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. 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
  2. Clai
    Nov 15, 2011
    6
    Although Oblivion has amazing atmosphere, an engaging storyline and awesome world design, it fell short of basic industry standards in terms of pure gameplay. The combat, physics and animations were dated on release, and the proudly touted "Radiant AI" did not extend well beyond basic townsfolk interaction. Oblivion's successor, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has reportedly set out to improveAlthough Oblivion has amazing atmosphere, an engaging storyline and awesome world design, it fell short of basic industry standards in terms of pure gameplay. The combat, physics and animations were dated on release, and the proudly touted "Radiant AI" did not extend well beyond basic townsfolk interaction. Oblivion's successor, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has reportedly set out to improve on it's predecessors flaws.

    Who knew improvement was such a marginal process? Skyrim suffers from the same incredibly lacking combat system that Oblivion is well known for; there is little and often no indication of damage (outside of an HP drop) when attacking an enemy and there is no complex timing or visceral response during fights. Instead, players choose whatever weapon/spell combination most suited to the enemy in question and flail about until one of the combatants falls. The improvements made to the combat system that allow for easy dual wielding and equipment management are completely wasted on a system that maybe would've been accepted in a 2.5d game in the 90s. Is Daggerfall the cause of this?

    This archaic system is even further compounded by poor animations and very simple world physics, both of which work hard to pull you from the immersion presented by the amazing world. Skyrim introduces "death blow" animations that are nothing more than randomly occurring cosmetic distractions that are so poorly made and prone to glitching that it's a mystery as to why they were ever included. Third-person gameplay has been improved marginally, but the canned walking animations and glitchy keyframed attacking/rolling/jumping actions that often do not correctly flow into one another will have you switching back to first-person in no time, a shame considering the extensive character design system and excellently crafted armor sets.
    If that was not enough, a constant bevy of glitches and bugs will assault you at every turn. The game presents amazing scenes and story, only to promptly snatch the awe away with another glitching background model or a man butting into to a conversation about the safety of the city with a mention of his fruit prices.

    But it's an RPG, right? Combat and presentation should come second fiddle to the freedom and variety of open-world gameplay, right? There sure are a lot of stats missing in this "Apple-inspired" UI, no quick way to check on equipped items and their individual stats, no indication of the worn location of an item until selected, whereby a simple armor rating comparison is made and nothing else. No equipment degradation, simplified stats, and the quick-switch/hot-key wheel has been replaced with a time-stopping favourites menu. Whilst a fight in Oblivion could be played out in real-time, Skyrim has the player pausing the game with each swap of equipment. Outside the Magic and Items menu (both of which draw from the same inspiration), the Skills and Map menus are both functional and simple.

    What Skyrim does best is present an amazing world full of life and motion, something Bethesda shows mastery in time and time again. Wind blows trees and bushes; Water flows down streams, crashing against rocks as salmon jump upstream; Rain and snow falls, sometimes softly, sometimes ferociously. This game has a ridiculous amount of atmosphere and style, and Bethesda's attention to detail shines in every nook and cranny. The opportunity to get lost in one of the in game books or listen in on the conversations of bandits rewards the player with a rich fantasy story with uncountable facets. The new quest system allows some quest items and objectives to be approached in different locations depending on where the player has already been, meaning dull excursions are rare in an already breathtaking world.

