The Elder Scrolls Online review: Greymoor, once upon a time there was Skyrim

Finally we return to the icy environments of Skyrim, we discover in this review of The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor the north of a thousand years earlier

The Elder Scrolls Online is, from its foundations, a video game made to return both to explore new areas and others already seen in the main series, all completely re-adapted with theadding new stories and insights. Morrowind was its first expansion, where we were able to trace much of the origin of the city of Vivec and revisit Vvanderfell during one of its heydays.



Then followed the unprecedented locations of Summerset ed Elsweyr, which delighted us with new gameplay elements and lush environments. For the fourth expansion Todd Howard takes us once again to the far north of Tamriel. In this review of The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor on PC we will find out what's new or if it's all Skyrim nostalgia.

Hey you, you finally opened your eyes!

The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor is the latest expansion of the video game developed by Zenimax Online Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. His announcement came on January 16, 2020 along with the start of The Dark Heart of Skyrim adventure. The latter includes four paid DLCs, the first being Harrowstorm with two new dungeons, then from the Greymoor expansion on May 26 for PC and two more DLCs to be released in August (dungeon pack) and November (narrative).

On paper, the added contents all seem interesting, we have tried them firsthand. So let's proceed with the analysis in this review of The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor, the expansion that brings us back to a Skyrim much darker.


The Elder Scrolls Online review: Greymoor, once upon a time there was Skyrim

Vampire Storm - The Elder Scrolls Online Review: Greymoor, it's back to Skyrim

After hinting at The Dark Heart of Skyrim, don't worry, the story told on Greymoor is enjoyable even without knowing the Harrowstorm DLC or the free prologue released in April. The beginning of the game will be similar for everyone, whether for new players, intermediate or advanced, with the difference of some small dialogues.


The story begins with the meeting of a stranger on the verge of death. We will receive some troubling warnings and after his death we will continue to investigate until we discover an intrigue he sees Solitude's royal family in peril. We will then get to know some allies until we create a real Scooby Gang far from Sunnydale.

Among these there is Lyris Titanborn an old acquaintance of ours, met in the basic story of the game. Then Fennorian the vampire, the princess of Solitude and a very good witch with potions. The narrative sector evolves through numerous investigations and consequent revelations. Gradually the atmosphere darkens, expanding what is essentially an expansion dedicated to vampires and werewolves.

Unfortunately the flashes of originality are few and the insights involved are very scarce, especially if we were to include only the dialogues and events of the main plot. To find something more tantalizing you have to rely on the numerous side quests or documents scattered around the map. Even if, here too, some topics remain too open and lack depth. However, it is a pleasant and helpful narrative, we will see if with the next DLC there will be a further expansion of the arguments.


The Elder Scrolls Online review: Greymoor, once upon a time there was Skyrim

As before, but not too much - The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor review, it's back to Skyrim

We obviously also live the whole story and secondary missions through the actions, many of these in the well-established gameplay line that has worked so far. We will face many dialogues and fights that will lead us to explore almost all the most relevant locations of this portion of territory located west of Skyrim and its dungeons.

However, the latter factor may disappoint some players. Not all Skyrim has in fact been made available, of its surface we can visit the portion that includes the magnificent city of Solitude, Morthal, Dragon bridge, Labyrinthian and many other old and new points of interest. However, to make the absence of Whiterun and Falkreath less important, this DLC includes an underground area well known to players of the series.


The Elder Scrolls Online review: Greymoor, once upon a time there was Skyrim

Where the sun does not shine and the vampires grow up - Review The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor, back to Skyrim

We are indeed talking about Blackreach, which is now no longer a series of small mysterious caves, but a cave of colossal proportions, certainly familiar, but still different from the version of a thousand years later in TES V. It is a very fascinating place that in terms of gameplay leads us to visit a village, a Gothic castle together with new delve, public dungeons e world boss.


Furthermore, the Norse world is in turmoil with the appearance of evil vampires and their minions. To make players feel this impending danger A unique world event has been added to Greymoor, gli Harrowstorm. Basically they are similar to Dolmens and take place at regular intervals in certain places on the map.

