I’m sure I’m being awfully opinionated here, although at the same time I have a sense that my experience is shared quite universally. What I expected in the introduction was a lot more than I saw.
Other ESO expansions had a certain touch of distinction. The Morrowind chapter had the splendor of Vivec City; Elsweyr had its grandiose, inspired designs; Summerset, despite also having a somewhat sluggish introduction, did not disappoint. Then onto Greymoor we go and it takes ages before I encounter a challenging boss fight –to their credit, there is a boss fight with legitimate mechanics.
The Solitude in Greymoor is hardly any more interesting or impressive than the one conceived in Skyrim. In fact the dimness and grunge of the lighting and texturing in Greymoor’s version makes it even more dreary. There was a serious opportunity to do something different. Because they are in a world in which Tamriel is different…I’m not the only one that thinks there was a dragon break that enabled the contradictions in the storylines brought about in ESO, am I? *cough*
Luckily there is at least some compensation for enduring a somewhat mediocre storyline that seems to reluctantly carry along a princess whose character and personality is lacking: very near the end of the main quest we see a stunning cavern holding evil Disney Land. The background skybox technique that was used magnifies the grandness of the cavern as well. These are useful touch ups.
All in all, however, it was far less impressive than it could have been. Hopefully ZOS figures out where they went wrong.