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. AlexBugella
    Jan 1, 2012
    10
    So ive played the game for 43.3 hours, according to steam, and i still haven't finished the thieves guild, dark brotherhood, champions and winterhold college quest lines (Im leaving out a lot of other quest lines) and i know that there is still at least another 40 hours in the game that i don't even know about. the game has the same combat system from Oblivion with a few changes and newSo ive played the game for 43.3 hours, according to steam, and i still haven't finished the thieves guild, dark brotherhood, champions and winterhold college quest lines (Im leaving out a lot of other quest lines) and i know that there is still at least another 40 hours in the game that i don't even know about. the game has the same combat system from Oblivion with a few changes and new executions to perform on the various enemies. The main quest line is very fun and once your about 10 quest from completing, you will not want to exit the game until you've completed it. The different guilds are much more fun now since there's a story instead of just climbing the ranks. The skill system is the same, use the skill to level it and level enough skills, you level up overall. Now there's perks to the skills, which i thought was going to be like the perks in Fallout (which i really didn't like) but they're pretty good, they're really about making that ability more powerful/useful. Now the dragons. They're all around Skyrim and they're really menacing no matter your level and extremely satisfying to take down. Also the new shouts are a good addition to the game. find a word wall, learn part of a shout, find a dragon, kill the dragon, absorb the soul, use it to unlock the word and use your shouts. I can keep going, this is my game of the year, and you should experience it.… Expand
  2. calla
    Dec 31, 2011
    9
    Just a warning: I have never played any of the previous Elder Scrolls games, so this is coming from an ES noob. That being said, I loved this game. I enjoy these types of games so it didn't come as a big surprise to me when I spent almost an entire month playing it. The reason why this is getting an 9 instead of a glorious 10 is because of the main story, and the many bugs I encounteredJust a warning: I have never played any of the previous Elder Scrolls games, so this is coming from an ES noob. That being said, I loved this game. I enjoy these types of games so it didn't come as a big surprise to me when I spent almost an entire month playing it. The reason why this is getting an 9 instead of a glorious 10 is because of the main story, and the many bugs I encountered during several playthroughs. I really enjoyed the story, but it felt like some of the guild quests lasted longer than the main quest line. I felt a bit... disappointed at how they ended it, and was grateful I spent the majority of my time exploring the world, finishing all guild quest chains, and 200+ miscellaneous quests before deciding to finish the main story. There were several bugs that I encountered during my time playing Skyrim. I had thought it was a user error, but many of my friends had problems with their playthrough as well. It's not difficult to ignore, but it certainly is a nuisance to deal with. The environments were amazing, and the OST for this game was so good I didn't turn off the in-game music for my own. The controls weren't bad enough for me to lower the score even more. It was actually very easy to get used to and in the end, felt very comfortable to use. All things considered, this game was very enjoyable to play, and for a game as huge as this, I wasn't expecting it to be flaw-free, but that doesn't mean I should give it a free 10 either. If you enjoy RPG's, get this game. It's definitely a contender for GOTY, I don't care what anyone says. Also, Pro-tip: Even if you find yourself stressing for cash I advise against using any NPC/Profession exploiting. Most of them are game breaking, and I found it was much more enjoyable to play it out instead of cheating the system. :)… Expand
  3. horseloverfat
    Dec 31, 2011
    6
    The sense of wonder when the intro starts is unparalleled. In 2012 we gotta get our fix fast and often, so there's no time to waste on making a game a new experience for the sod that shells out and buys it at console prices. Morrowind was metaphorically Daggerfall with breath of life and imagination on the order of Myst. Oblivion was essentially Morrowind with more atmosphere and lessThe sense of wonder when the intro starts is unparalleled. In 2012 we gotta get our fix fast and often, so there's no time to waste on making a game a new experience for the sod that shells out and buys it at console prices. Morrowind was metaphorically Daggerfall with breath of life and imagination on the order of Myst. Oblivion was essentially Morrowind with more atmosphere and less wonder. Skyrim is literally Oblivion with dragons. I tried both sides and several classes, but you'll know what you bought by the time the intro finishes. You bought stock that won't pay dividends unless creativity prevails over greed.… Expand
  4. evolve
    Dec 31, 2011
    9
    A large world with endless possibilities. One of the best RPG's to this date, but what sets Skyrim above the rest is the possibilities that modding give us. Having downloaded a number of graphical updates and with the CK just ahead i can see myself playing this for some time to come :)
  5. Artomoz
    Dec 31, 2011
    8
    While The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim does not revolutionize the RPG genre it sure does bring fresh new content to the table. From epic scenery to ferocious dragon battles. The world of Skyrim left more to desire though, wishing for a more ambient and interactive world to explore. Don't get me wrong the world itself and detail of design of this game is amongst the best I've ever seen theseWhile The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim does not revolutionize the RPG genre it sure does bring fresh new content to the table. From epic scenery to ferocious dragon battles. The world of Skyrim left more to desire though, wishing for a more ambient and interactive world to explore. Don't get me wrong the world itself and detail of design of this game is amongst the best I've ever seen these past years. That's the main reason why I did not give this game a 10/10. Lost 1 point for lack of ambiance amongst the world. Exploring the world itself can take time and not to mention playing on "Master" difficulty will add plenty of hours to main quests and side quests. Whilst playing on anything below "Master" will definitely leave you wanting for more since the main quest is a bit short but can be elongated if the difficulty setting is changed. Then again, there are plenty of other quests the game provides you that will keep you busy through months, that is if you're the perfectionist or adventurer type. There are plenty of crafts to master from smithing to enchanting weaponry. I took another point off due to the basic level up system Skyrim has, while there are a variety of options there's not enough to say it is a true RPG leveling system. It follows more of the likes of Dragon Age, which is simplistic and does not really leave room to create unique characters from pures to hybrids. The giants are stronger than dragons debate I can say it is the difficulty level you're playing and the dragon you're fighting. A regular dragon is amongst the easiest, whilst a frost dragon can 1 hit KO the character. Most of these people complaining about the length obviously didn't take the time to change the difficulty setting of the game and just basically rushed through the main story instead of allowing themselves to enjoy this game. There's tons of books scattered around to collect that provide knowledge of certain areas, characters, history, organizations, and ect that can keep you busy reading if you're the person who enjoys expanding you're knowledge about Skyrim. I have to agree with some people stating some side quests left more to desire and that's another reason why I'm not giving this game a 10/10. About glitches and bugs found in Skyrim, we have to understand this is an open world sand box game so expect plenty of bugs and glitches. There's really nothing game breaking other than some words cannot be learned due to a bug on the game but does not necessarily impair you from completing quests.Overall this game is worth the $60.00 for players who are RPG fans. Many people claim this game is repetitive but which game isn't? FPS games = shoot/mission over/ cinematic/ infiltrate shoot/ mission over/ cinematic. That debate loses plenty of credibility fast as this game provides plenty of other options to keep yourself busy and away from monotonous dungeon clearing.… Expand
  6. scabbycakes
    Dec 30, 2011
    10
    Ohhhhh Skyrim, you effing beautiful game, you.

