The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition

 PC
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 659 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 395 out of 659
  2. Mixed: 108 out of 659
  3. Negative: 156 out of 659

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  1. bellerophon
    Oct 28, 2016
    3
    Still very ugly vanilla version, and with the same bugs, the mods did actually a far better job than bethesda on these points. Not worth the "upgrade" from my point of view.
  2. sebos80
    Oct 28, 2016
    3
    This edition adds only few effects, and improve performance. Bethesda just make ocassion to sell DLC, and make more money. This special edition its few days work for so big studio like bethesda. i expects at least HD textures.
  3. VendonJura
    Dec 1, 2018
    3
    Skyrim is definitely one of the best games of 2011, but my main problem with this game is the fact that if you want to use mods then your achievements will be blocked. The problem with this issue is that this game is by far one of the best rpg for the pc but it has so many game breaking bugs that it is rlly hard to play it without to have to modding it to reduce Bugs, Glitches and muchSkyrim is definitely one of the best games of 2011, but my main problem with this game is the fact that if you want to use mods then your achievements will be blocked. The problem with this issue is that this game is by far one of the best rpg for the pc but it has so many game breaking bugs that it is rlly hard to play it without to have to modding it to reduce Bugs, Glitches and much more. There are so many quests which are bugged and does not work. You can not finish them and what else can you do as a gamer? use mods to fix it BUT this will break the ability to earn achievements. Thanks to the guy with this idea. Also many modder can do the job much better than the dev itself that's a weird mystery. My biggest issue with this game is the PAID Mods system. You will not get an achievement block IF you pay for mods. Really???? I would rather pay the modder for a good mod than paying the dev who even made this horribly situation with mods and achievement issue. I love the game and I would totally give it max points but these 2 points are totally destroying the game for me. I never finished it, game breaking bugs did not allow me to do so because I am doing ALL quests in the game. 1st when finishing all sub quests then I am starting to do the main quests. I had reached lvl 60-80 on the xbox 360, bought this game for pc with the hope to mod the bugged quests but yeah..... This here is a Special Edition but it has the same old bugs which the normal Skyrim had. Also same issue with achievements and mods. The funny thing is that this games graphics looks like 2013 or something. Don't know why this is a remastered version when the graphics looks much worse than you can make with mods in Skyrim normal edition. The sad thing is that they've just copied the old bugs and posted in in the remastered version there is no excuse for doing this.… Expand
  4. Barmaglott
    Oct 5, 2017
    2
    Creation Club will ruin everything in next Beth's games. Microtransactions in AAA singleplayer games should be gone and paid mods as well. Nothing else to say.
  5. Wildsamich
    Oct 28, 2016
    3
    While I can't give this a 0 because it still is Skyrim, this is a huge disappointment. I understand releasing it for ps4 and xbone, but what they released on PC is barely better looking than vanilla pc skyrim. Just a few mods and the original already looks better than this "special" edition. They did nothing to change or improve any other aspect of the game, including bug fixes. It justWhile I can't give this a 0 because it still is Skyrim, this is a huge disappointment. I understand releasing it for ps4 and xbone, but what they released on PC is barely better looking than vanilla pc skyrim. Just a few mods and the original already looks better than this "special" edition. They did nothing to change or improve any other aspect of the game, including bug fixes. It just seems like another big company being lazy and greedy.… Expand
  6. arislaf
    Jan 14, 2017
    0
    They could at least fix the bugs. But no, this is too much for bethesda. Minimal improvements on graphics and nothing more. Avoid it at all costs. You can make skyrim (original) with mods more beautiful than this **** version.
  7. Rattazustra
    Oct 28, 2016
    0
    Oh look! It is Skyrim again and now it almost looks as good as the old Skyrim looks after dropping in a few graphics mods from people apparently far more talented than the folks at Bethesta. I can understand why this is made for consoles, because consoles are half crippled junk that depends on developer generosity for such minor updates. For PC though it makes no sense at all. Anyone whoOh look! It is Skyrim again and now it almost looks as good as the old Skyrim looks after dropping in a few graphics mods from people apparently far more talented than the folks at Bethesta. I can understand why this is made for consoles, because consoles are half crippled junk that depends on developer generosity for such minor updates. For PC though it makes no sense at all. Anyone who wants a better Skyrim already had one for years. This is nothing but a very pathetic moneygrab. Might be the reason why they didn't give out test copies more than 1 day before release. They even made up a creative lie why that is the case, instead of just admitting that they are afraid of early feedback.
    Since absolutely no relevant effort went into the making of this so called special edition, it doesn't deserve any credit. 0 of 10.    … Expand
  8. clarky
    Oct 28, 2016
    1
    You got this kind of thing 3 months after the original release on a PC. This is a shameful money grab, for an engine which is a decade old. Bethesda has lost some of my respect. A Reskin, with the original HDTextures..... And some new shaders.... Not even given as a "free patch" for PC users. AVOID
  9. JackMcB
    Oct 31, 2016
    3
    The plethora of mods available for the PC *a couple of years ago* trounces everything this version has to offer.

