile game. Quickly becomes repetitive though. The town building and upgrading is okay but the rising building prices with each successive build are excessive. Upgrades are nice but the resource and gold cost of weapons and armour upgrades are insane in comparison to the minor increase in the sale price. No point upgrading to sell at a such a massive loss unlike most other Bethesda games. The quest levelling is too far disconnected from player level too, obviously pushing for real world dollar investment which is very high for what little you get in return. Could buy much better PC or console games for that kind of $$$.
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Elder scrolls blades
As an avid elder scrolls fan I was intrigued by this game. At first I was a little reserved due to the nature of running such an extensive game on a mobile phone, however this game has turned out to be nothing but pure unfiltered fun. The world in which this game is set fits perfectly into your pocket, it doesn’t feel too large and overwhelming and at the same time it feels spacious with many areas to explore and missions to complete. The town building aspect of this game works exceptionally well as it becomes the initial driving force to entice players into completing missions one by one in the pursuit of progress. Overall the layout, gameplay and control mechanics work perfectly for an old school dungeon crawler fan like myself this game couldn’t have been made any better I thoroughly and highly recommend to any fan of RPGs, dungeon crawlers and Bethesda to come and check out this stunner of a game.
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Engaging Tablet game
Blades is one of the prettiest made for tablet games on the market today, with great graphics and a real adventuresome feeling world that runs remarkably smoothly on lower end systems. It covers basic classic rpg tropes. You are an ex-Blade hero helping others and trying to save and rebuild a town. You battle trolls, bandits, goblin and various undead and animals and do a lot of loot collecting to arm yourself and find materials to rebuild your town as you see fit. The game is a mixed bag, in that while what the game has looks and feels great, it lacks much in the way of freedom to explore, (it’s all limited maze like caves and paths), and your feelings of accomplishment are marred by the fact that stuff grows stronger as you do. There is a strong feeling of gambling as you open chests, and the temptation to buy the supplies you need to advance is very strong- though, if you don’t mind lots and lots and LOTS of adventuring, it seems like one could someday, eventually, maybe succeed without buying anything, maybe. All in all. I’ve found it the best time passer of any tablet style game out there- though it is not up to what you find in real PC rpg style games. It’s very passable and pretty fun, and the city building is very nicely handled. No personal home, nor chests you can store stuff in, though. It also could stand sneaking and ranged weapons of some sort- but, it’s great if you don’t mind that games limitations.
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Response from developer
Hi! Thank you for taking the time to write this review for Blades. We're happy to see that you enjoy multiple aspects of the game. If you would like, you can send this review along with any additional thoughts on Blades. Such as the addition of a personal home, chest, sneaking to the Dev team here: https://help.bethesda.net/#en/home/product/1130/bladescategory/287 The team appreciates constructive and detailed feedback about Blades. They are always looking at ways to make Blades the best experience it can be for everyone who plays.
My New Favorite Game!
Once you play enough RPG games that involve building a town/base and performing quests/missions you start to feel like you’re playing the same game over and over again with a slightly different theme. They all have similar character pov and controls. This game broke that rut for me. It’s beautifully rendered and pulls you right into another world. There’s plenty to keep you busy beyond the usual daily tasks with crafting, enchanting, sparring, and exploring the abyss. The storyline is multilayered and keeps you interested in what’s going on in this world. As a professional artist of over 20 years I can appreciate the attention to detail in the rendering of every aspect of the game. I find myself examining the weapons and items in 3d to inspire me in my own work. Sometimes I just wander around my town like a tourist enjoying the fountains and trees that decorate it. So far I’ve played for several weeks, advancing through the levels and quests at a good pace without spending a penny (sorry devs, I don’t have a lot of disposable income) in the store. The game rewards you generously with gold, gems and chests that keep you well equipped to move forward. If you’ve got the money to spend there’s some amazing offers in the store that I’m sure would add to your gaming experience. This is the first time that I have ever written a review for a game with this much to say. Blades is so good that it deserved the time and effort to send some love to the creators!
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Response from developer
Hi! Thank you for your review! If you could take a moment to submit feedback on what new mechanics you would like to see implemented into Blades, as well as how your experience could be better with the game overall, our team would be very interested in seeing what you have to say at beth.games/3AB83ub! We are always looking to improve the player experience! Warm regards, Bethesda Customer Support
Boring
Several years on from release & this game gets no love from the developers. Once you finish the very short lived main quest it’s just the same boring daily quests for the same measly rewards. No new story lines, no new characters, no new content really since the occasional event thing was added, which is just the same boring quests under a different name. Such a shame that this trades under the guise of elder scrolls when it’s a paltry arcade version of something vaguely based on elder scrolls lore. Game play? Forget about it. What a missed opportunity for a real, open world, regularly updated game that would actually be worth paying for.
Update : today I received a response from the developers, to the review I posted maybe 2 years ago. They asked for feedback. Here it is … sorry, I stopped playing the game 2 years ago. If you genuinely wanted to get feedback about mechanics or gameplay then perhaps you ought to have contacted me sooner. I’m adding this to the review so that others can see the real deal before they spend any money here. Shame on you Bethesda, you could have done so much here but instead you focused on the short game, the money grab & I doubt it’s working out for you. Maybe next time you might consider making a gaming experience that generates money because people love it, not because they were forced into spending some cash to find out that this game is as shallow as a bath for budgies
Update : today I received a response from the developers, to the review I posted maybe 2 years ago. They asked for feedback. Here it is … sorry, I stopped playing the game 2 years ago. If you genuinely wanted to get feedback about mechanics or gameplay then perhaps you ought to have contacted me sooner. I’m adding this to the review so that others can see the real deal before they spend any money here. Shame on you Bethesda, you could have done so much here but instead you focused on the short game, the money grab & I doubt it’s working out for you. Maybe next time you might consider making a gaming experience that generates money because people love it, not because they were forced into spending some cash to find out that this game is as shallow as a bath for budgies
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Response from developer
Hi! Thank you for your review! If you could take a moment to submit feedback on what new mechanics you would like to see implemented into Blades, as well as how your experience could be better with the game overall, our team would be very interested in seeing what you have to say! We are always looking to improve the player experience! Bethesda CS
