We played in landscape mode, so holding the phone with two hands, with one charging an attack and the other ready to block a choreographed enemy attack, felt incredibly fluid and satisfying.
Your shield is raised by holding a button on the left of the screen, and your array of spells are displayed along the bottom – also activated at the push of a button. You have the choice of either swishing your weapon around with your scroll finger, or tapping and holding the screen to attack. Past Elder Scrolls games have been criticized for their simplistic combat systems, which essentially boil down to ‘spam the attack button and occasionally hold up a shield if you feel like it’ – but we never appreciated how well this easy-to-use concept would lend itself to fights on a touchscreen.
Beyond the beautiful backdrop, the combat is where Blades shone through.
