Staff E3 Favorites – Kevin’s Pick – Elder Scrolls: Blades
"Though this announcement isn't as controversial as Fallout: 76, nor as immediately hype-building as Elder Scrolls VI: Green Hillls and Water and Stuff, the announcement showed ambition and passion."
The Elder Scrolls: Blades
There’s a smell in the air, and a painfully tingling sensation in my wallet. It’s the smell emanating from the stampede of games coming in the fall of 2018 and spring of 2019. It’s a flood that may be marking the end of this gaming generation with a definite bang. This year’s E3 came with big announcements for upcoming games, and release dates and game play for already announced titles. During Bethesda’s annual conference, BE3, the titan developer announced a slew of updates from almost all of their major franchises, as well as a brand new way to play one of gaming’s most influential franchises. The Elder Scrolls: Blades is launching later this year, and will debut on mobile devices.
Though this announcement isn’t as controversial as Fallout: 76, nor as immediately hype-building as Elder Scrolls VI: Green Hillls and Water and Stuff, the announcement showed ambition and passion. Todd Howard promised players a full Elder Scrolls experience, with quests, role-playing, and the ability to reconstruct your in-game hometown.
The little we’ve seen of the game looks cool. The art style retains the models from Skyrim, so spiders and iron swords will look very familiar to gamers. Howard showed off “meeting mode,” the ability to play the game in portrait orientation – so named so Howard and others can comfortably play the game without looking too conspicuous. While the game is launching on mobile devices, the plan is to eventually release the title on consoles and PC, much like it’s older brother Fallout Shelter, which recently came to PlayStation 4 and Switch.
When Fallout Shelter debuted two years ago it immediately set a standard for mobile gaming. The quirky gameplay has since developed into a fuller experience with quests, seasonal updates, and crafting. We’re excited to see what Bethesda brings to the table with TES: Blades. If it lives up to the success of Fallout Shelter, you can bet we’ll be draining our batteries and losing productivity for months while slashing our way through Tamriel. Plus, with all of the massive titles launching this year, it’ll be refreshing to have something to take on the road that can also be downloaded and played for free… because free is almost always good.
We want to know what you think! Send us a tweet. What were your favorite moments of E3 2018? What do you want out of TES: Blades? How many points does Todd Howard have in his Speech stat? Let Handsome Phantom know your thoughts, and be sure to check out our other E3 favorites, or our Platted That! for Far Cry 5!
