The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

 PC
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12985 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10,547 out of 12985
  2. Mixed: 1,375 out of 12985
  3. Negative: 1,063 out of 12985
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  1. PhoneyFree
    Apr 28, 2015
    7
    After the resolution of the "paid mods" debacle I can now endorse this game again.

    Solid enjoyable game, greatly enhanced by mods. With mods it's a 10.
  2. Synplasm
    Feb 13, 2012
    6
    A game of two halves. The first of which is enjoyable, interesting, engrossing and fun, the second of which is disappointing, tedious, annoying and dull. The second half arrives at an unspecifed time but believe me if you play this game long enough it will make itself known to you. I got my money's worth for sure, but I ended up with negative thoughts about this game which is the mainA game of two halves. The first of which is enjoyable, interesting, engrossing and fun, the second of which is disappointing, tedious, annoying and dull. The second half arrives at an unspecifed time but believe me if you play this game long enough it will make itself known to you. I got my money's worth for sure, but I ended up with negative thoughts about this game which is the main reason for the 6. Who came up with computer generated quests? Who? I cannot think of a better way to make quests mind-numbingly dull. I really can't. Sorry but you can stick your shill job where the sun doesn't shine, buster. Perks. By the time that I was eligible for a lot of these they were completely useless to me. Besides, some of them are useless anyway and others replicated by items that you can get. The banality of almost all NPCs starts to get to you after a while too. How many times did I hear the same conversation in the Palace of Kings? 'He's either with us or against us'. How droll. The main mage's questline is extremely poor, the civil war affair not much better. They need some new writers. Try harder next time Bethesda and make a full game, not one that runs out of stamina half way through.… Expand
  3. MasterKuni
    Nov 11, 2011
    7
    Fallout 3 with swords. Don't let it's marginally improved looks fool you, this is the same game Bethesda have been remaking for the past 6+ years, but this time with dragons and swords. Voice acting is homogeneously unimpressive and even maxed out, the graphics are thoroughly unimpressive, especially when compared with the likes of Witcher 2. The melee combat is almost identical toFallout 3 with swords. Don't let it's marginally improved looks fool you, this is the same game Bethesda have been remaking for the past 6+ years, but this time with dragons and swords. Voice acting is homogeneously unimpressive and even maxed out, the graphics are thoroughly unimpressive, especially when compared with the likes of Witcher 2. The melee combat is almost identical to Oblivion, with no real substance or skill behind the formulaic block-slash-repeat. One of my biggest issues: The control scheme, particularly in the menus on the PC are AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL. Completely nonsensical arbitrary keys for archaically navigating menus that were clearly designed with the console in mind. The mouse works on about half the menus, and on the other half, ONLY the arrow keys work, with Tab being the "back button" and Enter being the select button. However, good luck figuring out which menus let you use your mouse, as only trial and error will unveil the answer. This game has potential, but is evidently hampered by what is clearly a bad case of console-itis. Save your money and buy Witcher 2 if you want a truly polished RPG experience where PC users aren't served second-class citizen control schemes.… Expand
  4. Kelu
    Dec 25, 2011
    5
    Tremendous fun at first, but the game's charm wears off quickly. Each subsequent installment of TES series removes more of the RPG elements, and Skyrim is pretty much just a FPP hack'n'slash. The main plot is a cookie-cutter sub-par heroic fantasy dragon slaying "adventure" and side quests are rather disappointing too - kill, exterminate, assassinate, murder and fetch. Playing a warriorTremendous fun at first, but the game's charm wears off quickly. Each subsequent installment of TES series removes more of the RPG elements, and Skyrim is pretty much just a FPP hack'n'slash. The main plot is a cookie-cutter sub-par heroic fantasy dragon slaying "adventure" and side quests are rather disappointing too - kill, exterminate, assassinate, murder and fetch. Playing a warrior archetype will get you bored to death, sneaky rogues and mage might fare better though. The world is big, but compared to, for example, Morrowind, it's bland, default north of the default fantasy setting. Exploration isn't really worth the effort, random dungeons litter the landscape, filled with random baddies to murder, bearing random, level-scaled loot. There's barely anyone to talk to outside of main cities - not saying that's a bad thing, since the dialogues are quite badly written and uninteresting, voiced by about 10 actors at that. Not to mention the interface, which was designed for consoles and is agonizingly annoying to use on the PC, and the outdated graphics. This game jest needs mods to be decent, and without them it's a solid 4/10. Skyrim made me look more favourably on Oblivion.… Expand
  5. TappedOut
    Nov 28, 2011
    6
    For the casual or new gamer, this game is the pinnacle of single player RPGs and is without rival. For experienced players to the Elder Scrolls series, many of the balance issues that plagued Oblivion are present. While leveling and monster scaling is no longer an issue, the crafting skills in the game make the hardest difficulty so easy that they are nothing short of broken. Without usingFor the casual or new gamer, this game is the pinnacle of single player RPGs and is without rival. For experienced players to the Elder Scrolls series, many of the balance issues that plagued Oblivion are present. While leveling and monster scaling is no longer an issue, the crafting skills in the game make the hardest difficulty so easy that they are nothing short of broken. Without using exploits, this game is devoid of limitations to prevent players from becoming overpowered if they so wish, removing the challenge from the game. This can largely be circumvented by avoiding smithing and enchanting.

