E3 2019: ‘The Elder Scrolls: Blades’ Is Off To A Rough Start

Earlier this year, Elder Scrolls went the free-to-play route by releasing a  mobile beta for Blades, a first person spinoff and the microtransactions that come with the genre. Surprisingly, the game was announced for the Nintendo Switch and featured as playable during E3, highlighted by Bethesda’s keynote speech. We checked the game out on the show floor to see how the transition from mobile to console fared.

Much like Wii games like Dragon Quest Swords, The Elder Scrolls: Blades takes up a first person viewpoint as the player slashes through enemies while traveling along a set path. Using both a sword and shield, timing attacks to both avoid damage while delivering blows of your own felt like a rock-paper-scissors combat system. Encountering foes ranging from feral wolves to hostile soldiers, controlling your warrior was intuitive, if not a little slow to respond.

What wasn’t seen in the demo was how much of its mobile roots would surface in this console release. The ability to play this game on a big screen should be cool if the solid visuals of the handheld mode are anything to go by, but since Blades will also be free on the Switch, it’s hard to tell if mobile strategies like restricting play time without paying money will work out well on a platform typically free of such barriers. This game is already facing an uphill battle since games like the aforementioned Dragon Quest Swords didn’t exactly set the world on fire.

If nothing else, The Elder Scrolls: Blades could be a fun distraction as we wait on news regarding Elder Scrolls 6. Keep an eye out on the eShop for the full game later this year.