Artifact vs The Elder Scrolls: Legends
Artifact is a strategy game from Valve (2018) while The Elder Scrolls: Legends is a strategy game from Sparkypants Studios, LLC (2017).
What each one is
Steam files Artifact under Strategy. In contrast, it files The Elder Scrolls: Legends under Strategy.
Artifact now features two games: Artifact Classic, the original Dota 2 trading card game, and Artifact Foundry, a special edition with streamlined gameplay, new cards, new single-player content, and an improved new player experience.
The Elder Scrolls: Legends™ is an award- winning free-to-play strategy card game based on the world and lore of the Elder Scrolls series. Play for hours or minutes across many game modes that are easy to learn but challenging to master.
At a glance
| Artifact | The Elder Scrolls: Legends | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 5.5/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Steam rating | Mixed (47%, 24,768) | Mostly Positive (75%, 11,074) |
| Critic aggregate | 76/100 | No aggregate |
| Price | Free | Not listed |
| Install size | 7 GB | 3 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | verified |
| Released | 2018 | 2017 |
| Developer | Valve | Sparkypants Studios, LLC |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Artifact vs The Elder Scrolls: Legends, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
ArtifactStrategy gameThe Elder Scrolls: LegendsStrategy gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
ArtifactCard Battler, Deckbuilding, Card GameThe Elder Scrolls: LegendsFree to Play, Card Game, Trading Card GameThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
ArtifactScore 5.5 · 47% on Steam · 76 criticThe Elder Scrolls: Legends ✓Score 6.5 · 75% on SteamThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Artifact24,768 reviews · 7 GBThe Elder Scrolls: Legends11,074 reviews · 3 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
ArtifactFreeThe Elder Scrolls: LegendsNot listedRead live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
ArtifactPlayableThe Elder Scrolls: Legends ✓VerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
The Elder Scrolls: Legends takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueArtifact and The Elder Scrolls: Legends on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: The Elder Scrolls: Legends (GamingPickz Score 6.5)
- Better on a Steam Deck: The Elder Scrolls: Legends (verified)
- Lighter on storage: The Elder Scrolls: Legends (3 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Artifact (24,768 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
DeckbuildingCard GameTrading Card GameStrategyMultiplayerTacticalFantasySingleplayer
Where they differ
Card Battlere-sportsCompetitiveTurn-Based StrategyDifficultMagic
Free to PlayBoard GameStory RichDark FantasyActionTurn-Based Tactics
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Artifact is demanding, for players who want a challenge. The Elder Scrolls: Legends is relaxed, easy to pick up.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Artifact and 0 for The Elder Scrolls: Legends. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Artifact and The Elder Scrolls: Legends in scope?
Artifact has drawn 24,768 Steam reviews and installs in 7 GB. The Elder Scrolls: Legends has drawn 11,074 Steam reviews and installs in 3 GB.
Is Artifact or The Elder Scrolls: Legends better?
By the GamingPickz Score, The Elder Scrolls: Legends rates higher (6.5 to 5.5). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Artifact or The Elder Scrolls: Legends?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.