A new video showcasing previously unseen gameplay aspects of The Elder Scrolls: Blades emerged online earlier this month, having been recorded by GameSpot at the latest iteration of ZeniMax Media’s annual QuakeCon convention. The clip that can be seen below depicts the iOS version of the game, though its Android port should be visually and mechanically identical and is likely to launch at the same time. Much like Bethesda previously promised, the new gameplay video suggests that TES: Blades revolves around short gaming sessions filled with one-on-one encounters with AI-controlled enemies that should be familiar to fans of the series and take place in equally familiar environments.
The upcoming role-playing game is also playable in both landscape and portrait orientations, with both modes appearing to be equally functional, though the former one should allow for quicker reaction times given how players will be able to focus on blocking attacks with one hand and casting spells or attacking with the other one. The overall user interface is styled after those from 3D TES games for PCs and consoles but the progression system is more straightforward, even though it still allows players to improve their characters in a non-linear manner and doesn’t lock them into the RPG trope of classes. Hybrid character builds should hence be a possibility, though the new look at TES: Blades still doesn’t clarify how aggressively will the premium in-game currency be promoted by Bethesda, i.e. whether progressing at a reasonable pace will be an option to someone who isn’t willing to spend anything on the free-to-play game.
TES: Blades won’t be an open-world game akin to the main entries in the series and will instead feature a hub world and procedurally generated dungeons, though the latter won’t necessarily take the form of literal underground environments, as evidenced by the same video. Bethesda is still planning to release the game on Android and iOS this fall, with a closed beta being scheduled to begin in the coming days. In the meantime, mobile gamers are still able to get their daily dose of The Elder Scrolls world with TES: Legends that continues to be updated alongside its Windows and macOS versions.