Honest feedback
I want to start by saying I really do enjoy this game, for what it is. The whole happiness mechanic is thought out and not too challenging, but it is a headache at times when you are trying to put people where they best fit skillwise, even if they are working with an enemy or not working with family (for tribal characters)
However the game feels very pay-to-win. The prices for things with gems in the store are too high considering how slowly you earn gems to begin with. The person that auto-collects materials runs so slow in between stations and doesn't collect materials when you are fighting, he just isn't worth the gems in the first place (and the fact that he has a 30day limit and isn't permanently yours for 500 gems is atrocious) Once you have built a material station for the first time they are impossible to build a second one due to the high cost of building a second station, and I’m a level 50 already. The way that characters regain health makes it take 2x longer to actually accomplish anything because you have to place them from one station to another back and forth and back and forth.
The game has the ability to be do much nicer than it is on release, and I’ll check in with it once or 2x a week after my 30 day pass (almost $15 a month, also high) runs out to see if its updated. After the initial release hype i bought extras to get it jumpstarted and feel like it hasn’t jumpstarted at all.Fun & Promising
I’m a fan of The Elder Scrolls - maybe not a diehard fan, but a fan nonetheless. I’m also a fan of Fallout, or more importantly for this review, Fallout Shelter.
This is a Fallout Shelter-esq game, with a new coat of paint. I don’t mean that as an insult, I mean it as a complement. Elder Scrolls Castles is a fun game that, despite using the Fallout Shelter template, is unique and has its own personality. The game fulfills the dream of running a kingdom, making tough choices, learning about and improving the kingdom and world around it.
It could, however, to more.
I don’t even know what I want, but I know others could. Some areas of the game are dry, I find constructing is somewhat bare-bones, and would live if there was more options for decor - stylized themes for some rooms or something. I’d also love it if you had more trading options - like cash for rarer resources; it could even be something you earn by partnering with certain caravans or befriending groups of people like Khajiit’s. It has so much potential, and I hope it isn’t going to be wasted. I may write another review, some time down the line. But for now, I’ll just be keeping my eyes on it.Fun!!
I like games that are time-killers, and also enjoyable. However I hadn’t really found one that kept me occupied until now. The elder scrolls franchise has been a interest of mine so I naturally preregistered to be able to play. You don’t really need to pay, as you can get by well enough without it—the quests are super easy. I only wish we could execute subjects that are disloyal or that assassinate others, and have more realistic gameplay. Such as women and men can have kids but the same gender cannot. Thats weird for me? An alternative could be adoption, possibly. The art style is pleasant, similar to fallout shelter but unique enough to stand out. The throne rulings are really fun. I’m looking forward to updates and new stuff to make it even more fun, hopefully. Oh, and more decorations to really make our castle look and feel more cool. Such as a gothic, or Altmer style. Speaking of that, we should be able to choose our heirs and subjects. What if I wanted an Argonian kingdom? Just a few things here and there but overall I really do like this :)