💥 TRENDING: Profiles/ - Full Archive

The first time I played this game was in 2011 on my PS3 in my bedroom as a kid.
When my family bought its first gaming computer, the first game I bought was Skyrim.
I've played Skyrim at least once a month since 2011, which goes to show the longevity of this game. I love the storyline, characters, factions, lore, mechanics, visuals, music, and so much more of this game. It's been an essential part of my game library.

The real review:
This edition is the best edition to get for Skyrim. I don't recommend giving into the Anniversary Edition as mod compatibility and stability for Special Edition seems so much better to me.

The Good:
Skyrim is a fantastic adventure fantasy RPG which has easy to learn mechanics and a good sized open-world to wonder and explore. The skill progression is also easy to understand, as when you level up you get skill points to spent on any available skill. The player has the ability to play nearly any style they want. Want to be a rushing sword swinger? Go for it! Does the classic stealth archer role fit your style? That works too! Maybe you're a mage that calms your enemies with magic, then kills them after with a dagger; that's possible as well. The main story is about... 15-25 hours depending on how you take it. However, the side quests, the faction quests, DLC, exploration, and goofing around can make each playthrough up to 100 hours. My first one in 2011 was 180 hours. Speaking of DLC, all are included in this edition. There is optional "DLC" from Bethesda that's also paid but I wouldn't even touch that lol. The three main DLC: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn, are/were all good add-ons for the game. Dawnguard adds cross-bows, more vampire lore, and a small narrative about a family of vampires. Hearthfire allows players to build their own homes, which greatly expanded many crafting elements. Finally, Dragonborn takes you to Solstheim in Morrowind to take out another menace that's come to destroy you. What makes Skyrim have its longevity is its mod support. The engine is real easy to mod, and people have come up with some amazing mods over the years. There's engine overhauls, new locations, retexturing, quests, and so much more to add and change to this game.

The Bad:
2011 was a different time for gamers. I would argue that better RPGs exists, as this one "gives you freedom" at the cost of immersion and features. The Witcher, Kingdom Come, and others all have just as many skills, powers, story-telling capability, and world-building, and most of the time do it better. Skyrim and Bethesda are known for the great number of bugs and glitches that's built into the engine, but also overlooked or ignored parts of the game. Fallout 4, and later Fallout 76 and Starfield would fall victim to arguably more bugs and oversight. Also, the paid mini-mods that Bethesda has released is a joke and speaks volumes about what Bethesda and ZeniMax care about. Skyrim even has mechanics and features that were outdated in 2011. The ever-so-frequent fetch quests would really start to show, but they made up for it in world-building and great spatial design. The open world, while being kinda dense, is smaller than would be desired, and the small city size is very easy to make fun of. Some the decision-making is kinda dampened in Skyrim, where there is very little choice in some circumstances, and sometimes the best choice for your playthrough means giving up or completely ignoring quests.

The Verdict:
Skyrim is still to this day my "favorite game of all time" and is an always installed application on my computer. I love this game, its lore, and its fun. It comes with its bugs that need mods to be fixed, and its Bethesda that needs to be wacked into shape, but its still the ever-loved Skyrim. I think every gamer needs to experience this game. It was a marvel of its time and still is a Top 100 Most Played Game 15 years later.

10/10 will be playing again soon.