    Unless you're a PS4 or Xbone first time buyer this is a waste of (too much) money.

    5 years ago Skyrim was a decent though flawed title, it is now well past it's prime and Bethesda really should be focusing on the next iteration of TOS than 'remastering' (not really) this title.
  10. mew12623
    Oct 2, 2017
    0
    A cash grab. Paid mods. Minuscule graphical improvements. Far more difficult to run than even a heavily modded Skyrim Legendary Edition with better graphics.
  11. FluttershysPet
    Oct 3, 2017
    0
    To start this was never worth buying, as of recent though it has microtransactions which in this ones view is stupid, so in short do not buy this game.
  12. Satisfaction
    Nov 2, 2016
    2
    "Remaster" leaves bugs from the original release as they were in the original and makes textures blurry. Sorry Todd, but your money is in another castle.
  13. Oxkill
    Sep 30, 2017
    0
    What the hell happened to Bethesda?

    I refuse to support what this company is trying to gain with the Creation Club. Every gamer should stand up and attack this type of GREEDY conduct. This impacts everyone! The more you enable this kind of behavior with microtransactions, the more you're actually going to see it in THE WHOLE INDUSTRY in the near future. Bethesda, PLEASE, you used to be    What the hell happened to Bethesda?

    I refuse to support what this company is trying to gain with the Creation Club. Every gamer should stand up and attack this type of GREEDY conduct. This impacts everyone! The more you enable this kind of behavior with microtransactions, the more you're actually going to see it in THE WHOLE INDUSTRY in the near future. Bethesda, PLEASE, you used to be my favorite gaming company, get this right. PEOPLE HATE WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
    Now I'm really concerned that The Elder Scrolls, my favorite series, will get worse in the future. Please, I beg you, reconsider the dark path you're taking for all the people that actually want to stay by your side.

    Listen to your fans, your family.    … Expand
  14. Braduk
    Oct 31, 2016
    4
    There is zero reason to purchase this if you did not get it for free.

    The game runs fairly poorly even on high end PCs. People with 1060s can be seen on forums reporting poor framerats and other problems, and my own computer experiences the same despite blowing the recommended specs out of the water and being able to run more graphically demanding games perfectly. The "better stability"    There is zero reason to purchase this if you did not get it for free.

    The game runs fairly poorly even on high end PCs. People with 1060s can be seen on forums reporting poor framerats and other problems, and my own computer experiences the same despite blowing the recommended specs out of the water and being able to run more graphically demanding games perfectly. The "better stability" that should come with 64 bit does not exist.

    There is no reason the game should run poorly, either, when the graphical differences between the new game and the original are hardly there. Turn off the god rays and you won't be able to tell a difference. The only thing they changed was lighting and adding god rays everywhere, for the most part. I have everything set to max and the game still doesn't look as good as pre-release gameplay.

    Finally, since there is a current lack of a script extender you won't be able to use a lot of the best mods from the original, so the experience won't be as good as it is when modding the original either. But even when the script extender comes out, the game will never be worth paying for because it's an overall terrible remaster that adds nothing new and hardly has a new coat of paint with the graphics.

    It's fine if you got it for free, but never buy it.    … Expand
  15. Arroyo_man
    Jun 8, 2017
    4
    The most boring game i've ever played. Endless and all the same dungeons, full of draugur's (lack of creatures!), repetetive way beyond good taste. Side quests sucks, they are mostly fetch quests with no story whatsoever. Main quest is tedious, childish and boring. Hard to believe this game was done by the folks who made Morrowind.
    Can't complain about graphics tho. With couple of mods it    The most boring game i've ever played. Endless and all the same dungeons, full of draugur's (lack of creatures!), repetetive way beyond good taste. Side quests sucks, they are mostly fetch quests with no story whatsoever. Main quest is tedious, childish and boring. Hard to believe this game was done by the folks who made Morrowind.
    Can't complain about graphics tho. With couple of mods it looks pretty nice but it doesn't help enough, game is still hard to enjoy.    … Expand
  16. somedude14
    Oct 28, 2016
    1
    - has lower res textures than original with the free HD DLC installed
    - uses compressed audio for *all* audio assets, while original had uncompressed audio for sound effects (but not music or voice)
    - decaps framerate by default so until you cap it at 60fps, anytime you exceed you'll get physics wackiness (compared to original which was capped at 60 by default, and they could've fixed    - has lower res textures than original with the free HD DLC installed
    - uses compressed audio for *all* audio assets, while original had uncompressed audio for sound effects (but not music or voice)
    - decaps framerate by default so until you cap it at 60fps, anytime you exceed you'll get physics wackiness (compared to original which was capped at 60 by default, and they could've fixed the engine to allow higher rates but nope)
    - has all the bugs of the original, and then some