    That aside, the graphics are gorgeous and spectacular with the proper hardware. The open world map does away with much of the copy paste terrain of its predecessor, and sets a new standard for adventure games. The volume of quests is somewhat overwhelming and some of the real gems can be difficult to pull out of the masses, but they are there and they do deliver.    … Expand
  6. SittinginBasket
    Oct 23, 2012
    6
    A decent attempted at rebooting the Elder Scrolls series, but just that. Visuals and audio leave something to be desired, cities and towns feel extremely small and uninteresting compared to the series' past cities and towns, melee combat is unsatisfying and sloppy while magic is fairly well done. The engine's physics still suffer in realism, and putting a potato into a bowl is the game'sA decent attempted at rebooting the Elder Scrolls series, but just that. Visuals and audio leave something to be desired, cities and towns feel extremely small and uninteresting compared to the series' past cities and towns, melee combat is unsatisfying and sloppy while magic is fairly well done. The engine's physics still suffer in realism, and putting a potato into a bowl is the game's most difficult feat. The game lacks much depth and immersion, feeling like a simple video game instead of an immersible world. Quests are extremely shallow and mostly consist of fetch-quests where your only true objective is to go into a dungeon, get to the end, and get back out, with no real story or anything interesting. Certain features such as the horse carriages are rendered useless after the first use by fast-travel and merchants will only ever be used to sell items to and buy potions, arrows, and ingots, as every other item will be inferior to what you currently have. The game redeems itself in it's openness to modding. Without mods, the game is just another mediocre RPG. It is highly recommended to install mods before going into the game, as the vanilla experience is extremely lacking.… Expand
  7. Although
    Feb 10, 2012
    7
    Guys. I would like to give a new review , sad to tell but i get bored this game after two weeks, guess my mistake i thought skyrim give me freedom and true rpg experiences together. But unfortunatelly it doesnt give. This game was made for stupid american kids mainly. And so my mistake when i was thinking of Skyrim give me similar rpg experiences than Witcher 2. The story not bad but itsGuys. I would like to give a new review , sad to tell but i get bored this game after two weeks, guess my mistake i thought skyrim give me freedom and true rpg experiences together. But unfortunatelly it doesnt give. This game was made for stupid american kids mainly. And so my mistake when i was thinking of Skyrim give me similar rpg experiences than Witcher 2. The story not bad but its like to a once watch american movie simple and easy. I really hope Bethesda will make a perfect addon but... frankly i dont believe they will...So summary it is a nice game with lot of new part compare to Oblivion but it never will compete with Witcher 2 or Dragon Age 2!!! I have to say DA2 is better rpg than Skyrim. its my opinion. sad really sad.… Expand
  8. Bas92
    Nov 19, 2011
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Skyrim is a game that looks absolutely great from the outside. The quality could be a lot better though.
    The game starts in a village and as I looked around, everyone was either a Nord or an Imperial. The character creation is incredibly simple, all you have to do is select a race. It's purely cosmetic anyway because any race can be an equally skilled mage/thief/warrior. The game starts quite promising with a dragon who attacks the village, but sadly this is the only instance in the entire game where a dragon actually destroys something. There's no character progression in the entire game so you can already imagine what the ending of the main quest will be. You're the dragonborn after all, whether you like it or not. Personally I'd rather have a main quest like in Fallout New Vegas, with the Stormcloaks and Imperials as the two major factions. Currently you're just the boring "chosen one" and there are no choices or different outcomes in the MQ. The MQ is also quite short, it took me only 10 hours to beat it.
    But hey, you don't buy TES just for the MQ. By far the best part of this game are the dungeons and the world. The world is, as we've come to expect from Bethesda, huge. It feels bigger than Cyrodiil because it has more mountains. There are more unique places and the cities look a whole lot better than the cities in TESIV:Oblivion. The dungeons are linear but brilliant. They all look unique, most dungeons have a story to them and they're full of surprises. I've had the most fun in this game by randomly exploring dungeons.
    Sadly the game suffers from many other problems. The user interface was made for the consoles and is absolutely terrible. You do get used to it but I think it's quite an achievement from Bethesda that I'd rather get Oblivion's UI back.
    The graphics are a major improvement but not up to today's standards. Many textures, especially rocks, are very outdated and would even look bad in TESIV:Oblivion. Games like The Witcher 2 and Two Worlds 2 look much better than Skyrim.
    The combat hasn't changed much since Oblivion. There's dual-wielding now (and dualcasting) and killing moves. The first-person killing moves are pretty cool, the 3rd person ones are annoying and can't be turned off. Melee combat is still simple hit&block where you're hitting air. If you're an archer, expect a lot of fights against a bandit with an arrow sticking out of his head.
    The dragons are a wasted potential. They look great but they're pathetically weak at lower levels. It shouldn't be possible to even kill a dragon at level 5-10 imo. They get better at level 20+ but they're still not that hard to kill, especially when they land so you can easily reach them. As I said, there's no destruction model in this game, so the dragons never feel as terrifying as they should. The guild quests and side quests are a mix of good and mediocre quests. Most are poorly written and almost all quests are simple fetch or kill quests. Don't expect any meaningful choices or different outcomes. The quests are mostly an excuse to explore the dungeons in this game and fight enemies.
    While the world itself is huge, it looks more like Oblivion than Morrowind. You won't find any big mushrooms here or other unique fantasy stuff. The Nordic theme is pretty good but there are so few elven/animal NPC's in this game that it's almost sad. I feel like I'm playing in the medieval era instead of a fantasy universe. Some people might like that but it's a big change from Morrowind. To sum it all up: Skyrim is a pretty good action game. If you liked Oblivion, you'll love this game. You can easily spent hundreds of hours playing this game. Just don't expect any good RPG elements, a memorable main quest, meaningful choices, well written quests, epic dragon encounters or a great combat system.    … Expand
  9. Yoshiwol
    Nov 14, 2011
    6
    Overall this game has a great story and engrossing and believable fantasy world that looks and feels great, but the gameplay is lacking and unless you can take enjoyment at exploring just the world and meeting the people, there is little difference to this title than there is to Oblivion. Why people liked Oblivion so much is beyond me, it was a minor improvement over Morrowind - in fact IOverall this game has a great story and engrossing and believable fantasy world that looks and feels great, but the gameplay is lacking and unless you can take enjoyment at exploring just the world and meeting the people, there is little difference to this title than there is to Oblivion. Why people liked Oblivion so much is beyond me, it was a minor improvement over Morrowind - in fact I enjoyed Morrowind more. The combat by now should be far better than what it is, and so should the stealth. The fact that it has been 8 or so years since Morrowind was released and the combat still feels the same really lets this game down, alongside the A.I being poorly pathed and difficulty settings poorly scripted, it makes the game feel more like a highly interactable novel, but not a great novel that you enjoy reading and recommend to friends, more a novel you might hear about in reviews and buy if you saw it in a charity shop.