    This is without reservation my new favourite game of all time. The best part of the game is that you can go anywhere and do anything you want to do and be anything you want to be, and still do it all in a way to achieve a whole bunch of great storylines and one grand plot. Because the world is so free to interact with and do whatever suits    Ohhhhh Skyrim, you effing beautiful game, you.

    This is without reservation my new favourite game of all time. The best part of the game is that you can go anywhere and do anything you want to do and be anything you want to be, and still do it all in a way to achieve a whole bunch of great storylines and one grand plot. Because the world is so free to interact with and do whatever suits you, I'm surprised there are any complaints at all by anyone, I wonder what sort of mental issues someone could have if they give this a bad review. Even the mundane generated quests are varied and unique and worthwhile. Some of the quest choices I had to make made me full of regret and remorse after I made them, and heck, I'm a coldhearted gamer and never really care about doing evil things in a game! One choice I had to make in particular really made me feel genuinely bad ... what other games out there that can instill genuine *feeling*? Even when my dumb companion would die, I felt a bit attached and would have to restore the latest save and try again so they wouldn't be gone forever. Weird.

    On top of that, the graphics are beautiful, the dungeons are never a chore like they became sometimes in Fallout, Oblivion and Morrowind, and there's a huge, full world that you're not going to finish exploring anytime soon. I'm actually surprised they fit all of this into a few gigabytes. The only mentionable point of suckage is the voice acting....they should have hired a bunch more regular sounding people that don't sound like cheap Romanian porn stars to do more of the dialog, but not a big deal. There are also a few bugs here and there but not enough to discourage me in any way.

