When I read about Hearthfire's content, I thought that it would offer the perfect fantasy homestead, and my expectations soared high; it sounded like a great addition to such a content-heavy game, and could perhaps offer a new kind of interactivity, far from the dungeon-raiding which forms the bulk of Skyrim's gameplay. After spending some time choosing from a small list of pre-determinedWhen I read about Hearthfire's content, I thought that it would offer the perfect fantasy homestead, and my expectations soared high; it sounded like a great addition to such a content-heavy game, and could perhaps offer a new kind of interactivity, far from the dungeon-raiding which forms the bulk of Skyrim's gameplay. After spending some time choosing from a small list of pre-determined layouts, filling the house with pre-determined furniture, and crafting a whole lot of nonsense, I have to say that Hearthfire has loads of potential, but is still undeniably unsatisying. From the way that it was advertised, it sounded like you could build a house and customize every inch of it to your liking; probably even get some new story events to happen every now and then. The truth about Hearthfire is that you're just filling up the small blanks that the designers have set up, where the house and everything inside its four corners need to be crafted so as to engage the player. The absolute worst part about it is that you can't determine where to place the furniture, making the promise of personalization an illusion. If you were expecting The Sims level of customization, better look at the mods out there, which offer far more content and customization than this DLC.
Having your own homestead has its advantages, though. Compared to the vanilla houses, homesteads act as all-purpose bases, where you could craft, smith, and enchant within an arm's reach. You could also purchase other conveniences like a garden, a smelter, and a stable for all the side-quest related stuff. If you have a follower, you could turn him/her into a steward for your house, and will do some furnishing if you tell him/her to; he/she can even be requested to buy some building materials if the player finds hunting the necessary items tedious. Some of the more exciting stuff in Hearthfire involve fighting curious giants that appear right at your doorstep, or rescuing kidnapped family members from bandits whether by coin or by blade - though I have to wonder why the steward of the house, who is equipped with a full daedric set, could still lose and die to a couple of petty bandits.
Overall, this is an average DLC and you could ignore this if you want to. Just remember: it strictly does what it advertised, and it follows to a solid point. It's not as content-filled as Dragonborn or Dawnguard, and you could do some of the minor features of a homestead in the vanilla houses and their surrounding cities, so I suggest buying it on sale, even with the current price. For the achievement hunters, there's 5 achievements waiting for you, and is required for full achievement completion on the base game.
And there you have it.… Expand
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - HearthfireYour Score0 out of 10User Score
