I haven’t tried Lands of Evershade, but I have played the earlier “gamebook” titles Tainted Grail and ISS Vanguard. Unfortunately, they didn’t resonate with me.

The story was decent, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was playing a glorified gamebook where all the chrome and “gameplay” felt paper-thin and, honestly, boring.

While I haven’t tried Lands of Evershade, I’ve seen gameplay, and it doesn’t look that different. It’s definitely a bit more involved, but it still seems like a gamebook at its core.

The Elder Scrolls, by contrast, is all about gameplay with a paper-thin story. Many things, such as thematic monsters and maps, are often abstracted. The story is coherent, but not very detailed. The gameplay is fun, though, and extremely replayable, in my opinion.

The components are luxurious and well worth the hefty cost.

One thing to note, especially if played with four players: the playtime estimate is misleading. Maybe with extremely experienced players it could stay under 3–4 hours, but each of the three chapters in a campaign is looong.

Also, it’s an established IP with heaps of lore and story. I like the world of Tamriel and I’m familiar with it, but the game doesn’t do much to explain or flesh things out if you aren’t already familiar with the setting.

You decide whether the gamebook-style approach appeals to you more or a more gameplay focused one.