    All in all, I spent 120 hours to finish the main quest and most of the side story arcs, but there's still lots of loose ends and one major class storyline left to do and a hell of a pile of unexplored map, so I got a ton of value out of it so far. Plus in a few months they'll be releasing modding tools and hopefully some expansion packs to breathe even more life into is because I really don't want it to end.    … Expand
  7. tototototo
    Dec 30, 2011
    6
    Gameplay is fun but broken as **** with multiple ways of exploiting it o become a god, such as free-casting, alchemy-enhanced smithing, stun/paralysis locking, ect.

    Storywise it is alright but lacking when compared to Oblivion or Morrowind.
  8. Zxp
    Dec 30, 2011
    9
    As much as I love Skyrim, I felt a 10 just was not deserving,Compare this game to Oblivion and Morrowind and you will see the guilds/factions on this game do not go in depth near as much as they do in its predecessors,I did not like the fact like 2 quests into a certain faction I instantly become one of the major roles in it and are now super important in that said faction,bad pointsAs much as I love Skyrim, I felt a 10 just was not deserving,Compare this game to Oblivion and Morrowind and you will see the guilds/factions on this game do not go in depth near as much as they do in its predecessors,I did not like the fact like 2 quests into a certain faction I instantly become one of the major roles in it and are now super important in that said faction,bad points aside...

    This is a great RPG that will give you hours upon hours of gameplay and it seems there is never nothing to do,thanks to Bethesda's Radiant AI system.    … Expand
  9. liho1eye
    Dec 30, 2011
    5
    Another vast sandbox game. I sunk about 250 hours in it, which should tell you something about value for the buck. Still it has plenty of issues, which is to be expected from a Gamebryo game. Interface (as Critical Miss cleverly noted) is made by and for the crab people. Camera control is bad. Physics are bad. AI isn't even bad, it is borderline malicious. Quest and other scripted eventsAnother vast sandbox game. I sunk about 250 hours in it, which should tell you something about value for the buck. Still it has plenty of issues, which is to be expected from a Gamebryo game. Interface (as Critical Miss cleverly noted) is made by and for the crab people. Camera control is bad. Physics are bad. AI isn't even bad, it is borderline malicious. Quest and other scripted events often break and wont progress without manual intervention via console. Game challenge scales very poorly with level and crafting skills make it worse. Does the content make up for it? Possibly. Still the game could've bee 10 times better if only Bethesda moved on to a game engine that isn't 10+ years old.… Expand
  10. zerosum
    Dec 30, 2011
    3
    The game gets boring really fast. Most quests are very linear and many side quests are simple fetch quests. The dungeons are repetitive and the broken crafting system and lack of equipment variety makes exploration pointless. Leveling is also pointless because everything levels with you. Dragon fights are quite underwhelming and often you'll meet common bandits which are stronger thanThe game gets boring really fast. Most quests are very linear and many side quests are simple fetch quests. The dungeons are repetitive and the broken crafting system and lack of equipment variety makes exploration pointless. Leveling is also pointless because everything levels with you. Dragon fights are quite underwhelming and often you'll meet common bandits which are stronger than Dragons (Because of the poorly implemented level scaling). AI is as good as in Oblivion, and by that I mean its terrible. Animations are still bad by modern days standards. Combat is a complete mess, probably because of the ridiculous physics in the game or maybe are the weird animations, but often when you hit people with heavy weapons they just moan and keep swinging their weapons like nothing is happening. Also, the finishing moves are weird and there is a lot of clipping issues. Like most modern games Skyrim also suffers with developers trying to appeal to a "wider audence" by removing features from the game (like attributes, skills, armor pieces, etc), that makes the game quite shallow and makes difficult for you to make "builds" that actually plays differently (most characters will just be a mage-warrior-thief hybrid).

    The soundtrack is somewhat good, but not very original because several musics are taken from Morrowind. Most sound effects sounds like they were taken from a bad movie from the 80s.    … Expand
  11. Sorrowmoon
    Dec 30, 2011
    10
    They put a lot of time and effort into this game and you really get your money's worth out of it. Played this game for over 200 hours and still haven't been through all the content. I hate games that I can finish in under 10 hours. The graphics are awesome and playing the game on master difficulty definitely keeps things interesting to say the least. This is easily one of the best gamesThey put a lot of time and effort into this game and you really get your money's worth out of it. Played this game for over 200 hours and still haven't been through all the content. I hate games that I can finish in under 10 hours. The graphics are awesome and playing the game on master difficulty definitely keeps things interesting to say the least. This is easily one of the best games I've ever played. I really enjoyed the archery combat it's very well designed and It's hard to find a game that does the style justice.… Expand
  12. paladinjedi
    Dec 30, 2011
    6
    (sigh)... A total letdown of a game that had the great Morrowind and Oblivion as predecessors.

