With Summerset (PC, PS4, Xbox One), the second major expansion for the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online has been released. We have looked at the ESO expansion in our review. Summerset promises new adventures. However, despite the usual high quality, the expansion also faces a problem.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset offers
What is Summerset? With the paid expansion Summerset, you travel to the Summerset Isles, the home of the Altmer, also known as High Elves, in the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online. The queen of the people has opened the borders to foreigners. However, upon arrival, you will realize that something is wrong. Summerset focuses on telling a new story in an area of the fantasy world Tamriel that has not been covered since The Elder Scrolls: Arena in 1994. Smaller changes to the gameplay are also included.
- Quests: Summerset offers a variety of new quests that will lead you across the Summerset Isles and present you with plenty of challenges.
- A beautiful game area: The Summerset Isles are among the most beautiful that have been seen in The Elder Scrolls Online so far. You will hardly be able to stop being amazed.
- Profound lore: In Summerset, you will learn more about the Altmer. The High Elves had isolated themselves from the rest of Tamriel for a long time and are now opening the doors to their realm, which you will explore and learn more about the Altmer.
- World events: New are the Rift geysers, which lead to exciting events when monsters stream out of them, which you should defeat along with all nearby players – including boss fights.
- Gameplay changes: Especially the adjustment of two-handed weapons, which now allow you to receive a 5-piece set bonus, bring some changes to the game.
- Jewelry crafting: You create your own jewelry based on new recipes as part of a new profession, which you then use for your equipment.
As an expansion that focuses on a new story in a new game area and essentially tells another ESO chapter, Summerset does well.
How good is ESO: Summerset
Summerset suitable for newcomers: Summerset invites you to the Summerset Isles through a new story, which had been inaccessible to the rest of the Tamriel continent for many years. You can either visit the Isles with your existing hero or start anew through a tutorial. This tutorial presents the general new entry into the MMORPG. So if you’re new to ESO, you’ll be taken directly to the Summerset Isles.
The tutorial introduces you a little to the story and reveals that quite a lot is wrong on the Isles. You will also be confronted with a treacherous murder, which stands in stark contrast to the beautiful landscape. Prior knowledge of the overall story of ESO is not required. However, those who have played the main game, the DLCs, and the Morrowind expansion will get a little more background information and can draw connections to the overall story.
Beautiful but safe: Summerset thrives on the story and the new game areas. You will hardly be able to stop being amazed when you visit the lush green meadows and fields, explore the deep forests or stroll through the majestic cities. The Altmer, the High Elves, live on the Summerset Isles.
For a long time, the people lived isolated from the rest of the world, but led by the new queen Ayrenn, the borders are now open to outsiders. So you will have plenty of opportunities to learn more about the culture of this people. As beautiful as it is to explore the world of the Summerset Isles, it lacks a little of the strangeness that the Morrowind expansion emitted. The Altmer and even their architecture appear “safe” and as if they were taken from a regular fantasy novel, just like the new monsters you fight. Nevertheless, there is much to explore, discover, and many things to marvel at.
The numerous quests lead you over the isles, consisting of Alinor, Auridon, and the hidden Artaeum. The Psijik Order lives there, which you may even join. You can expect a guild quest, as you know it from the main game. Throughout this quest line, you will rise in ranks and learn more Psijik abilities, which will improve your hero. However, the NPCs seem totally stiff and lifeless during conversations, which detracts from the immersion.
Good quests, little innovation: The quests are full of political intrigues, betrayal, and also epic moments. From a story perspective, there is actually nothing to criticize here – if only the quests would offer a bit more variety and something new in terms of gameplay mechanics…
Furthermore, you have access to a new jewelry crafting system, through which you create your own jewelry based on recipes, just like with other crafting professions in the MMO. This way, you also improve your equipment yourself.
Therefore, Summerset offers a lot more of what you already know from the main game and Morrowind. Large areas full of secrets, an exciting story, and some new gameplay elements.
So everything is alright?
What the fans like: The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset is a solid expansion that offers more ESO. And that is both a blessing and a curse. It may seem unfair that this criticism now applies to Summerset, as it also applies to many other MMORPGs, but Summerset literally rubs the problem in your face and constantly pushes it in your face – it simply offers exactly the same as you already know.