    This game is hardly due of the attention it currently receives and I think it's mostly due to the mindset of the people wishing to review. Most hardy gamers, who throw themselves at fantastical franchises get too engrossed in the fact that it is as close as they can come to a living breathing fantasy world that they can explore, engage in and conquer. What they seem to forget, is the "as close as" part. While the game does draw out an epic fantasy adventure that feels unscripted and organic, where every small action seems to have consequence to larger actions and where the depth of the world is at times mesmerising there are many flaws. And the reason these shouldn't be overlooked - is that the same flaws were present in Oblivion as are present here.

    When I see this game getting so many 100 reviews it almost makes me sick that such a game is garnering such attention when so many of these flaws have existed for almost 6 years. Floating NPC's and objects STILL in the game since Oblivion. Poor A.I pathing, STILL in the game since Oblivion - including the very annoying friendly units getting in the way. The clunky and shallow combat system STILL in the game since MORROWIND. Melee combat is still shallow and lives a bitter taste in the mouth, it is tiresome and dull and the reason for this is its not exactly easy, but at the same time provides no satisfaction. The difficult settings in the game STILL shallow, they do nothing but bunk up stats for the enemies and for the most part makes fighting them near impossible. Taking 5 hits to die against an opponent on adept? Them taking 10 to fel? Stick it up to Master and watch as they kill you in 1 or 2 hits while they take possibly 50 sword strikes to take down. That's not an exaggeration either. The A.I don't get smarter, they just get more stats, which makes the already tedious combat more lengthy than it should be. Alongside that, if you ever get companions, they seem to believe themselves the hero - and will always block your shot with spell or arrow, or your swing with sword, axe or mace.

    Instead of engaging in combat that is natural, you feel like you are part of an unrehearsed college drama, swinging plastic swords at each other while you all forget at which point you are to act dead.

    HINT BETHESDA - Why not use certain animations and gameplay mechanics that other stealth games use, like Splinter Cell or Metal Gear or Assassins Creed, or even GTA IV that have all copied ideas from each other and other mainstream titles like Gears of War. Make combat more fluid and natural, and more with the times, take ideas again from games like Assassins Creed, where swords can actually clash, and the strength of enemies felt to a degree

    With all those points aside though, it has made improvements on Oblivion - I would have given Oblivion a 3, a 4 at best, but this definitely deserves a 6. It has potential, the story is much better this time around and it is much easier to get engrossed in the world and really enjoy the depth of everything to explore and do. There are certainly many hours to enjoy, whether you play them is up to you, and many of them are not really hours of fun but instead follow the grindy nature of RPG games - such as collecting ingredients, or deciding what you should and shouldn't loot from dungeons (which can be painfully lengthy due to the menu systems).

    The game is clearly not designed at all for PC, the mouse has different sensitivities based on x or y, and the menu system is very uninformative and difficult to manoeuvre. I play using a USB xbox360 controller I bought for racing games and it feels odd but it is far less odd than the mouse and keyboard. The game also suffers greatly from consolitis, some of the graphics are stellar, and really evoking, while others remind me of the PSX and even the SNES.

    Conclusion is at the top.    … Expand
  10. obro
    Nov 11, 2011
    6
    OK so Skyrim... I will keep it simple.

    Good stuff: spellcasting immersion (streams carry you if you try to swim, beetles in forests that you can catch, night sky) atmosphere looks (not graphics LOOKS as in it aesthetically it looks great but it's still a DX9 game in **** 2011) character models (much better than in Oblivion) character faces (again much better than Oblivion) dungeons traps    OK so Skyrim... I will keep it simple.

    Good stuff:

    spellcasting immersion (streams carry you if you try to swim, beetles in forests that you can catch, night sky)
    atmosphere
    looks (not graphics LOOKS as in it aesthetically it looks great but it's still a DX9 game in **** 2011)
    character models (much better than in Oblivion)
    character faces (again much better than Oblivion)
    dungeons traps soundtrack

    Bad stuff:

    User Interface is pure consolitis designed for controller not M+K
    melee and combat in general (melee sucks the most it's like they didn't improve one bit from oblivion hell they made it even worse now you cant even backpedal and thus cant evade **** the melee is nothing but a button masher at best
    controls - I mean ...there are some things that are just puzzling. For example you cant jump from sprinting. Why? It makes no sense what so ever.
    inconsistency (something looks great and then you notice the wall behind it with 420x200 textures or some **** like that)


    Bugs

    A lot of them. And some really REALLY annoying ones like chickens and horses report you for stealing/murdering. Yep. You heard it right. **** chickens and horses are witnesses.