    Skyrim SHOULD HAVE been much more than Oblivion. Instead, it's much more less. People expect more from a modern game, something to significantly improve the quality of time spent into virtual realities over older games: good visuals, deep story, logical overall interactions etc. Unfortunately,    (sigh)... A total letdown of a game that had the great Morrowind and Oblivion as predecessors.

    Skyrim SHOULD HAVE been much more than Oblivion. Instead, it's much more less.

    People expect more from a modern game, something to significantly improve the quality of time spent into virtual realities over older games: good visuals, deep story, logical overall interactions etc.

    Unfortunately, Skyrim doesn't provide those, here's why:

    .................

    1. Graphics/Visuals

    This is one of the very few areas where Skyrim shines a bit. There are nice landscapes and the wide open world is cute enough to invite for roaming. Yes, many games could do with such freedom of exploration.

    But again nothing extraordinary. No high jump from Oblivion.

    Some textures are not where they should be, in other areas contrasts are broken and bleak.

    Some pixels are just trembling for no reason and human faces are hardly distinguishable.

    I simply do not understand how playing as a native nord makes my skin suntanned. The logic of it...
    ...................

    2. Gameplay/Mechanics

    No voiced (optional) main char, no animations in dialogue... (ever considered at least comparing to Mass Effect?...)

    Controls are good, combat is satisfactory. But the idea of stamina bar is just annoying.

    What happened to acrobatics, athletics and other skills?

    THE WORST PART is the leveling system. For the life of me, I chose to play warrior and rely on weapons but couldn't get weapons to 100. Instead, I could max speech and enchant quite fast. Playing as mage? Same thing. Bah...

    This leveling system, based by skills is bad, bad, bad. Beside the non-logic of being all-in one: warrior, thief, mage etc., it's time consuming and tedious.

    I wanna level and use my blade well, but in order to get tougher I must find mobs to cut, and where if there are no fast respawning mobs?? But I can train in speech and smithing faster, instead. So much for the "freedom of playing style"...

    .............................

    3. Story/Choices

    Bad. The only "moral choices" with actual impact you are allowed to make are supporting the rebellion or the empire.

    I supported rebellion and guess what? The previously shy and anonymous now fresh established Whiterun Jarl (who, without my efforts would have ever remained a runt) tells me something as "You are not as dumb as you look". You're welcome, your "grace"...

    The rebellion titles Ulfric and his generals throw upon you are senseless and plain stupid. "Snowhammer" my ars... and when the rebellion succeeds, what about somebody granting me a Jarl title or at least a fort as a fief? No way, instead I have a pretty long, boring and useless "thane" agenda...

    Ok, let's become an Archmage then. The college of mages probably being the only sensible and more realistic implemented faction.