Does ESO stagnate with Summerset? This may be fine for fans. They want more of the same and may also view innovations with skepticism. But without innovations, we have stagnation, and this leads to a game standing still. The story in Summerset is good, the quests tell exciting stories, and yet you always have the feeling that you have experienced all this before. The umpteenth espionage mission, the constant back-and-forth, the repeating boss battles. Also, the quest giver Oriandra, who keeps reappearing to advance the main story… This was already the case with the Prophet in the main game. All of this feels like chewing the same gum for days.
“Yes, what do you expect from an expansion to an established MMORPG?” Risks, innovations, and also a bit of courage to think outside the box. Do quests have to always follow the same formula? Do you always have to know beforehand how a mission ends? Other genres manage to offer something new. Why do MMORPGs seem to be standing still? Summerset is clearly aimed at fans of the series and completely shuts itself off from a new generation of players. Yet we are operating in an entertainment segment that thrives on creativity. Where even new, exciting ideas can lead to success. Why do so many MMORPGs avoid these and just go in circles?
As mentioned, this criticism can be applied to many representatives of the genre, but with Summerset, it is just so obvious. The game constantly screams in my face: “Ha, you may have played this before, but we are doing it again!” In terms of new ideas and innovations that simply show that ESO can be more, can develop, Summerset fails.
The highlights of Summerset
For solo players and group players: Summerset does exactly what you expect from The Elder Scrolls Online: It tells a new story. Whether you experience it alone or in a group does not matter much. Thanks to level scaling, nearly all content can also be tackled solo. You will experience plenty of quests that lead you through the areas of the Summerset Isles. Summerset offers some highlights:
- Rift geysers – These world events are what you wish to see more of in Summerset – a new and interesting gameplay expansion that is fun.
- Cloudrest – The raid Cloudrest for twelve players offers an exciting group experience. More of this, please.
- The Summerset Isles – The beautiful landscapes that simply invite you to explore everything are at the forefront of the expansion.
- The story – Even if the quest mechanics leave something to be desired, the story of Summerset can convince and offers exciting twists.
Is Summerset more MMO than the main game?
The single-player MMO: The Elder Scrolls Online is also very playable alone in the main game. Zenimax intended from the start to appeal not only to MMORPG fans but also to the single-player series of The Elder Scrolls. The level scaling, where you can complete any content regardless of your level, is, by the way, meant to motivate you to play ESO as a single-player RPG. This makes ESO feel somewhat like a single-player RPG dressed in MMO garb.
This has not changed with Summerset. Only a few contents like Cloudrest or the geysers require a group. So if you prefer to play the lone wolf, you can do that in Summerset as well.
It is also entirely possible to gather a good group and complete the quests and visit the dungeons together. You decide how you want to experience Summerset.
Long-term motivation of Summerset?
Summerset as an expansion to The Elder Scrolls Online offers you basically the same long-term motivation. However, after the end of the main story, you are left with only the repeatable content like raids and geysers to improve your hero.
How many hours of fun? Summerset offers around 30 hours of fun before you finish the main story. Besides that, there’s still plenty to do.
What do I do after the story? After the story, the raid Cloudrest beckons. Twelve players fight their way through this contaminated city and also have to eliminate boss enemies there. Additionally, world events around the Rift geysers take place regularly. Hordes of monsters stream from these, which you must defeat along with all nearby players. At the end, there is a battle against a boss.
How varied is the game? The variety can be compared to that of the main game. There are plenty of quests, but they are quite linear. The quest mechanics also repeatedly occur. Killing monsters, talking to NPCs, finding items… You already know this from the main game, from Morrowind, and numerous other MMOs. Cloudrest and the geysers bring some variety.
Is there an endgame? The raid Cloudrest and the geysers represent the endgame of Summerset, just as the hunt for set items (of which there are some new ones to find) and the desire to create the perfect build for your hero. PvP continues to take place as in the main game in Cyrodiil.
Is the game something for me?
The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset is worth it for you if…
- Quests are your top priority in an MMORPG
- You want to learn more about the lore of the fantasy world Tamriel and want to know a lot about the Altmer
- You don’t mind if there are no major innovations in the game
- You place less focus on PvP and instead value PvE
Similar games: The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset might appeal to you if…
- You enjoyed the main game The Elder Scrolls Online and the first expansion Morrowind.
- You love epic stories like in Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) that you can also experience solo
- You like completing raids with friends as in Final Fantasy 14
Difficulty level: Beginners and advanced players. It doesn’t matter whether you are starting with ESO new or continuing as a veteran. The difficulty level adjusts to your character’s level. No prior knowledge of the main game is necessary.