    That all said it's a good game IMO. Can and will be improved with mods. Pity if you're a console users you wont experience them. So yeah not a perfect game but it's good stuff.

    Oh yeah and a big **** YOU to Todd Bull**** Howard for lying to us PC users that we are getting a User Interface made FOR m+k and not just a port from consoles. I am really disappoint. That and I am also very disappointed when they in a recent interview said that "it's hard to program for PC and there is a lot of piracy"

    Console version was leaked 2 weeks before the launch and nobody said anything. And to think that a company that owes it's existence to PC market says something like that.... just disgusting.    … Expand
  11. CorporateGreed
    Nov 11, 2011
    5
    Terrible controls for the PC. Remapping buttons causes some features to simply not work at all such as stealing books or crafting. Gotta admit it does run stable, but really doesn't look much better than oblivion did 5 years ago. The mouse Y sensitivity is somehow controlled by the frame rate, so you'll never have the controls exactly as you want them. The good thing is I have had noTerrible controls for the PC. Remapping buttons causes some features to simply not work at all such as stealing books or crafting. Gotta admit it does run stable, but really doesn't look much better than oblivion did 5 years ago. The mouse Y sensitivity is somehow controlled by the frame rate, so you'll never have the controls exactly as you want them. The good thing is I have had no stability issues or crashes of any kind, which makes sense since it's basically Oblivion with a worse UI and menu system. Looks a bit better, but nothing like the screenshots from Bethesda on any settings. Would rent only, and then use a console as the PC version is an afterthough.… Expand
  12. zugu
    Nov 12, 2011
    6
    Fallout 3 with dragons and swords. This is what this game is. I simply cannot understand the hype around this game.

    Level designers worked their asses off, because everything in the game is detailed, and each zone, and each house have a story to tell. But graphics are horrible. Everything has that bland, monochrome Fallout 3 look. Facial animations look like something from 2005, and the    Fallout 3 with dragons and swords. This is what this game is. I simply cannot understand the hype around this game.

    Level designers worked their asses off, because everything in the game is detailed, and each zone, and each house have a story to tell. But graphics are horrible. Everything has that bland, monochrome Fallout 3 look. Facial animations look like something from 2005, and the entire game feels like it was built on some game engine from the same era, that Bethesda continuously iterated upon until Skyrim. (Oh, wait, that actually happened. Bethesda could have learned something from Valve's Source engine, because that's what good iteration looks like.) The facial animations are so bad and ugly that, at times, I can't even understand what character is actually speaking.

    Voice acting is terrible, I was expecting much more from Skyrim. The UI is nothing to write home about.

