The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

There aren’t many games that need little to no introduction, but The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is definitely among the top 10 because nearly anyone reading this probably already has an image of what Skyrim is to them. Released in 2011, and subsequently released 6 more times between 2012 and 2020 as complete and VR editions, Skyrim has seen nearly an endless amount of love and popularity throughout its entire existence.

Since the launch of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in 2006, fans of the fantasy RPG craved another mesmerizing experience on the continent of Tamriel. If you’ve heard of the Fallout series being described as “Skyrim with guns,” then it would be appropriate to say that Skyrim is like Fallout, but with magic and equally impressive RPG elements.

Fulfill Your Destiny as the Dragonborn

As with most Elder Scrolls games, you begin your adventure as a prisoner, though this time you’re on your way to the chopping block in the town of Helgen, only to escape by a hair due to a dragon attack. After making your way out of the dungeons below and alerting the Jarl of the nearby village of Whiterun about the attack, you encounter and slay another dragon, whose soul you absorb. The soldiers around you recognize this ability, calling you the next Dragonborn of the era. It had been prophesied that only the Dragonborn could suppress the new dragon threat. You now know what you must do.

The overarching story well done, but it is generally short in scope and could take you less than 10 hours to finish. Bethesda’s story telling truly shine when it comes to the side quests and faction quests – the storylines for the Dark Brotherhood, Thieve’s Guild, Companions, and College of Winterhold are all fleshed out and uniquely crafted. Though, in my personal opinion, the College’s questline was the weakest and I would’ve liked to see more in terms of Mage representation during the story. Overall, however, its hard to want any more from a storytelling perspective due to how even the shortest dungeons or caves have a narrative to follow.

Choose Your Path, Hone Your Skills

Skyrim’s main gameplay is centered around 3 pillars of skills that can be described by their Standing Stones (which allow faster progression for their respective skills when activated): Warrior, Thief, and Mage. Warrior skills include melee skills like one handed archery, and smithing; Thief covers skills like sneak, lockpicking, and speech; Mage surrounds Magicka-based skills like destruction, alteration, and enchanting. Like many others during my first playthrough, I became a stealth archer. Typical. But only because its fun to take out half a dragon’s health with an arrow if I manage to sneak up on it. Essentially, you’re likely to go with one-handed/two-handed or archery for your initial build because they are overpowered and most viable ways to face tough enemies.

This can make the gameplay feel incredibly stale by the time you reach level 30-40, but there are plenty of avenues to restructure your build/gameplay since there is no level cap. Investing your perk points into Mage skills can create a whole new challenge in itself. Combat aside, the crafting, enchanting, and alchemy systems are almost too fun for their own good. They’re not minigames, but there’s an art to them that flows well (and perhaps a few exploits to help you deal over a million damage with poison, but who’s to say?).

Bottom Line

If you haven’t already purchased Skyrim, do yourself a favor and set a weekend aside to give it a go, even if you don’t care for fantasy RPGs.

Pros

• Combat is fluid and can be approached in many ways with skills
• Map is huge, always something new to find
• World is rich, feels alive with NPCs and faction quests

Cons

• Main story lacking compared to other quests
• Mage skills relatively outpaced by warrior/thief skills, hard to build well
• Harder difficulties aren’t rewarding, only present tedium