In those areas a sort of magical storm will unleash with several waves of enemies. Defeated the last and powerful vampire players will be rewarded with some materials and equipment. It is a type of event that can be tackled at any level, but almost impossible to win alone.

The Elder Scrolls Online review: Greymoor, once upon a time there was Skyrim

Tamriel's Indiana Jones - The Elder Scrolls Online Review: Greymoor, it's back to Skyrim

As fun as killing vampires is, Greymoor's flagship is the peaceful new Antiquities system. This activity will lead us to carry out the work of a real archaeologist looking for antiquities throughout Tamriel. To fulfill this task we will have two different skills available. The first is it Scry, which allows us to "guess", through a mini game, the location for the excavation. Based on how good we are, the search area will be narrowed or patchy throughout the map.


After reaching the excavation site, we will begin to unearth the find with theExcavation, another minigame similar to Prato Fiorito. Initially the objects we will find will be of little value, but with the advancement of the rank we will be able to acquire new decorations for the home or powerful artifacts with unique effects. This is a fun activity that pushes players back to old maps and away from fighting. However, for the latter reason, some players will prefer to farm Harrowstom over and over.

The Elder Scrolls Online review: Greymoor, once upon a time there was Skyrim

The New Vampires - The Elder Scrolls Online Review: Greymoor, it's back to Skyrim

In addition to the expansion it was made for free available a rework del vampirismo. Similarly to the necromancer some of his abilities have been designated as criminal acts, so if used in front of NPCs we will be awarded a bounty on the head and the guards will be ready to attack us. One of these concerns the typical vampire bite, which now has a new animation when used against unsuspecting enemies. Beyond these the abilities have new functions, graphic effects and different icons.

Finally for Tamriel's organized heroes, Kyne's Aegis is the new 12 player raid. This dungeon includes 3 new powerful bosses: Yandir the Butcher, Captain Vrol and Lord Falgravn. By completing this challenge we will have the opportunity to get our hands on different objects: new equipment, a skin, a memento, various titles and furniture for the home.

The Elder Scrolls Online review: Greymoor, once upon a time there was Skyrim

Both darker and more colorful - The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor review, it's back to Skyrim

With all these dark elements, vampires and werewolves, one would expect a revamped setting with multiple gothic elements. So it was, but only to a limited extent. Unlike what happened with past expansions where places like Balmora have been significantly expanded and reinterpreted to accommodate a greater number of players, here everything has remained almost identical. Solitude is as we remembered it on TES V, same thing for Morthal and partly Labyrinthian as well. There are distinctly different ones Dragon Bridge which is now just a small camp and, as previously mentioned, Blackreach which is unprecedented and gigantic.

Also the lighting plays a big role in trying to differentiate with the main series game. The typical desaturation has disappeared to make room for more colorful lights that give more life to Nordic settings. However you can see some quality contrasts, we moved on to admire beautiful views to others bare and lacking in inspired designs. Technically speaking, the expansion does not seem to have weighed down the performance, therefore it remains a title to this day perfectly playable even on older hardware.

The Elder Scrolls Online review: Greymoor, once upon a time there was Skyrim

In the cold north

Greymoor is a very respectable expansion that prefers to expand rather than innovate. There is a lot of new high-quality content to be found, but few of these have really managed to surprise us. The plot places itself among these, with interesting but decidedly not very detailed characters. However, the new system of Antiquities alone is worth the price of the whole expansion, capable of satisfying both Sunday players and other more hard-core players in search of completeness. Also not to be underestimated is its natural nostalgia effect, plunging back into the snowy lands of Skyrim is always something pleasant. This time, however, the giants will not send you into space.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor is now available on PC, while its release for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 is set for June 9, 2020. To stay up to date on video games and technology, we recommend that you continue to follow us on the pages of techigames.

7.5 A special reinterpretation

Points in favor

  • The Antiquity System is a lot of fun
  • Lots of quests and activities
  • Skyrim non delude

Points against

  • Uninspiring storytelling
  • Lack of innovation
add a comment of The Elder Scrolls Online review: Greymoor, once upon a time there was Skyrim
Comment sent successfully! We will review it in the next few hours.