    All these shortcomings, yet people rave about this game like it's the second coming of baby Jesus. What is this world coming to?    … Expand
  13. Demonbox
    Nov 12, 2011
    5
    Ok my first review was a 7 and after 2 hours of gameplay
    now after about 10 have to drop it to 5, like someone else already mentioned
    why are my weapons invincible? and why do i regenerate health so quick? fights are already pretty easy , this way you're a demi-god... Lore is nice, but yes have to agree take Morrowind make it a bit more classic fantasy and remove some of the weird    Ok my first review was a 7 and after 2 hours of gameplay
    now after about 10 have to drop it to 5, like someone else already mentioned
    why are my weapons invincible? and why do i regenerate health so quick?
    fights are already pretty easy , this way you're a demi-god...
    Lore is nice, but yes have to agree take Morrowind make it a bit more classic fantasy and remove some of the weird interesting stuff (Silt stride -> dude on a cart)
    After a few hours menus became a bit more easy to use, but they still are console menus, and yes the fights look horrible, especially when you manage to start a "finishing move", which , don't ask me why happens 80% of times, making fights even more easy.
    A bit of a delusion , was expecting something more, even if i was aware Bethesda is not my kind of RPG game developer.    … Expand
  14. Ythumb
    Nov 11, 2011
    5
    Holy ****
    This is TRULY A TERRIBLE GAME.
    DO NOT BUY THIS CRAP!
    Please save yourselves the time and dont support devs that make terrible games like this!
  15. Fuz
    Mar 6, 2014
    5
    Fire the guy who designed the interface. Just. Fire. Him. It's the worst interface I've ever seen. We have a mouse, non a gamepad. Apart from that, is the same game we already knew from Oblivion. Lots of bugs, pleasant graphics (but you can do better IF you don't do a straight from console porting) et cetera. If you liked Oblivion you will like this. If you couldn't stand all the littleFire the guy who designed the interface. Just. Fire. Him. It's the worst interface I've ever seen. We have a mouse, non a gamepad. Apart from that, is the same game we already knew from Oblivion. Lots of bugs, pleasant graphics (but you can do better IF you don't do a straight from console porting) et cetera. If you liked Oblivion you will like this. If you couldn't stand all the little problems and annoyances like the unresponsive combat (no feedback on hits? seriously?) and the TERRIBLE enemies scaling you wouldn't like this game. I'm still waiting for a Daggerfall 2. Or a Daggerfall remake. And by the way: FIRE the guy who designed the interface. Also, the guy who approved it.… Expand
  16. Hudson
    Nov 11, 2011
    5
    Save your headaches get the console version. The PC version is a terrible console port and once again requires massive tweaks just to make the game playable. Console version was put and play and looks great. Skip the PC version until developers learn to take their time, make a statement with the one you buy and get the 360 or PS3 version.
  17. Armotekma
    Jun 26, 2014
    7
    In a word? Overrated. They really messed up the major point of even playing an Elder Scrolls game - the story. Not just the main quest, but all of the side quests and especially the guilds. It is fun, but inferior to Oblivion and Morrowind and not a good sign of to-be Elder Scrolls games.
  18. Lakamahakataka
    Aug 22, 2013
    6
    There you have it, the modern RPG. Spending over 200 hours with it, I can't even remember why I did it. The world becomes hollow, once you've been there long enough. The fast-travel system that Oblivion invented, helps to ignore most of the open world, by simply traveling right to the front door. The fighting system is still mostly a simple 1-click annoyance. The story is great, that savesThere you have it, the modern RPG. Spending over 200 hours with it, I can't even remember why I did it. The world becomes hollow, once you've been there long enough. The fast-travel system that Oblivion invented, helps to ignore most of the open world, by simply traveling right to the front door. The fighting system is still mostly a simple 1-click annoyance. The story is great, that saves a lot. I understand that dragons are fascinating and big enough to give birth to one of the greatest hypes, but the rest of the game is dull. At a certain level, you run around and just wait for another dragon to show up. It's even more simple than older TES games. Your actions have no real outcome, no matter if good or bad. You cannot kill important people, the game babysitts you through until you have enough bad-ass equipment to bore yourself to death, while spending 24 hours in armor that looks like it was designed by 15 year olds, neither looking comfortable nor practical, but just "stylish". With the real world becoming more and more a catwalk for one-day celebrities, bred from boring normal people, becoming a dragon slayer in a dull world is just another step on the arc of the uninspired youth. When a company thats doing RPGs runs out of ideas, it might just as well put dragons onto the table.
    Here are some reasons why this world is so dull IMO:
    1. dwemer ruins.... traps and machines still intact after hundreds of years. Unexplored while being 10 minutes away from civilization.
    2. civilization... standing still for thousands of years. Rumors tell of a thing named "crossbow", to be developed soon. The people in this world are lazier as the average gamer.
    3. dragons... scary as they should be, have a companion with you who just cannot die until you kill him yourself and the fights become meaningless. The companion is like your babysitter, someone from Bethesda, accompanying you through the game so that the bad boys won't hurt you.
    4. the system... is downgraded with each TES game. No more weapons ready to swap with a single key. No sir, we develop games for consoles now, and since the average gamer becomes younger and younger, we have to make it so damn easy, even a 10 year old could feel like a dragon slayer.    … Expand
  19. Soplet
    Jun 24, 2014
    5
    I should say that I really have enjoyed it a lot at first. I loved all the choice I could make and blah blah blah... then I realized that combat balance was so poor that even the best and most well known balancing overhaul mod could not fix it.
    The main story line is way too short, too. Civil war was boring series of small battles that were not even epic at all. It is more epic to fight a    I should say that I really have enjoyed it a lot at first. I loved all the choice I could make and blah blah blah... then I realized that combat balance was so poor that even the best and most well known balancing overhaul mod could not fix it.
    The main story line is way too short, too. Civil war was boring series of small battles that were not even epic at all. It is more epic to fight a giant on low level and steel set without spamming potions. In addition no matter what you do, the side you chose will win the war. You can't even low the battle. So you just start a siege and hide. Dovahkiin's power is not necessary to win the war. besides, Alduin was sooooooo weak while he was the last and the supposed to be most vicious end boss from your very nightmare. Even the main theme is about the Dovahkiin save the world from Alduin, the world eater! World eater my ass. I literally ATE him! With a mod, yes, he can be a true nightmare but still... his pattern is same as any dragon flying around Skyrim. I saved the battle with Alduin for the last and shouting "For the Nords!" at the beginning of the fight. Then I was so disappointed that I started rampage on Sovngarde for those 'heroes' who couldn't do anything about that weakling.
    Final and the worst aspect of the game is bug. Seriously, in my first playthrough, when I only had appearance mod (face, hair, body for player character) for the sake of enjoying original game play, I had rare and critical bugs that made me impossible to follow main story lines. I had to create my own solution with console to proceed. For the heavy mod users.. I can't say much since mods that involving scripts and so forth have higher chance to cause bugs.
    Graphics...that was same as Mass Effect 1. It was not really that good but still ok. Basic modelings were ugly as hell but ok. PC version can offer them free plastic surgery with appearance mods.
    Most these negative aspect of the games can be fixed with mod for some extend. Mods, however, can cause bugs since scripts in the game was already unstable as hell.
    Of course I recognize it as very successful game but still I don't understand why it was so popular and console version was sold more than PC version. I don't think the game is a junk. Developers were just lazy. Even though they had intention to give some space for mods they neglected their responsibility to build a good and reasonable length of storytelling and corresponding game play. The game story involves series of unavoidable battles. The civil war cannot be negotiated through the talking, Alduin? He will eat you if you try to talk to him. Most of players agree that civil war story is boring. What they should have done is that making a 'real' epic main story line with a good balance.
    Then what the developers did? they didn't even care about game balance. AI were poor. Melee attackers charge at you blindfolded, NPCs can't see you under the sun when you crouch if you have high sneak level. Sneaking? Child play. You can sneak while wearing heavy armors making loud clinging sound. Sneak level is everything. You shot a arrow while sneak? An NPC gets a headshot but thinks it was not an attack but his mind playing with him. Monster's strength does not correspond with the story. Dragons can be easily beaten by guards. Mammoth and giants are much more stronger than dragons. Dragons always lose in 1:1 fight with them. Then why there was a specialized dragon hunter group, the Blades? I guess the Blades started in paleolithic period. Then still Dragon set is second most powerful in the game. what...? I don't think it can even protect the user from iron arrows. Magic is not balanced either. Magician enemies will make a barbecue out of you but your fireball is like a firefly to your enemy later in the game. Pure magicians will have some hard time in the later game. Skill perks are not efficient and too simple. What's the point of lockpicking? I can pick master locks with 10 lockpicks. If I get lucky, I can do that with only 3 lockpicks. Speech? You don't need to get a discount with speech perks. Gold is the last problem in this game. There is overpower trinity, though. Alchemy, Enchanting, Smithing. With all three you can be a heavy armored magician wielding most powerfully enchanted weapons with a potion addiction. Daedric items.. some of them are useless. Only few Daedric Lords will give you something useful items. Don't worry there is no penalty, either. It's just have unique look and names that's all.
    It seems like the developers rather rely on CK tool and those 'free' offering mods to fix their own problem! In addition mods can cause problems. It is not official add-ons or DLCs so it is less stable in average. What happened to those many big epic balancing mods? many of them ended with introducing bugs to the game play, or no longer be supported.
    In conclusion it was a game that couldn't reach it's full potential.    … Expand
  20. MooMooMilkCrava
    Nov 23, 2013
    7
    For a game, it certainly has a lot of content. The downside of this, is that most of it is actually pretty boring after some hours into it. The only way I managed to even get to over 100 hours clocked on this game was to install a bunch of mods for it. But these mods people make for this game are amazingly good. This game probably has some of the best mods I've seen in a game yet, andFor a game, it certainly has a lot of content. The downside of this, is that most of it is actually pretty boring after some hours into it. The only way I managed to even get to over 100 hours clocked on this game was to install a bunch of mods for it. But these mods people make for this game are amazingly good. This game probably has some of the best mods I've seen in a game yet, and that's basically why I was able to play so much of this game. The story is pretty average at best, the could of done a few things to make that better. It does do one thing good that The Elder Scrolls series has always excelled at; allowing you to play the game the way you want to. It does have a couple of bugs here and there, but that's to be expected in a big game like this.

