The big moment has arrived. I have beaten the Aldmeri Dominion questline! Brace yourselves for another long rambling review, because, as I mentioned earlier, this was definitely my favorite of the alliances.
All we see of the Summerset Isles is Auridon, the smaller of the two. It's not a great beginning for the alliance, I have to admit. It's not terrible or anything, just kind of underwhelming. PP and I, along with half the lorefags on the Internet, have already bawed about the architecture and city designs - they're far too rustic, too primitive, and too unassuming for the Altmer. The land itself isn't anything to gawk at either, it's just typical sort of meadows and countryside stuff. The writing is a little bit better. The Altmer aren't too over-the-top with the snobbiness and pride, and we learn a few interesting things about their culture, but again, nothing too impressive. At least this zone isn't very big.
Then we get to Valenwood, and it's fucking awesome. It looks great, it's a ton of fun to explore, and it never once feels generic or clichéd. That last point applies doubly to the Bosmer themselves. I mean, think about how easy it would have been to fuck these guys up and just turn them into environmentalist little pixies or something. But no, the writers hit on all the unique aspects of their society, even the particularly dark and creepy ones. Their paganistic religious beliefs, their cannibalism, their deep reverence of the Green Pact and dire consequences if it's violated, their disgusting cuisine made entirely of animal products, the mysterious walking city of Falinesti, the spiritual leader called the "Silvenar" - everything. Virtually all of the existing lore is explored (there might be a couple of things that they missed, but there's nothing that comes to mind), and then they add some new lore of their own, which all fits with the setting while being creative in its own right. It's the best province in the game by far, and the fact that there are three zones of it makes it all the better.
Finally, there's Elsweyr, which is represented by the starting island of Khenarthi's Roost and most of the final zone, Reaper's March. The land itself has a sort of central African feel to it, big rolling plains, savannahs, lions and antelopes, that kind of thing. The Khajiit culture and society is a unique blend of real-world influences. The Romani culture definitely plays a big part, given how many of them travel around in caravans and are mistrusted by other races, but they have Indian accents, their temples and ruins look very African, and their architecture, with all the stilts and big roofs, is inspired by southeastern Asia. It's all interesting stuff, but the main focus with the Khajiit is their religion, particularly their reverence of the moons, because they're Lorkhan's body, or something like that. Also, they call him Lorkhaj. But anyway, here's the best part. In the final quest, you get to go to the moons. No, really. You're totally following in the footsteps of the mananauts.
/awesome