It’s not often that a game comes along where I devote my entire weekends to it and get lost in its world. When such a game does come, it usually ends up in my most memorable list. One such game is Skyrim; a game that exceeded all my expectations and made me believe that video games can be art. It’s a phenomenal achievement by Bethesda considering the sheer scale of the game; fitting this on consoles was by no means an easy task.
It is also a completely different game on the PC due to one specific reason – user generated content. People can say whatever they want about Skyrim, but they cannot deny the fact that Bethesda had pulled off something ambitious and incredible.
I know people have mixed opinions on the game, and to be honest, it happens with plenty of games. When the initial euphoria wears out, most games are scrutinized closely and plenty of unpleasant things are revealed, which people were obviously blinded to see before due to the hype.
I mean, Skyrim is not as that hated by its fanbase compared to some other games like Metal Gear Solid 4 or Grand Theft Auto 4, but seeing the shoddy console versions, especially the PS3 one, really changed people’s opinion on the game and Bethesda again.
Look, for a Bethesda game, you should be expecting a lot of bugs and the reason for that is that their games are always ambitious and so much complex that quality assurance becomes a huge problem. It is very difficult to ship a bug free game quickly unless you are prepared to wait for 5-6 years. People have done that, however, I’m not denying that.
I am not being an apologist mainly due to the fact that this game impressed me so much and to such an extent that I’ve already invested over 150 hours on the PC version of the game. There are two big reasons for that.
A leap like none other
Skyrim is a massive leap over its predecessors, be it the visuals, or the sheer scale of the game, everything has been dutifully attended to by Bethesda. Yes, I can’t forget the bugs and glitches and to an extent I think you could count it as a feature of Bethesda’s games, but Skyrim believe it or not, actually has fewer bugs and glitches than the games that preceded it on the PC.
People also loathe the Gamebryo engine due to this very specific reason, and while Bethesa had said earlier that they were using a new engine for it, which they weren’t, the difference between Oblivion and Skyrim in visuals is worlds apart.
It can sometimes be a photogenic game on the PC, and so many people have taken unbelievable screenshots of the environments or of basically anything that happens in the game. One such example is this. Not many games manage to make my jaw drop frequently. Skyrim did that. The moment I saw the beautiful world Bethesda had created, I was in love.
It was also a major factor why I played this game for a long time. You can find so many new things on your travels, and sometimes things happen that can simply shock you for a moment – like a Dragon attacking a bunch of guards, and considering the visuals on offer it can leave a lasting impact on your mind.
Mods galore
What would a Bethesda game be without mods? There have been so many mods for Skyrim that it is pretty much impossible to try them all out unless you play the game all day. It’s the one thing I believe that makes Skyrim stand the test of time successfuly, and give players something new to try out all the time.
We have showcased a bunch of good mods as well, which you can check out here; but that article is bit outdated already and there are plenty more highly efficient and impressive mods out there such as, ENB Hollywood. Yes, go on. Click here.
I mean, as soon as I installed that thing on and started playing Skyrim, I realized what a good mod can do in transforming a game. It was an incredible experience. Just goofing around the vast area that Skyrim offers to you felt exhilarating.
Skyrim is a game that is a great fit for the PC. User generated content can be so creative and satisfying in so many ways. It is clear that the game engages these people in such a way that they spend a lot of time and effort in enhancing the game and sharing it with other people. Now, say whatever you want, you cannot deny the fact that the replayablity factor is through the roof!
For someone like me who simply does not have a lot of time to spend on one game, it has surprised me that Skyrim gave me so much enjoyment and fulfillment for over 150 hours.
I can criticize this game so much; point out so many flaws; and not to mention blame Bethesda for shipping a buggy product, but this is a game that had kept me occupied for so long, and for this reason I believe Skyrim is the best game of this generation so far.