    In short, if it wasn't for the large database of mods available for download, I'd probably give this game a 5 or 6. It just likes to keep throwing the same stuff at you a lot and the only way to really avoid this is by either ignoring it or installing mods.    … Expand
  21. eymrich
    Nov 27, 2013
    7
    If you come there from morrowind and then oblivion hoping to see a redemption of brethsa... well that's not it. This game feel like a dumbed version of oblivion. It's better, seriously, but it's dumbed down. The rpg aspect is limited to say the least. Gone are the days when you could make your own spells and weapons enchant AS you liked. And gone too are a lot of funny/stupid things thatIf you come there from morrowind and then oblivion hoping to see a redemption of brethsa... well that's not it. This game feel like a dumbed version of oblivion. It's better, seriously, but it's dumbed down. The rpg aspect is limited to say the least. Gone are the days when you could make your own spells and weapons enchant AS you liked. And gone too are a lot of funny/stupid things that you could do with the others TES game.

    But, if you can play it without comparing it with daggerfall and morrowind then you have decent game. The graphic(especially with mods) is great. The animations, sounds and music are quite nice. It's a fully immersive game. I have only one big complain, aiming to full immersion the choice of pause the game every damn time you interact with the quickbar it's silly... I mean you are in front of a HUGE dragon, hit q and... the game pause. It breaks totally the joy for me.
    There are mods yes, but again if you come from morrowind dont expect to see stuff like that. There are mods VERY good, that actually make this game more an rpg than a graphic adventure but still, it's skyrim. And with skyrim i have to say dumb... so yeah, it's a dumb rpg.

    Still, in the end i can't say it's a bad game. Graphic, sound, playability are all greats, it just lacks of difficulty other than "More hp/damage on monster" and there are only a handfull ways to beat it at top difficulty(the old TES had a LOT of "cheaty ways" so they felt easier but it was fun experimenting all of them). In the pletora of useless games around it's still worthless games around it's good to try it out, especially if you will be using mods it's a good investment. If there are any good discount buy it eyes close     … Expand
  22. painterkilla
    Aug 20, 2013
    7
    Skyrim has made significant improvements over the past games, those being replacing the class system with a perk system, allowing for greater specialization: now improving a one-handed skill doesn't mean practicing with a sword makes with better at swinging a mace. Customization options are really good and the characters don't look like potatoes. The game world is really beautiful, varied,Skyrim has made significant improvements over the past games, those being replacing the class system with a perk system, allowing for greater specialization: now improving a one-handed skill doesn't mean practicing with a sword makes with better at swinging a mace. Customization options are really good and the characters don't look like potatoes. The game world is really beautiful, varied, with some degree of verticality due to the mountains and filled with little stories here and there in the form of notes and journals. However, the game feels largely unfinished and empty. The guild questlines are incredibly short and still allow for a character with no skill to become guild leader, especially the College of Winterhold and the Companions, though the Dark Brotherhood one is well done. The Civil War could have been much more, but it limits itself to changing the guard outfits, the dragons all have the same behavior: land at ~35% health and the player can head-on charge, spamming attacks left and right. The combat feels largely like Oblivion: hit the enemy sponges until they die. Blocking has no benefits, you still get damage and stamina is useless outside of sprinting: enchant your weapon with stamina drain and get power attacks all day long. Despite being very nicely handcrafted, the towns are incredibly small, even Solitude, which is supposed to be capital of Skyrim, only feels different in size due to its tall buildings you (most of the time) won't be able to enter. Almost all dungeons are corridors with the back entrance either being inaccessible due a combo of high terrain and invisible walls or are just stupid 'key required' locks. The loot is very poor, even a master locked chest has no more than one or two mildly priced items, forcing the player to use a lockpick perk to suddenly find daedric items everywhere, much like the speech perk tree is required for you to sell all the items you want. Lastly, this is the first game since Daggerfall where the player character can utter complete sentences all the time, unlike Morrowind and Oblivion, but the dialogue is very simplistic: Speech checks are rare and useless: a step back from Bethesda's own Fallout 3, where you could completely bypass a quest with a simple check. They also force the character to be a dumb warrior/wizard/thief/whatever simply due to the lack of skill checks like in New Vegas: Your character, the Dragonborn, blessed by Akatosh with a soul of a dragon, is nothing more than a dumb chap who needs everyone to tell him what happened for the last years because apparently he/she was living under a cave or something.