    After a no-dialogue, no dispute of ideas, lifeless final battle with Ancano, I am granted the high honor. But...
    Just when I thought I am somebody now at least, a mere court wizardling in a dull city speaks with me like I'm his boots keeper. Same in other courts. I can even recall some replies hinted to my narrow comprehension of magic arts... To me, the Archmage!!! ......................... 4. AI (artificial intelligence) Oh, my... Nothing more to be said here, except when dragons keep attacking the cities (they keep attacking forever, so kiss goodbye the fact you can be a real hero and vanquish them for good), some peasants dare provoke them in direct honorable combat with... bare hands!!! Such inspired logic deserves the bow of the day.... ......................... The game deserves a 6 only because it is better than many other present games and for its pretty open world. But once you played the story, its doubtful you'll ever replay it, considering other better games start growing on the horizon...    … Expand
  13. Panisher99
    Dec 29, 2011
    10
    It is one of the best games in which I played! Skirim simply bomb in series The elder scrolls! World research gives unknown pleasure, the world lives! Certainly there are some bugs, but with patches they are gradually corrected! Manually fulfilled vaults, a drawing, all in this game is ideal. Magnificence Skirim can be compared only to magnificence Oblivion in due time!!
  14. JEgroeg
    Dec 29, 2011
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Where do you begin with a game like Skyrim? At first I was thrilled, but by the point I had beat all the guilds, mainquest, civil war, Deadric quests, and most the miscellaneous, I realized this was the pinnacle of the complete devolution of the Elder Scrolls as a series. The guilds lack depth and have no purpose. A hack and slash barbarian can lead the College of Winterhold by fighting through a few linear dungeons. The Dark Brotherhood is shorter than Oblivion and lacks the dark humor and unique kills. Most assassinations are simply, go here and kill this guy with a marker over his head. The Companions are equally short and devoid of challenge. Every guild treats you like an outsider then after three quests blindly trust you to be the next leader. Once you become guild leader the random filler quests generated are so repetitious you will be burned out quickly. The Thieves Guild is extremely guilty of this. The random thievery quests are so unoriginal and for a game the prides itself in its AI the people basically let you rob them blind. If they detect you don't worry, they won't call the guards and you can walk back in an hour latter and rob them again. Then there is the fact that there are no actual consequences to your actions as almost all the characters even slightly related to a quest are made unkillable. For a game that prides itself in character choice, why do I have no choice in this matter? The perks are poorly implemented and completely unbalance the game. They will leave you one shotting any enemy with a bow, enchanting armor to cast entire magic schools with no cost, and other outrageous feats that remove all challenge from the game. In just three hours you can craft a god-tier suit of armor and kill everything (except half the NPCs with immortality) in the game. The crafting system has no depth and isn't even related to you respective skills. Why can a character with 15 in smithing craft an item at every attempt? Let me see anyone inexperienced in smithing create a dagger at every attempt. And did I mention weapons don't decay after use, hardly the pinnacle of realism or even providing adequate challenge. I mean if weapons don't decay why even have magicka deplete with spells cast? The civil war quest line is a joke, both sides are mirrors of each other and don't even use different tactics in battle. The main quest is predictable with a typical enemy that has no real motives other than destroy everything. At least Dagoth Ur had motives. He wanted to unify Morrowind against the Empire's invasion at any cost. Skyrim's main enemy is a dragon that wants to destroy the world, how original. Then there is the matter of the new AI system which the developers clearly banked on generating worthwhile and memorable quests. Quite simply it completely fails to generate quests with any degree of complexity. Furthermore, the Norse culture and lore seems like a secondhand rehash of established fantasy clichés. Overall this game hardly even qualifies as an RPG. So much has been streamlined since Morrowind and Oblivion. Even custom spell creation is gone. Nearly every quests has only one way to complete it and it usually involves killing/finding an item that has a magic arrow over its head leading you directly to it. Sure the graphics and environments are nice, but they're nothing amazing compared to the current crop of PC games. Justify this games greatness with the rave reviews, record sales, or mountains of cash it has generated but time will be its ultimate judge. This is just another example of a studio catering to the masses to maximize profit and everyone is eating it up. So this concludes my review of The Elder Scrolls: Call of Duty… Expand
  15. mikaelh
    Dec 29, 2011
    8
    This game is a bit broken because it is made for consoles. But if you download tens of mods (including graphics and optimizing mods) the game will be a very satisfying experience. 6 of 10 without mods, 8,5 of 10 with mods. Now I'm just waiting for Skyrim Steam Workship so I can handle my mods easily in Steam.
  16. Holo_Benkai
    Dec 29, 2011
    10
    My second Elder Scroll game since Oblivion. I loved Oblivion but it's like they read my mind & put everything in Skyrim that Oblivion lacked. It's such an awesome game. I can't be @rsed to say why, I'm too busy playing it and have clocked up 150 hours so far!
  17. LordSeferoth
    Dec 29, 2011
    0
    Horrible and disapointing game. Skyrim is everything Elder Scrolls fans did not want. Its smaller,stripped,mainstreamed,buggy and ugly game. If this is the new direction of Elder Scrolls then this serie is dead for me. It certainly won my FOTY(Fail of the year) award this year.
  18. Kriv
    Dec 28, 2011
    10
    The gameplay is similar to fallout but definitely look sharper graphics.. Love the big open world with endless side quest. The only thing I miss is the XP reward by killing the enemy. To level up you have to upgrades yours skills. Example if you want to level up you have to use your two hand skill constantly, that means just slash with yours big sword everything! Definitely hour andThe gameplay is similar to fallout but definitely look sharper graphics.. Love the big open world with endless side quest. The only thing I miss is the XP reward by killing the enemy. To level up you have to upgrades yours skills. Example if you want to level up you have to use your two hand skill constantly, that means just slash with yours big sword everything! Definitely hour and hours of pure magical fun.… Expand
  19. Amstaad
    Dec 28, 2011
    9
    This game provides an excellent sand box experience and on the PC the addition of mods turns the game from an eight to a nine. The game also provides a lot of single player value which is rare in most modern games. By modern standards the game is excellent. However the story telling is not going to blow you away, the AI is crappy and it can be buggy (like pretty much all of Bethesda'sThis game provides an excellent sand box experience and on the PC the addition of mods turns the game from an eight to a nine. The game also provides a lot of single player value which is rare in most modern games. By modern standards the game is excellent. However the story telling is not going to blow you away, the AI is crappy and it can be buggy (like pretty much all of Bethesda's games). Despite it's flaws Skyrim is still far and away one of the best games I've purchased and well worth a buy.… Expand
  20. BigJimmy1234
    Dec 28, 2011
    0
    So very poor for an Elder Scrolls Game.

