A Daedric Prince who doesn’t know what’s going on or why other Daedra are fighting for them. A massive forest has sprung up overnight. Daedric incursions threaten the forces of the Empire. With all of this combined, it’s worth at least trying to figure out what’s going on.
This is the core of Gold Road, the final chapter of The Elder Scrolls Online. In it, players are tasked with understanding what is happening and keeping fate itself from unraveling completely. Overall, it’s a solid new entry in this ongoing story that brings some interesting quests to explore and a great new addition to the game in the form of Scribing.
Due to the nature of this expansion, there will be some unmarked spoilers in this review from last year’s chapter, The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom, as Gold Road is the second half of the Secrets of Apocrypha story arc that began in 2023 .
This review was made possible thanks to a code provided by Bethesda Softworks. The company did not see the content of the review before publishing it.
What is The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road?
The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road
Price: $50 at Amazon, $33 at CD Keys
Developer: ZeniMax Online Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Genre: Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Installation size (full game): 120.5 GB
Game time: ~ 35 hours
Date of issue: June 3, 2024 (PC and Mac), June 18, 2024 (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4)
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Mac
Xbox Game Pass: No (base game included)
Reviewed in: Xbox Series X
The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road is the latest chapter in the story for ZeniMax Online Studios’ long-running massively online role-playing game (MMORPG). The Gold Road takes players to the West Weald, a region in southern Cyrodiil that includes vast vineyards, rolling hills, and the titular Road of Gold.
To play a story chapter or any other DLC in The Elder Scrolls Online, players will of course need to own the base game. Alternatively, it is also included in Xbox Game Pass. Either way, the chapters are then a separate purchase from the main game, with each chapter expanding the world through new locations to explore and a new story to go through, as well as dungeons, achievements and sometimes other features.
Traditionally, one of the defining features of The Elder Scrolls Online is how the story chapters each tell a different narrative, meaning players can pick up the last chapter and just jump right in without fear of missing out. This is not JUST the case here, for reasons I will elaborate on below.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road – Story and Characters
Gold Road continues the story that began with last year’s chapter, The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom, with the previously unknown Daedric prince Ithelia wandering the West Weald. Ithelia doesn’t know what she can do or why she’s out of prison, but her existence is a threat to all of fate, at least according to Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of Knowledge. The story alternates between investigating Ithelia and Dawnwood, the latter a strange forest that has suddenly appeared in the West Weald, causing the Recollection – a mysterious group of Wood Elves – to spread across the land.
Ithelia, a Daedric Prince whose nature alters fate, is by far the most compelling element of the story. Every point where you get the chance to talk to him is like pulling back the curtain just an inch on a Broadway stage house filled with secrets. The implications of her domain and the paths she walks are truly fascinating, and I wish we could explore them even more.
Outside of these conversations, I wish the main story played out with a little more mystery. The lack of characters means that certain revelations don’t come as a surprise, and while it’s never sinister or unpleasant, events with the Remembrance and other investigations across the West Weald play out in a fairly straightforward manner.
It’s worth noting that there’s a free epilogue that’s accessible after playing through Necrom and Gold Road. This next handful of quests wraps up the story threads that have been carried through the Secrets of the Apocrypha adventure, and while I wish we had some grander revelations, the story ends in a way that certainly feels true to the mythos of Tamriel, while the door leave it open. for future discoveries.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road — Gameplay and Features
For the most part, the functionality of the game in Gold Road is the same as it has been in several previous chapters. Unlike last year, there is no new class, so players can continue to use their Arcanists or other classes without the incentive to create a new class.
One big exception is the addition of Scribing, a new feature that requires the purchase of The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road to access. In the West Weald, players can embark on a series of quests to unlock Scribing, which is meant to function as an in-universe predecessor to spell crafting.
Once unlocked, you can customize specialized abilities with different effects and appearances, changing the function and aesthetics to your liking. It’s a really cool system that I hope the developers expand on in the future, as it really allows for a unique spin on characters outside of just following recommended builds.
Throughout the chapter’s side quests, things liven up of sorts, with a murder mystery being investigated by Mizzik Thunderboots – the Khajiit connection of Hercule Poirot and Benoit Blanc – being a particularly enjoyable moment.
As for new friends, some will come, but not now. Two more companions are slated to be added to the game in late 2024, with more details to come in the coming months. This isn’t a massive loss – only because I’m sticking with Sharp-as-Night, voiced by the iconic Brandon Keener – but the delay is worth noting.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road — Appearance and performance
ZeniMax Online Studios has long maintained strong art direction for Elder Scrolls Online, and that has not changed here. As old players return to a land last seen in Oblivion, technological advances made since then mean the West Weald looks better than ever. The ever-present autumnal tones mean it has a relaxed atmosphere, making exploration enjoyable and encouraging a sense of joy even in the midst of danger.
This changes at the edge of the newly found Dawnwood Forest, with warm vineyards and gentle streams giving way to scorched earth and destruction before the terrifying green. It’s a scene not unlike that of the burning edges of Fangorn Forest in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and it has a similar shocking effect whenever it reaches its limits.
While not as unique as the apocryphal domain touched upon in years past, it’s still beautiful to behold, and I found myself stopping often to admire the sunset over the West Weald as the amber glow consumed the woods and hills there. near.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road — Accessibility and accessibility
While The Elder Scrolls Online already features a number of accessibility-related options, there’s nothing new in Gold Road that isn’t also available to other players. This goes back to the fact that Gold Road is an expansion, and with the notable exception of Scribing (as discussed above), the gameplay here is the same as what players can expect from other parts of the long-term game. This is the same throughout combat and access.
If any new accessibility features are added in the future, they will almost certainly be available to everyone who plays the game, not just those who purchase Gold Road or whatever chapter corresponds to that update.
As for the overall accessibility of the chapter, this is the first time in a long time that I wouldn’t immediately recommend a chapter to newcomers. Instead, I really encourage interested players to at least skip the Necrom chapter first. While you can play Gold Road without its 2023 predecessor, the story here makes a lot more sense if you have knowledge of some previous events at the start. As a reminder, you’ll get all the previous chapters and this year’s adventure if you buy the Golden Path Collection. If you’re looking to get into this game, this is your best route.
Additionally, the aforementioned epilogue is only available to players who complete Necrom and Gold Road, so you’ll have to play it anyway to see how the story arc ends.
The Old Man Rolls On The Internet: The Golden Path – Final Thoughts
Ultimately, The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road is a solid new annual entry to the multiplayer world of Tamriel. It’s a change of pace from how in-game stories are traditionally told, with the team choosing to create a chapter that leans heavily on and ultimately calls upon something that’s come before. Not every decision here works perfectly, and I wish the many points in the story weren’t played so safe, but I still had a lot of fun with my time in the West Weald.
I hope The Elder Scrolls maintains its overall accessibility, but I wouldn’t mind more bi-annual arcs in the future. I also really hope we haven’t seen the last of Ithelia and hope to learn more about her and her ways in the years to come.
The Elder Scrolls Online is currently available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and Mac, and for fans of MMORPGS, it is one of the best xbox games available.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road
Get Gold Road, and you will have to explore not only the latest chapter of The Elder Scrolls Online, but also all the previous chapters of the main line! There are hundreds and hundreds of hours of research to do and regions to explore across Tamriel.