TESO: High Isle in the test – we like the new chapter so much
After battling nasty Daedra lords, bloodthirsty vampires, and mighty dragons over the last few years, the Zenimax developers are stepping on the brakes with this year’s “Breton Legacy” storyline. It’s about the Bretons, their feudal society and political intrigues. And we can experience the first climax of the story thanks to the High Isle Chapter on PC, Mac and Stadia since June 02, 2022. Console players will have to wait until June 21, 2022, when High Isle will also appear on Playstation and Xbox.
In the meantime, we’ve been able to play the new content of High Isle extensively, throw ourselves into several glory story duels, travel through the country with the two new companions and successfully uncover the conspiracy of a secret order of knights. In our test, we’ll tell you whether the trip to High Island and the prison island of Amenos is just as worthwhile as the nostalgia trips to Vvardenfell, Skyrim and the Dark Forest in recent years.
High Isle in the test: The world of the Bretons
With High Isle, the Zenimax developers take the opportunity to lure you into two areas of Tamriel that you have not been allowed to enter in the long history of the Elder Scrolls. Specifically, the Systren archipelago, which lies to the west of the large continent, consists of several islands. Important for the new adventure are above all the eponymous high island and the prison island of Amenos, which in combination are about as large as the areas of the previous chapters.
The two regions could hardly be more different thematically. On the high island, majestic castles line up with lush meadows, radiant fields of sunflowers and idyllic waterfalls. Here the Breton nobility has a good time, here you can learn more about the background and roots of the Breton knight culture. However, the volcanic vents erupting everywhere, the local pirates and the attacks from the Order of the Aspiring prevent you from vacationing in the idyll.
On Amenos, on the other hand, a dense forest awaits you, full of creatures that want to get at you. Political prisoners, uncomfortable dissidents and criminals who have stepped on the toes of the High Island nobility end up on the island. Only a small post is controlled by real guards. Those who are sent through the gates into the wilderness are on their own in the open-air prison. This brings back memories of the action classic “The Rattlesnake” from 1981.
High Isle in the test: great stories told …
As previously mentioned, High Isle has a conspiracy at the forefront of the main story that emanates from the Order of the Upstart. Apparently the hooded attackers want to torpedo the peace talks between the three alliances of Tamriel, so that the conflict flares up again, which in turn would benefit the order.
Since the leader of the order always hides his face behind a knight’s helmet, detective work awaits you on the one hand: who is hiding behind the aspiring prince? On the other hand, you have to find the faction leaders who should take part in the peace talks. They disappeared after a shipwreck.
We don’t want to tell you more about the story than this initial situation. Just this much: look forward to dialogues that are often well written and set to music, interesting new characters and a reunion with various characters that you may already know from past adventures – all of this also applies to the various side quests that you will find in combination with the main story will certainly be entertaining for another 20 to 25 hours.
Source: buffed
TESO: High Isle in the test – stories and dialogues of the quests are often great. In a playful way, however, the orders don’t tear up trees.
Source: buffed
TESO: High Isle in the test – We are fired up in the fight against the Order of the Aspiring.
High Isle in the test: … well-known gameplay loop
It’s a bit of a shame, however, that the numerous quests are remembered almost exclusively thanks to the characters and dialogues involved. The only exception is the final battle of the main story. Otherwise, apart from the conversations with NPCs and one or the other beautifully staged in-game script event, you can expect a mix of run-of-the-mill battles that are never a challenge (thanks to the companions, even less than was the case years ago was, but You probably already know that from Blackwood), and run-of-the-mill interactions with objects in the game world.
Gameplay highlights like the trap dungeon with last year’s Stibbon duplicates and puzzles that you can’t go wrong are just as hard to find. As far as that is concerned, past chapters and the main game (partly significantly) offer more playful variety in the quests. You are also hardly allowed to make any decisions within quests. That was always a nice aspect of TESO (buy now €49.99): To influence the fate of Tamriel residents on a small scale.
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Reference-www.buffed.de