    It has almost no progression in terms of the game world or gameplay. Besides dual spells and weapons, the game has not improved at all over 5 years. -The world is still filled with static carts and stupid AI bleating garbage at you. The game world is as immersive as a town of Lego sadly. -The graphics are damn right ugly and terrible for current    So very poor for an Elder Scrolls Game.

    It has almost no progression in terms of the game world or gameplay. Besides dual spells and weapons, the game has not improved at all over 5 years.
    -The world is still filled with static carts and stupid AI bleating garbage at you. The game world is as immersive as a town of Lego sadly.
    -The graphics are damn right ugly and terrible for current PC's.
    -PC support is beyond a joke and why I gave this such a low score - the fps is cpu capped! Yes, seriously! How stupid and absurd could things be for a game?! The game is clearly not built for computers and is another cheap console port.
    -The memory usage is also capped at 1GB so I hope you don't like mods otherwise the game will crash to desktop every few minutes    … Expand
  21. netpk
    Dec 28, 2011
    10
    The year 2011 was one of the best for games, and was consecrated Skyrim the best game this year, with a history rich in fables and stories, lots of possibilities with characters, epic soundtrack, and a massive popularity!
  22. Sussex_Man
    Dec 28, 2011
    8
    My ignorance might have won the day. I could have given this a 9 or even a 10 but I can't. Why? Because I've played the Witcher games and have discovered just how great an RPG really can be. Yes, Skyrim looks beautiful in those huge outdoor vistas. Just don't get too close to anything, though. Close-up details are not particularly good, even on the highest graphics settings.
    As for the    My ignorance might have won the day. I could have given this a 9 or even a 10 but I can't. Why? Because I've played the Witcher games and have discovered just how great an RPG really can be. Yes, Skyrim looks beautiful in those huge outdoor vistas. Just don't get too close to anything, though. Close-up details are not particularly good, even on the highest graphics settings.
    As for the main quest, I've been playing the game for about 10 hours and I'm really not getting engaged with the main plot at all. On the plus side it's because there are just so many side quests to do - this game is HUGE. On the minus side, the main quest is just not very interesting. Apparently the world might end. Really? In Oblivion it really felt that way. The hordes of the underworld had bled through and the ominous red glow in the sky was chilling and added a genuine feeling of peril. In this game I don't feel it at all. The world is full of dragons. They're pretty easy to kill, much easier than most dungeon bosses.
    Many of the side missions are retrieval quests - "I've lost X, go to Y and bring it back" - but they're fun for the most part, if not particularly challenging.
    The controls and combat are Ok but could be much better. A very obvious console port and not intuitive for mouse and keyboard but everything does run smoothly.
    Unfortunately there are tons of bugs - not too surprising for such a huge game and no real game-breakers. Just silly, laughable quirks like my horse becoming invisible at certain angles so it looks like I'm floating astride nothing. Sometimes dropped items don't land on the ground but sit three feet above my head, just floating there in space.
    I'm still enjoying it, hence the decent score, but it's just not engaging enough to give it full marks.    … Expand
  23. cchmie
    Dec 28, 2011
    10
    Beutiful Graphics,Awesome Fighting,Very Hard. This Game Could Kick Oblivion's Ass In A Sword Fight It Will Automaticly Win GOTY **** All Hater's Just Relax And Have A Action Packed Adventure