    1 point because it was free.    … Expand
  17. zippythezip
    Oct 29, 2016
    4
    Underwhelming, ugly, waste of time installing at this time. Scenery is more ugly now and seems like it always out of focus. I uninstalled skyrim as this was going to be better, in the first hour its was "well this sucks".
    Could mod it I guess later with Bethesda's horrid mod site.
    Nexus have a few mods up so I will install this maybe next year if mods are up and going strong. I swear    Underwhelming, ugly, waste of time installing at this time. Scenery is more ugly now and seems like it always out of focus. I uninstalled skyrim as this was going to be better, in the first hour its was "well this sucks".
    Could mod it I guess later with Bethesda's horrid mod site.
    Nexus have a few mods up so I will install this maybe next year if mods are up and going strong.
    I swear the HD free addition to the original game looks way better than this "special"
    I got excited by the hype and let down by reality, these companies really care little for pc gamers.
    For anyone who has not bought the game yet......dont wait for a bargain bin sale.
    For anyone playing original then dont bother installing yet.
    I cant rate it zero, but its not a 6 to 10 game in present state. So a 4 is all I give.    … Expand
  18. doctorase
    Oct 28, 2016
    1
    Exactly the same game only with better graphics. Graphics that you can get with mods. The same bugs and the same things. Poor work of Bethesda.
    Why lose the time with this **** and don't remaster morrowind/oblivion or do TES VI?
    My game bugged at the started of the tutorial, i don't want to replay another time the boring starting quest
  19. night4
    Nov 1, 2016
    0
    This is a terrible, shameless cash grab. The same bugs are there. The map is still so bad you can't click on Fort Dawnguard if you're in the northwest. It looks exactly the same, if not worse.

    Why not work on the next Elder Scrolls instead of pushing it back to 2019?
  20. 19bufordcarl
    Oct 2, 2017
    0
    I'm being overly dramatic on the score, the game is fine, but rereleasing a 6-year-old single player game to add microtransactions is frankly unacceptable and that's why it deserves a zero.
  21. FogCityRoller
    Oct 28, 2016
    4
    This is obviously a PC version-only review. I realize this game will get higher reviews for the console plebs, but this release is underwhelming for the time being on PC. The only thing that will make this game amazing will be the future 64 bit mods that can make use of the capabilities. Thank god this game was free to those of us who already own the original game and all the DLCs. Yes, itThis is obviously a PC version-only review. I realize this game will get higher reviews for the console plebs, but this release is underwhelming for the time being on PC. The only thing that will make this game amazing will be the future 64 bit mods that can make use of the capabilities. Thank god this game was free to those of us who already own the original game and all the DLCs. Yes, it looks better....than vanilla Skyrim with no mods installed. There's a lot that they barely touched though. The character models still don't look amazing and the hair physics are pathetic. Witcher 3 had better hair physics and that game is now 2 years old. They really could have done a lot more, but this was obviously a cash grab. Modders, please save us. You're our only hope.… Expand
  22. camalex
    Oct 29, 2016
    0
    Wasn't able to get it working, the steam forums are just completely covered in forums about "how do i fix x problem" official mod support isn't even going to be out for a long time, and after spending hours trying to get it to work all i was able to find in the end got an error message to pop up instead of just imediatley closing, so the LAUNCHER to the game isn't even working. i gave thisWasn't able to get it working, the steam forums are just completely covered in forums about "how do i fix x problem" official mod support isn't even going to be out for a long time, and after spending hours trying to get it to work all i was able to find in the end got an error message to pop up instead of just imediatley closing, so the LAUNCHER to the game isn't even working. i gave this game a 0 because this edition is pointless, if you want to play a game like say rogue warrior that got low scores, you can play the original rogue warrior for whatever reason.