    Bottom line: the game is enjoyable, but not exactly GOTY material, not with these issues, not with the bugs and definitely not with the interface on PC.    … Expand
  23. Zaqq
    Mar 31, 2012
    7
    To start with Skyrim is a nice game. Nice, but not 'great' or a 'masterpiece'. It has a big open world, lots of quests and characters. But the overall plot is too short and uninteresting. 99% of quests are less interesting than in TES4: Oblivion or Fallout 3/New Vegas; for example, Dark Brotherhood (guild of assassins) quests are only "go there and kill that man", no surprises at all, andTo start with Skyrim is a nice game. Nice, but not 'great' or a 'masterpiece'. It has a big open world, lots of quests and characters. But the overall plot is too short and uninteresting. 99% of quests are less interesting than in TES4: Oblivion or Fallout 3/New Vegas; for example, Dark Brotherhood (guild of assassins) quests are only "go there and kill that man", no surprises at all, and victims even don't pay attention when you approach them. RPG-system has downgraded a lot comparing to Oblivion. It is cool to find new items and upgrade old ones, but there are less types of items than in previous part. Combat is too easy, most of enemies are too easy to defeat. Overall, Skyrim is a step back in TES series; Fallout: New Vegas has more new features comparing to Fallout 3 (and no downgrades!), than Skyrim comparing to Oblivion.… Expand
  24. Nucleon
    Aug 17, 2013
    5
    10s? And so much of them?

    How come is that? Did the professional critics ever played one Bethesda game before Skyrim? How come they didn't notice the character-less followers, the horrendous interface, the predictible dungeon's ending patterns, and, most of all, the fact that the player has even less options regarding their character's attributes, birthsigns, skills, magic and    10s? And so much of them?

    How come is that? Did the professional critics ever played one Bethesda game before Skyrim? How come they didn't notice the character-less followers, the horrendous interface, the predictible dungeon's ending patterns, and, most of all, the fact that the player has even less options regarding their character's attributes, birthsigns, skills, magic and equipment?

    All are throating off about the graphics and the immersion, the shouts and the dragons. Yes, they're quite fine, thank you. But they are also normal it is expected that the next TES will be even better in this domain. They always did that since Morrowind, putting all the work on superficiality as a substitute for imagination and the option they didn't give back to players.

    This game is played like Zelda; It is obliously made with the young console user in mind, the kinda guy that buys (or rather his parents) like 3 games a month. It has little re-playability value, since a sole character can pretty much do all aspects of this thin game. Bethesda's first public, puristic roleplayers that enjoyed a rich, open world and character elaboration, are slowly being forgotten. It is a game made for children. Check this out at this rate, I'm sure Bethesda will do away with the third-person view altogether, soon. All you will see about your character will be a pair of arms.

    I read the professional critics here before buying the pricey game. That should teach me to never do that again. And as a result, playing Skyrim just makes me want to return to the Fallouts, Oblivions and Morrowinds. Shame on this guy for the promotion they did of the game, at the expense of the players. Shame on you, Metacritic. Oh, and you owe me 60 bucks.    … Expand
  25. Capzero007
    Apr 16, 2013
    5
    This is an excellent sandbox RPG with wonderful visuals but the game ends there. If you enjoy the real time combat and the crafting you will likely love this game. The story is disjointed and poor but I believe it is necessary to support the sandbox approach. You can wander around all you like and explore many many places. The graphics are enticing so if that is all you need to have funThis is an excellent sandbox RPG with wonderful visuals but the game ends there. If you enjoy the real time combat and the crafting you will likely love this game. The story is disjointed and poor but I believe it is necessary to support the sandbox approach. You can wander around all you like and explore many many places. The graphics are enticing so if that is all you need to have fun then you probably rate this game much higher than me. Personally I am not a fan of the combat system where you need to fire and aim each swing/spell/arrow. I also do not like the leveling system that requires you to advance as many skills as possible. Quest lines force you into crossing moral lines you might not want to cross but there is no alternate path. In general a fun fool around RPG but nothing serious. Bethesda is making the right move to stop this IP.… Expand
  26. devenlg
    Dec 10, 2013
    7
    The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, is an improvement to the last. But yet it still lacks some things, and is annoying in some aspects. One of them is the dialogue. The voices are recycled quite a bit, as well as the things they say. But the great things counter-act that. Cave and ruin exploring, fighting dragons, tons of side-quests, and so much more. Even better, there are no huge glitches orThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, is an improvement to the last. But yet it still lacks some things, and is annoying in some aspects. One of them is the dialogue. The voices are recycled quite a bit, as well as the things they say. But the great things counter-act that. Cave and ruin exploring, fighting dragons, tons of side-quests, and so much more. Even better, there are no huge glitches or bugs that make the game entirely unplayable. The only major bug I found was about 7-8 hours into the game, and a simple reload could fix it. I indeed suggest this game, but if you do, buy the PC version, as the console version fall a bit short.… Expand
  27. ArrowToTheHead
    Jan 13, 2014
    5
    vanilla skyrim is a pain:
    the usual elder scrolls:
    non existant balancing, huge world filled with lame, childish stories/characters(maybe except the speaking dog...lol, the irony of that) better, but still sub-par combat chars now talk and you can respond, thats a plus, little to no choice/consequence/decisions, let alone ones you think twice about no personalisation(every player is    vanilla skyrim is a pain:
    the usual elder scrolls:
    non existant balancing,
    huge world filled with lame, childish stories/characters(maybe except the speaking dog...lol, the irony of that)
    better, but still sub-par combat
    chars now talk and you can respond, thats a plus,
    little to no choice/consequence/decisions, let alone ones you think twice about
    no personalisation(every player is the highmage, fighter/thief guild boss, dark brotherhood assasin AND follower of EVERY daedra-lord, owner of every estate and richer than anyone ever... come onnnnn.