    10 Game Of The Year
  24. ShadowSaber
    Dec 28, 2011
    10
    Bethesda really, really outdid themselves on this game and I'm glad they put so much effort in this, especially after collecting so many fans of the TES series. After the fantastic Morrowind and Oblivion, I seriously didn't expect something extremely new or special about this game, and feared that it might be ruined like all the other newer games.
    Instead, they surprised me with a    Bethesda really, really outdid themselves on this game and I'm glad they put so much effort in this, especially after collecting so many fans of the TES series. After the fantastic Morrowind and Oblivion, I seriously didn't expect something extremely new or special about this game, and feared that it might be ruined like all the other newer games.
    Instead, they surprised me with a completely fresh title. The beginning of the game was slightly confusing, but I guess it's kinda standard for the TES games to begin with you being some kind of a unlucky prisoner, freed by an unexpected event soon after. The engine seems to be polished and upgraded to it's best, during nearly 60 hours of game-play I haven't noticed a single bug or an unusual thing that hindered my further progress. The only thing that CAN get annoying from time to time is the battle music that tends to get stuck here and there, requiring a complete restart of the game in order to be cleared up.

    The graphics are completely solid and acceptable for this kind of a game, tho I must admit I was a little disappointed on how it all looks. I was expecting Bethesda to be more serious and step out of the "make a game for Xbox360, port it to PC quickly" pattern, but that wasn't the case here. The graphics are just slightly improved in comparison to the console versions, but I don't understand why the devs simply didn't put more effort in this masterpiece and made graphics better, more appealing and up-to-date with all the things graphic cards can render these days. This automatically draws the question concerning system specifications..they do seem pretty strange, especially the requirements for Ultra settings. Six years old graphics just shouldn't lag on high end computers.
    One more disappointing thing, which I've hoped to be gone in the PC version, is the useless, weird inventory, which is completely out of place since we don't get to compare items without scrolling all the way down, then all the way up to the second item. At least they put in the Favorites quick menu.

    Game-play is vastly improved, especially the leveling part which was pulled off horribly in the previous TES game, which required you to level only the main professions/skills you picked, in order to progress in-game. This time, we get leveling for each skill equally, allowing us to both level and choose various perks and "talents" which help us further our favorite skills and have additional bonuses when performing those.

    I don't want to type anymore, because the text so far pretty much explains why you should at least try this epic title. It might seem a bit expensive for now, but I'd say it's definitely worth your money and time.    … Expand
  25. sc0TTi
    Dec 27, 2011
    8
    some great stuff, but not polished. dragon fights are terrible, and that includes boss fights. not enough tough single enemies to really get into a technical duel with. graphics are 360 level. great quests though, and great npcs
  26. TheBank
    Dec 27, 2011
    8
    This game has so much inside of it. You get your money's worth. My only grief is that out of (apparently) no where the game will lag to an unplayable level. This can be fixed the first time by fast travelling to another location (or going to a load screen). After the first time it becomes more frequent until you have to restart the game. Apparently this issue has been recognized byThis game has so much inside of it. You get your money's worth. My only grief is that out of (apparently) no where the game will lag to an unplayable level. This can be fixed the first time by fast travelling to another location (or going to a load screen). After the first time it becomes more frequent until you have to restart the game. Apparently this issue has been recognized by bethesda and they are working on it. Setting my graphics lower increases the amount of time it takes for this glitch to appear again. I would recommend waiting to buy this game until it's on sale (I got it on a steam holiday sale). When everything is smooth I will enjoy this game all the more. I am very pleased with this game, I would recommend getting the nexus mod manager and getting some of the top mods for this notably "acceleration layer." Check out skyrim nexus for more details.… Expand
  27. Crimsonking58
    Dec 26, 2011
    5
    Ah Skyrim. Outside of the CoD series, I have never heard so many people going insane over a game before it's launch. Sadly, if you ever played Oblivion, you've already played this game. There are literally only 4 changes; Graphics (slight improvement), UI (Which I loved but for some reason the majority of the PC community despises), Dragons (Which are interesting enough but not gameAh Skyrim. Outside of the CoD series, I have never heard so many people going insane over a game before it's launch. Sadly, if you ever played Oblivion, you've already played this game. There are literally only 4 changes; Graphics (slight improvement), UI (Which I loved but for some reason the majority of the PC community despises), Dragons (Which are interesting enough but not game making), and the leveling system. Oh the leveling system... The use of perks is the most game-breaking aspect in my opinion. In Oblivion, if you maxed out every single skill, every single skill was at its maximum ability. In this game, however, only the 3-4 choice skills that you decide to put your perks into are actually worth a damn at the end of the game. I couldn't just toss on some robes, ready some spells, and deal massive damage even with 100 skill like I could in Oblivion, because all of my perks were in melee skills. But, if you don't put perks into a few choice skills, you're stuck with a bunch of mediocre abilities. This kept me from playing once I reached level 50 (when leveling slows drastically). At that point, I stopped caring about my character, felt no compulsion to complete the sea of mostly identical quests, and just wrapped up the main plot and never touched it again. But what about the experience of getting to 50 in the first place? As I said, if you've played Oblivion, you've played this. There really is nothing different here except dragons, and in the end the whole game just feels like a collection of mods for Oblivion. In the end, I liked the UI, and the game was fun while it lasted, but in the long term it doesn't hold up as well as Oblivion did, especially if you've already put 100+ hours into Oblivion. If it's your first Elder Scrolls experience, however, I'm sure you'll have a blast for the time being. It just didn't hold up for me.… Expand
  28. Kootness
    Dec 26, 2011
    9
    What's amazing about Skyrim: exploration (beautiful and well-crafted world, great dungeons), new perks, new smithing system, better combat mechanics, towns and people seem real (but its still a video game, guys), shouts add a really fun character advancement mechanic that encourages dungeon exploration. Companions work well in this game

