I think I've played enough to give a few thoughts on this one.
What I Love
The game has incredible depth. The options for character builds, quests, equipment, and playstyles is truly astounding. If you buy this game and it clicks for you, then it may be the only game you need to buy for the next several years...there's that much content in the box.
As always with CTG, the production values and the components are absolutely just through the roof. Everything looks absolutely beautiful on the table. I also found it to be a remarkably well-designed game. The Dized tutorial was easy to get through, the rule book was very clear, and I had little trouble figuring out how to play. After a few other recent games with truly terrible rulebooks, this was a welcome change.
I really like the way you get to fully customize how your character develops. Between choosing skills and then deciding which skill line to advance with XP makes for a very compelling leveling process throughout the game. And the build flexibility is truly unlimited. You can create any sort of character you'd like (as long as it's a Stealth Archer
)
I also love that it isn't a single, huge, 100 hour campaign that I'll never finish. Each game is broken down into three "sessions" and once you complete that, you're done and you re-roll. Keeping games smaller while still feeling chunky and impactful was a great choice, imo. There's lots of really cool side stories, quests, and encounters that constantly keep things random and interesting.
They did an amazing job with the Elder Scrolls theme and an even better job incorporating into each specific zone. The way it all ties into how the game plays is really quite incredible. Here's one example: In ESO, Cyrodil is the PvP and WvW zone. So the unique zone mechanic in the board game involves different factions gaining and losing power throughout the scenario, which affects combat, town actions, etc. It matches perfectly what happens in that zone in the video game. I can't praise the way they used the license highly enough. Probably the best use of a license in ANY board game that I've ever seen, tbh.
What I Don't Love
As I get older, I have become less and less interested in games that have layers within layers within layers within layers of complexity, and this game falls squarely in that category. Even seemingly simple decisions require you to factor in 73 different factors to determine potential outcomes, all of which could be derailed by the dice roll. This gets especially bad as you get into the third session with higher level characters. With a half dozen different skill lines that each have multiple ability dice, racial abilities, class abilities, dungeon or skirmish restrictions, status effects, enemy skills, it can all get overwhelming very quickly. Everything in the game is incredibly well designed and documented, mind you, but it honestly just kinda hurts my brain to even think about. I find that I much prefer the simplicity of Session 1 (when both the characters and enemies are less complex) far more than the advanced calculus required for every. single. move. by the time you get into Session 3. If you're a gamer who loves complexity, this is probably one of your best options.
In addition to the complexity, I find the game to be insanely difficult. If you get unlucky in your rolls, you can often end up nearly dead and entirely crippled before a battle even really gets started. There are just SO many different things trying to kill you at any given moment. To me, the constant barrage of status effects and zone/delve effects feel overly punitive, so I house rule out a few of those things just so I can actually have fun. YMMV here, but I found it to be way too difficult.
Grade: B+
All in all, I think it's a fantastic, well-designed, challenging game. Definitely not disappointed I backed it, as I've already put 20-30 hours that I have mostly enjoyed. However, it's also a game that doesn't quite connect with my personal tastes. I'm sure I'll spend lots more time with it, but it's very unlikely that I'll ever fully "finish" one of the campaigns, even though they're shorter than most. It just gets far too complex for me to manage at the higher levels.
