We explore Skyrim's gothic side in The Elder Scrolls Online's new dungeon

Stonethorn is the third episode in The Elder Scrolls Online's Dark Heart of Skyrim year-long adventure, and it shines a light on a whole other side of Tamriel's frostiest region. Where the adventure's first chunk, Harrowstorm, was all about Nordic burial grounds, the Icereach dungeon, and supernatural storms - basically, what you'd recognise as quintessentially Skyrim - Stonethorn is gothic.

The new pack centres on two dungeons that bask in the gloom and grotesque of the gothic genre. Stone Garden plays host to a "mad alchemist, hidden deep within a secret, mysterious laboratory" in Blackreach, whose "horrifying creations" you need to put down. Castle Thorn is an ancient fortress lodged in the hills of western Skyrim, ruled by a megalomaniac vampire lord, and packed with more beasts and pointy buttresses than Bram Stoker's dreams after a cheese board. But what lies within these dungeons goes beyond 'stock' gothic fare, and brings new and invigorating challenges to the MMO.

I saddle up for a demo run of Castle Thorn alongside creative director Rich Lambert, lead content designer Jeremy Sera, lead encounter designer Mike Finnegan, and senior content designer Shane Slama.

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