    graphics style was cool, however graphics quality for the pc, was a bad joke(or so i hope)
    why dont they put a little extra effort for the pc version in it?
    this applies for all games using this engine(fallouts, elder scrolls...)
    i didnt have the best hardware, but for all them games i used fanmods, that made the game not only run smoother, but actually looking BETTER! is it magic?
    no, its lazy devs and ppl not careing about quality.

    also: what should be first and foremost in any rpg is:
    the story/writing. in skyrim its the same old **** as in the other elders...
    but maybe i dont understand it right: getting more stuff u cant/wont/neednt use anyway, hoard more money than youll ever need(or is re:alistic in any way), buying houses and furniture you hardly ever need(except for hoarding moar)+ being always the cheesiest of all possible protagonists, the chosen halfgodesque uber slayer of everything that moves.
    not cool
    theres more issues but thats enough for now

    FIVE

    id give more,with mods, but this game is a waste of resources, skill and creativity.
    if you mod it its quite enjoyable(if you dont expect too much rpg), but this actually speaks against it

    good riddance there wont be another elder scrolls of that kind anytime soon.    … Expand
  28. whitepawn
    Jul 1, 2014
    7
    A solid "offline" game, if you have a good audiobook playing or need to catch up on podcasts. In all fairness, I've never finished it, I get bored not enough story or dialogue-ing companions to drive the story (is there a story?) forward. Combat is fine.

    PRO: -graphics -open world -open leveling system -dragons -a cryptic story involving said dragons -MODS, which can save this    A solid "offline" game, if you have a good audiobook playing or need to catch up on podcasts. In all fairness, I've never finished it, I get bored not enough story or dialogue-ing companions to drive the story (is there a story?) forward. Combat is fine.

    PRO:
    -graphics
    -open world
    -open leveling system
    -dragons
    -a cryptic story involving said dragons
    -MODS, which can save this game
    -neat, interactive environment

    CONS:
    -mobs level with you until L35, then they stop...but you keep on going to L88 making for a boring single arrow to the knee killing everything in your path...even the dragons (well, 2 arrows for dragons, but still...)
    -no real story
    -open, quiet, lonely and often boring world, like an MMORPG left empty and offline.
    -sometimes random dragons show up IN TOWN and kill off your questgivers
    -companions are boring, even if you marry them
    -neat interactive environment gets old when you realize you're looting the same shelf with the same iron pot, cheeses, and wheat in the same places over and over again
    -gets old, no motivation to finish.
    -THE INVENTORY INTERFACE IS TERRIBLE...be prepared to scroll through hundreds of items to find anything
    -no ability to hotkey, the favorites menu items don't make up for this...it's the 2010s, get it together already    … Expand
  29. GOFUCURSELF
    Feb 5, 2017
    5
    This game is boring and drab, with a few exceptions every single quest can be described in one sentence. (Example, raiders stole my food, I'll pay you to kill them.) Every single quest is an excuse to make you go through a process that goes like this, explore, kill things, loot, return to get bounty. Rinse and Repeat. Gameplay is awesome but story and the RPG is non-existent. Which is whatThis game is boring and drab, with a few exceptions every single quest can be described in one sentence. (Example, raiders stole my food, I'll pay you to kill them.) Every single quest is an excuse to make you go through a process that goes like this, explore, kill things, loot, return to get bounty. Rinse and Repeat. Gameplay is awesome but story and the RPG is non-existent. Which is what I expect from an Elder Scrolls title.… Expand
  30. Circe
    Aug 15, 2018
    7
    While lacking in depth and RPG mechanics and quest design, a beautiful world that demands exploration.
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best PC Game of 2011
1
#1 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
2
#2 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
94

Universal acclaim - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Feb 29, 2012
    90
    Unfortunately, Skyrim trips and falls on its own (most probably, to make the cool-sounding deadline of 11-11-11) and just before it reaches perfection as the ultimate specimen of its genre, it self-destructs in a crucial aspect of game design: the interface and the peripheral components (inventory, journal, map, etc)... but that is not to say that Skyrim is anything but a truly majestic, epic RPG that will suck you right in its cosmos.
    Read full review
  2. Armchair Empire
    Feb 14, 2012
    100
    Skyrim is definitely one of the best games of 2011, but if the DLC holds out, it might just be one of the best games of 2012 as well.
    Read full review
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 19, 2012
    90
    Skyrim is the best open world RPG you can get. A true evolution of genre is not flawless but still it is the game you love to live in. [Christmas 2011]
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