    What's not great about Skyrim: In some ways, feels    What's amazing about Skyrim: exploration (beautiful and well-crafted world, great dungeons), new perks, new smithing system, better combat mechanics, towns and people seem real (but its still a video game, guys), shouts add a really fun character advancement mechanic that encourages dungeon exploration. Companions work well in this game

    What's not great about Skyrim: In some ways, feels more wide than deep- main storyline not incredibly intriguing (its a Bethesda game, people), and faction quests, while fun, don't deliver as well on story as they did in Oblivion. Game offers little choice, in comparison to say, Fallout or Dragon Age; most "choice" comes from character development. A lot of side quests lack creativity, made up for in part by varied and interesting dungeons (many side quests are: go to said dungeon, kill this guy/grab this thing). Interface is wonky, mods help.

    In the end, this is still an amazing, open-world fantasy RPG. If you want an RPG with an intense story and thought-provoking moral choices, look elsewhere. But I think most people know what they're getting with this game- A beautiful and interesting world with great character development and decent combat.    … Expand
  29. Vilquar
    Dec 26, 2011
    9
    Bethesda is certainly going in a right direction with bringing us games which could truly be defined as free-roam, spacious open world of Skyrim takes the explorations to the next level, because lately I look for that kind of "freedom" in RPGs, I was thrilled to see it in Skyrim. I won't go much into things such as bugs or platform layout design which I didn't dislike too much anyway.Bethesda is certainly going in a right direction with bringing us games which could truly be defined as free-roam, spacious open world of Skyrim takes the explorations to the next level, because lately I look for that kind of "freedom" in RPGs, I was thrilled to see it in Skyrim. I won't go much into things such as bugs or platform layout design which I didn't dislike too much anyway. Major Quest Chains were also nicely done and quite interesting.… Expand
  30. LadiesMan217
    Dec 26, 2011
    10
    If this game doesn't get Game of the Year, I'll be shocked and amazed. I've never played a video game with more variety, freedom, and character models. Unless you love the hell outta dragons, or hate sandbox games(Normally I am hesitant with the sandbox format) you should buy this game. The system is smooth, balanced and fair. Also, rather awe-inspiring. I just spent about 60 bux for aIf this game doesn't get Game of the Year, I'll be shocked and amazed. I've never played a video game with more variety, freedom, and character models. Unless you love the hell outta dragons, or hate sandbox games(Normally I am hesitant with the sandbox format) you should buy this game. The system is smooth, balanced and fair. Also, rather awe-inspiring. I just spent about 60 bux for a blissful 60 hours of catering to my ADD and love of games. You should do the same.

    This is a fun time to be a PC gamer.    … Expand
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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.
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  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.
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  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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