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First Look: The Elder Scrolls: Castles Lets Players Rule a Kingdom on iOS and Android
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First Look: The Elder Scrolls: Castles Lets Players Rule a Kingdom on iOS and Android

FirstLook:TheElderScrolls:CastlesLetsPlayersRuleaKingdomoniOSandAndroid

The free-to-play management game was created by the team behind Fallout Shelter.

Posted 2 months ago

The Elder Scrolls 6 may still be far off, but fans of the fantasy franchise can now sate their appetite for new content by trying The Elder Scrolls: Castles, a free-to-play mobile game now available on iOS and Android devices.

The Elder Scrolls: Castles was developed by the team behind another Bethesda mobile game, Fallout Shelter, and the similarities between the two games are readily apparent. In Castles, players will manage their own castle, constructing new rooms and filling them with working stations, decorations, and other structures.

Each working station produces a different kind of resource (like wood or burlap), which can be used to help the castle grow and expand. Players can assign their castle’s subjects to different jobs, perform arranged marriages, cause their subjects to have children, and make decisions on behalf of the castle’s current ruler (these decisions can affect the moods of the ruler’s subjects).

Players will earn experience points as they complete quests and other actions. As their profile levels up, they’ll unlock new structures to build around the castle, and may also receive other rewards, including mystery item bundles that may contain new subjects, outfits, and other prizes.

One of the game’s most interesting features is its day and night cycle, which causes one in-game year to pass for each real-world day. This will cause the castle’s subjects (and the current queen or king) to grow older and eventually die as time passes, and will, as a result, require players to select heirs to the throne.

The player is presented with three options to choose from on behalf of the queen in The Elder Scrolls: Castles

©Bethesda / Restart

As you might expect, since The Elder Scrolls: Castles is a free-to-play game, it offers optional ways to spend real money. This includes individual purchases (things like outfits and potions), as well as an Emperor’s Pass subscription priced at $4.99 per week or $13.99 for 30 days. Players can also watch video ads to receive in-game bonuses.

As part of the game’s launch celebration, players who reach at least Level 25 by October 10 will receive a set of free items:

  • 100 Gems
  • One Blessing of Great Dynasty
  • One Legendary Pack
  • Three Banner Decorations
  • One Legendary Subject: Ulfric Stormcloak

Check out some gameplay from The Elder Scrolls: Castles above to see if this is a game you’d like to try.