    If you want to play Skyrim, play the original version because its better in every way and even the things added aren't substantial (they removed steam workshop so its not even like they are adding anything substantial)

    so basically, stick with the cheaper legendary edition of skyrim from forever ago    … Expand
  23. Idiota150
    Oct 29, 2016
    0
    Meaningless version relative original. Remembered it as looking great when first coming out. Now many years have passed and you'd expect it's gonna look great for this day and age. But from this, you may actually start wondering if they've done anything at all (running with Ultra settings).

    Score 0 based on value relative original.
  24. ruppsrunt
    Oct 27, 2016
    0
    Same bugs. Almost no improvements visually. No mods. No reviews before release. increased the price of the DLC and said it was on sale. Cash Grab. I used to love Bethesda.
  25. Wineneeder
    Jul 30, 2018
    0
    I already reviewed Skyrim.

    Basically it went something like.. this TES barely let's you effect the world in any meaningful but especially personal way, nothing about your character matters (besides annoying quips from guards), and the dungeons were mostly an improvement over Oblivion's five or ten layouts per theme, but enemy variation was pitiful and themselves all pretty dull (lol    I already reviewed Skyrim.

    Basically it went something like.. this TES barely let's you effect the world in any meaningful but especially personal way, nothing about your character matters (besides annoying quips from guards), and the dungeons were mostly an improvement over Oblivion's five or ten layouts per theme, but enemy variation was pitiful and themselves all pretty dull (lol dragons and zombies).

    Aside from some legitimate complaints about bad writing, enormously nonsensical quests and bland setting choices, I also complained that the mod community hadn't quite stepped up to Oblivion/Fallout 3/New Vegas level of quality. I gave it a "5" for being half of a game in my honest opinion (not yet somewhat salvageable with mods, a familiar tune).

    All these still stand. So this gets a fat effing zero for the possibility that garbage releases like this may cost me actual money.

    Oh I guess I would also add after having now played good games like Dark Souls and **** the combat system is very, very bad, magic is boring and usually weak when you use it, the setting is stock fantasy and I never completed this game because the quests were only getting worse.    … Expand
  26. Avoidedknave
    Jan 21, 2019
    0
    the game itself is still very enjoyable, but the creation club is just horrible, the first sign of what bethesdas future will be. I gave the normal skyrim a high score but this is just atrocious
  27. azarath
    Oct 27, 2016
    0
    complete bug i just cant do the winterhold college quest cause de girl who ask me to cast a spell to know if im worthy to study there dont give me the right scroll ... you know the first assignment ... sorry for my poor english
  28. sefrabu
    Nov 2, 2016
    4
    My "original" version with a few basic mods (which I still play from time to time) looks better and runs smoother than the Special Edition. I see no reason why this should be sold as a full-priced game. Fortunately I got it for free as I owned the Legendary Edition, but still utterly disappointed to be honest.
  29. xetelian
    Mar 26, 2019
    0
    I cannot recommend getting this version of the game if you already own the 2011 version. You can actually mod the 2011 version to be BETTER than this updated edition. Also, the 2011 version has mods that fix a bunch of bugs, Bethesda didn't even fix the glaring issues with Skyrim with this re-release so you should expect to have to download SE version of the community update patch whichI cannot recommend getting this version of the game if you already own the 2011 version. You can actually mod the 2011 version to be BETTER than this updated edition. Also, the 2011 version has mods that fix a bunch of bugs, Bethesda didn't even fix the glaring issues with Skyrim with this re-release so you should expect to have to download SE version of the community update patch which fixes a lot of the bugs left in the game.

    Like all Bethesda games, it is just better to wait for the community to fix it than it is to buy it at launch for full price.

    I got this for free but I still think I paid too much for it.

    Also creation club is a horrible idea and in practice a horrible practice.    … Expand
  30. ilyaspirin
    Oct 6, 2017
    3
    Loved game at the beginning, but this was primarily because of the large choice of mods. Without mods this game is 3 out of 10, not 8. I hoped for the best, but now I see only mobile games business mindset, which doesn't bring value. Plus Bethesda just copies work of great mod makers - and this I can not forgive.
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Games Master UK
    Jan 1, 2017
    80
    The original version with graphics mods installed still looks better, so it's not worth the upgrade. [Christmas 2016, p.73]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Dec 12, 2016
    60
    Purely graphical upgrade with support of the Gen4 console modes that PC owners of the original game and all expansions get for free. [Issue #269]
  3. GameGrin
    Nov 11, 2016
    80
    Skyrim is still a great place to get lost in and the visual upgrade is welcome. It perhaps doesn’t go as far as it should and it’s a shame no other aspect of the game got looked at but it’s still well worth your time.
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