The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor — Why you should be excited for the upcoming expansion

A few months ago, Bethesda announced The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor for Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4. Ever since the massively multiplayer online game (MMO) launched, players have been asking the team to let them relieve The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's glory days. Well, that wish has been granted, and the upcoming expansion – that launches in May on PC and June on consoles – does precisely that.

According to Bethesda, the Dark Heart of Skyrim beats from the depths in Greymoor. You are tasked with exploring the snow-swept region of Western Skyrim and face an ancient vampiric army as part of a year-long gothic adventure. However, there are plenty of other surprises in store.

One of the most mysterious areas in Skyrim is the underground city of Blackreach. Blackreach was, from my understanding, the crowning achievement of the mysterious and extinct Dwemer. The Dwemer is The Elder Scrolls' take on Dwarves, even though they are a race of Elves. It is unclear why they went extinct, but it seems like it was due to an experiment gone wrong that converted the entire population into pure energy.

Greymoor lets you explore the city of Blackreach, but it is much bigger than what we got in Skyrim. According to a press briefing Windows Central attended, it is a major part of the map in the upcoming expansion, even though the city is underground. I cannot remember the last time I explored a massive underground city in any game, well, aside from Skyrim. Hopefully, it will live up to the hype the developers built during the briefing.

The Elder Scrolls Online started off as quite a miserable experience, but the removal of the required subscription and the addition of content-rich expansions has made it one of the best MMOs on the market. It even runs at 4K resolution on Xbox One X. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of content in the game. You will explore diverse regions from deserts to sprawling cities.

Previously, The Elder Scrolls Online has provided a lot of enjoyable experiences, but the game has not been able to capture the mystery of Skyrim to this day. There is just something about the snowy peaks and ancient ruins that feels more enigmatic than the rest of Tamriel. I am glad that the developers decided to revisit this region because it is still the highlight of the franchise, even after all these years.

I am excited for Greymoor because it takes us back to Skyrim, but also gives us new content to explore. I was worried we would have to explore the same areas, but since Greymoor takes place hundreds of years before the events of the last entry in the franchise, it is going to be quite different. We will not be limited to a small portion of Blackreach this time around, but can access other areas of the mysterious city. If you loved Skyrim, or love fantasy games in general, you should check out Greymoor.

If you want to get a slight taste of what Greymoor has in store, you can play the free prologue right now. It has been available for a few weeks. It is only a bite-sized portion of the campaign, but you will know what to expect when the expansion drops in a few weeks on PC and consoles.