The Elder Scrolls Blades is the latest entry in the Elder Scrolls saga, and it is coming to the only platform Skyrim is not – mobile phones.
I had the opportunity to explore a dungeon in The Elder Scrolls Blades demo, and it made me realize that it’s time I get myself a new phone. Perhaps the Apple iPhone X, since it runs Blades so smoothly, as you can see in the video below.
In The Elder Scrolls Blades, you will be playing as one of the elite imperial warriors known as Blades. As an unexpected turn of events forces you into exile, you arrive back home only to discover your hometown in ashes.
In your travels, you’ll be able to evolve your character just as you would in any other game in the Elder Scrolls series. While I didn’t get to experiment with character development in the Elder Scrolls Blades demo, I did get to explore a dungeon and fight skeletons and wights.
Although the camera perspective in Blades is in first person, similar to that of any other game in the series, the combat itself is very different, as you fight enemies in one-on-one combat. If you approach a mob of enemies, they will face you in turns.
In combat you can either hold up your shield to defend from attacks, swipe your blade by pressing and holding your finger on the enemy, or activate a skill or spell by pressing on its icon at the bottom of the screen. You can also chain blade swipes and activate shield bashes if you time it right.
Once you kill all enemies, you can go around and collect all of the loot they leave behind, just like any good Elder Scrolls game. In the demo, I received different kinds of currencies but did not get to a point where I was able to spend them.
We can expect to see a fully fledged single-player story and character customization in the full game. The final version of The Elder Scrolls Blades will also allow us to create and manage our city, and tackle friends in one on one duels in the arena.
Blades looks very impressive for a mobile title, but it still needs a little work before it could compete with other RPGs on PC and consoles. Bethesda does have plans to release this game on PC, consoles and even VR headsets in the future, and allow for cross-play between them.
Currently, The Elder Scrolls Blades is set to release this fall on Android and iOS devices.
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