Last year we were blown away by the Season of the Dragon event from The Elder Scrolls Online. The first year-long event was an absolute success with the stunning Elsweyr DLC that came to an epic conclusion in the Dragonhold DLC later that year. Once more, the developers have undergone the massive task of bringing a bigger, better year-long event with The Dark Heart of Skyrim.

Fans of The Elder Scrolls series get to return to a familiar locale from one of the most popular games ever: Skyrim. Well, not all of Skyrim. Players return to Western Skyrim almost a millennium before the events in The Elder Scrolls V. Before the war between Imperials and Stormcloaks, there was unrest between the West and the East. Before the Dragonborn saved Skyrim from the dragon threat, vampires, werewolves, and witches laid siege to the land.

The Skyrim in Greymoor has a much more dark, gothic storyline. This isn’t the high fantasy, dragon-fighting land that came to us in 2011. This Skyrim is wrought with a more sinister threat. Evil storms are being summoned to turn innocent civilians into Harrowed beings. Reach witches are working with vampires to overthrow the monarchy in Solitude and take control. Players must be on their guard at all times if they want to not only save Skyrim but all of Tamriel.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, check out the trailer:

The Environment

Every time I review a new chapter or DLC for ESO I just gush about the environment. And, spoilers, I’m going to do the same thing here. However, this time, it’s a little different.

First of all, the environment isn’t new. I ate up The Elder Scrolls v: Skyrim when it came out and still find myself playing it quite often. The locales are and models are familiar. When I first entered Solitude in Greymoor I was all giddy because it looks exactly like the Solitude I’ve come to know from Skyrim. It looks so good, especially for an MMO, and it feels like a nice warm welcome from an old friend.

Even when exploring the rest of Western Skyrim I came across places I had forgotten about but instantly recognized. Western Skyrim is beautiful in its own right, but now players can experience it in a new light. There are new enemies that roam this Skyrim, like the massive Bristlebacks. But there are also familiar enemies, like Spriggans and Giants.

The most interesting part of Greymoor is Blackreach, a massive underground cavern system that lays under Western Skyrim. Blackreach is home to many ancient Dwemer buildings, as well as a mining town that greets the player upon their first arrival. Blackreach was in Skyrim but is much more gorgeous, and vampire-filled, in Greymoor.

The glowing mushrooms that light up the caverns of Blackreach give off an eery, other-worldly feel. It is quite a sight to behold, as long as you are not engaged in combat. The most amazing thing in Blackreach, however, is the Keep. This massive structure is in a completely different biome than the rest of Blackreach, illuminated from below by lava instead of from above by bioluminescent mushrooms. This stark contrast gives the Keep a sinister glow.

The Story

I won’t go too far into the actual story, in order to avoid spoilers for those who wish to go into Greymoor mostly blind. However, I do have to point out that I am constantly taken aback by what great storytellers the developers are. I always thoroughly enjoy the stories in each new chapter, and Greymoor is no exception. The story in this chapter is well crafted with many interesting characters and plot points.

***The rest of this section will be talking a little more about the actual story in Greymoor, I would advise skipping it if you would not like the beginning of Greymoor to be spoiled. This is your official spoiler warning.***

If players hop into Greymoor with a new character, they are greeted with a familiar scene of riding along in a horse-drawn cart through Skyrim. This wonderful call-back to Skyrim is cut short when the player and their companion in the cart are attacked. The player wakes up in a cell where they are formally introduced to Fennorian, a friendly vampire scholar. Fennorian is a wonderful gentleman who helps you through your quest to save Western Skyrim.

Fennorian instructs you to travel to Solitude and he will meet with you later. After arriving in Solitude, you run into fan-favorite NPC, Lyris Titanborn. Lyris, a half-giant woman from Eastern Skyrim, is in Solitude to talk to the queen. Even though tensions are high between Eastern and Western Skyrim, Lyris and the queen act cordially and attempt to help one another.

Without going into a whole lot of specifics, there are issues with Reach Witches who are creating great Harrowstorms that turn citizens into husks of themselves that attack others. These Witches are working together with vampires in an attempt to topple the ruling power in Western Skyrim. With the help of Lyris, Fennorian, and the princess, Svana, the player must find out what the witches and vampires are plotting. What is causing the Harrowstorms? Why are they doing this? Why are they using werewolves as well?

Antiquing

This was the most pleasant surprise to an otherwise grim filled chapter. The player can now explore Tamriel in an entirely new way. The Antiquities system is a new system released with Greymoor. In essence, it is a couple of mini-games that allows the player to uncover new lore-based items, as well as cool new gear.

It all starts with a lead. the player can use the Antiquarian’s Eye, which can be acquired from the Antiquarian’s Circle, that can be used to scry for the location of an antiquity. This is a mini-game in itself, but once the player reaches the dig site, there is another mini-game.

It is a little reminiscent of Battleship, in trying to find the items in the dirt. The player can unlock more items later to help uncover these antiquities. There are even bonus items that can be found, but no help will come from the Antiquarian’s Eye when looking for them.

This new system is such a fun new way to explore Tamriel. The process of locating and excavating the items is quite fun. I’ve even personally seen people in the in-game chat talk about how much they love the Antiquities system.

Everything in the Greymoor chapter is wonderful through and through. The new story is engaging and dark, and the new Antiquities system gives a nice break from running around saving Tamriel. I am always amazed by the work put into each new expansion to The Elder Scrolls Online and every time it exceeds expectations. I look forward to the rest of the DLCs coming out this year as a part of the Dark Heart of Skyrim event. And, if last year is anything to go off of, I am excited to see if Eastern Skyrim will be open to explore by the end of the year. Only time will tell, and I cannot wait!