    It's a shame then, that the world alone is not enough to remedy Skyrim's flaws. It appears that Bethesda has learned nothing from their previous projects on the Gamebryo engine; Skyrim suffers from many of the flaws present in it's predecessors. At the core of the issue, it seems both Bethesda and their fans are unaware of the ageing gameplay, numerous bugs and lacking presentation aspects that plague the otherwise amazing world of The Elder Scrolls. It remains to be seen if many of these problems are patched or modded away (either by Bethesda or it's enthusiastic modding community), but in it's current state, Skyrim is an old game wearing new clothes.    … Expand
  3. lintmaster
    Feb 3, 2013
    6
    Finally picked up this game after waiting for a price drop (which I swore I would do after being disappointed with Oblivion). First, what brings the game down: Bethesda seems to have no problem creating a beautiful and detailed world, however, they forget about giving it a sense of believability and immersion. Look at Bleak Falls Barrow as an example: you follow a very visible path up aFinally picked up this game after waiting for a price drop (which I swore I would do after being disappointed with Oblivion). First, what brings the game down: Bethesda seems to have no problem creating a beautiful and detailed world, however, they forget about giving it a sense of believability and immersion. Look at Bleak Falls Barrow as an example: you follow a very visible path up a mountain to a MAJESTIC stone sculptured temple in perfect condition. Yes, it looks very cool and impressive, however, it feels like a tourist attraction. The door to the temple is highly visible atop a wide, pristine stair case. The whole place feels like it was recently built yet I'm supposed to believe it's an ancient ruin??? I don't get it. Inside the temple are cobwebs and crypts with treasure that has, inexplicably, not been looted yet. Why are the bandits the only people to discover this place and why didn't they bother looting it yet? I guess they didn't notice the big-ass chests sitting out in the open. Contrast this to Baldur's gate where you discover an underground crypt system under a shifted grave marker in an old dilapidated graveyard (which I was warned to be wary of). It actually felt like I was exploring and ancient dungeon that no one had entered in a hundred years. Another example of immersion breaking is Anise's cabin. The cabin literally has no roof. There is almost more sky than there is roof yet Anise lives there, in a cold climate!?! Inside the cabin she has candles burning I guess not enough sunlight is coming THROUGH the roof. I also get to "talk" to Anise. But all she does is say 3 lines over and over that describe who she is. Sorry but that's not conversation nor is it immersion. Let me actually talk to her and discover who she is myself. They made her into a prop instead of a character I can get to know. One of her lines say "it's hard getting by out here but I make do". So I raid her garden of everything green and she still says the same 3 lines. C'mon, Bethesda give me some interaction and immersion here. It would be very easy to program some new lines if I raid her garden or enter her cabin without permission. There is something to discover about her but it could have been done so much better. I could go on and on about immersion but I'll stop there. The combat still feels like 1998 (with only minor improvements), walking animations the same. When will developers make characters legs stop moving when they hit an obstacle? Or automatically step over the obstacle? Never, I'm thinking. Little disappointed in only 3 attributes to choose from as well. The dungeons and night time seem too well lit as well. It would be fun to have dungeons be pitch black and have you rely on your torch or spell for light and/or have old wall torches that you light as you go. Focus on atmosphere and creeping you out like in doom3 back in the day. Imagine hearing sounds in the dark that's beyond the light of your torch. It's hard to be afraid in a dungeon that's lit up like Walmart. That's the thing about Skyrim, there's just so many things they could have done better. But it does have a positive side: the game looks amazing on ultra high. Much more atmospheric than Oblivion the urban park. The monsters look cool and scary. Having a giant run at me and pound me into the ground was very cool (ah no level scaling with them at least). It will be fun to build up my character and take them out (isn't that right Oblivious?). The UI is trash but I found using the Xbox controller helps immensely and was very intuitive. As a whole I'm having fun and would recommend the game (for $39.99) despite the immersion/reality issues I have with it.… Expand
  4. Montavious
    Mar 25, 2012
    6
    Now that most of the problems seem to e fixed. Its a decent game. Still just kinda "Meeehh"...................................................................
  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. TooCritic
    Dec 3, 2011
    6
    This game has not passed anything seen before. The graphics are marginally better, although most of the hits from 2007. better graphics. Gameplaj is the same as in Oblivion. Parts of the game, such as enchantmnet and alchemy, are useless. This is a sad story about PC titles in recent years, with few exceptions. We get a bad console ports, although I have when playing Crysis nearly 5 yearsThis game has not passed anything seen before. The graphics are marginally better, although most of the hits from 2007. better graphics. Gameplaj is the same as in Oblivion. Parts of the game, such as enchantmnet and alchemy, are useless. This is a sad story about PC titles in recent years, with few exceptions. We get a bad console ports, although I have when playing Crysis nearly 5 years I thought that today's game will be something special. Ð… Expand
  7. clavain
    Dec 8, 2011
    6
    While Skyrim may have resurrected some of the spirit of Morrowwind, and in terms of graphics can be outstanding (if your system can handle them), the more time you spend with it the more bugs and repetitive content you notice. Combined with the dumbing-down that has occurred as TES continues to cater to console gamers over PC gamers (incredibly bad UI, oversimplified attribute system,While Skyrim may have resurrected some of the spirit of Morrowwind, and in terms of graphics can be outstanding (if your system can handle them), the more time you spend with it the more bugs and repetitive content you notice. Combined with the dumbing-down that has occurred as TES continues to cater to console gamers over PC gamers (incredibly bad UI, oversimplified attribute system, potions galore everywhere you go in the world) and weak attempts to bring in MMO players (crafting, cooking and houses etc.) while still retaining a form of the flawed leveling system from Oblivion, and shortened/simplified faction and other quest lines which make it irrelevant what type of character you are playing, makes it very difficult to give it a higher score. Combined with an endless series of patches (or third party mods) needed to make the game more playable (no 64-bit exe support for example) and it is clear that Bethesda really doesn't care about the PC market, or making a true RPG anymore. Style over substance sadly.… Expand
  8. Fr33T
    Dec 16, 2011
    6
    This game has amazing graphics. Although the game engine and combat system is really frustrating. If you hit an unarmed woman with your sword, she will keep on attacking you with her bare hand like nothing at all. They meant to do this I know, but still it gets really annoying.
  9. mikhaila
    Dec 18, 2011
    6
    I enjoyed the game and completed a lot of quests but it just lost that great feeling after about 3 hours. I will still play it and enjoy it for many weeks to come but it's just not the same anymore and seems to be worse then Fallout 3. I think Fallout 3 was better.
  10. 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.
  11. RatingnHating
    Jul 23, 2012
    6
    I figured I'd take the time to write an actually decent review since most of them seem to be love/hate reviews, so I figured I'd do a simple pro/con list.
    Pro
    - great graphics - perk system is amazing - player customization is unparalleled - the world is awesome - Epic enemies Cons - Leveling system is restrictive in the sense that once you have all the skills you want, you can't    I figured I'd take the time to write an actually decent review since most of them seem to be love/hate reviews, so I figured I'd do a simple pro/con list.
    Pro
    - great graphics
    - perk system is amazing
    - player customization is unparalleled - the world is awesome
    - Epic enemies
    Cons
    - Leveling system is restrictive in the sense that once you have all the skills you want, you can't really level anymore
    - Not a lot of depth, not many choices other than empire/ stormcloacks, and nothing you do matters. No-where near the depth of a game like Fallout: New Vegas
    - Some areas just destroy your tactics (like stealth characters are screwed in dragon fights) almost like those deus ex human revolution boss fights.

    All in all I'd say skyrim is a pretty good game, as you can see my review says the pros outweigh the cons as saying it was a bad game would be a less than 5 score. Some of the flaws can be rather aggravating, but ultimately it is a good game. Also if you think I am saying it is a bad game by giving it that score think of my numbering this way, greater than 5 is good, less than is bad.    … Expand
  12. Cavissi
    Dec 25, 2011
    6
    A pretty decent game, ruined by level and item scaling. Had I reviewed this game when I first started playing, it would be a solid 8 out of 10. While the quests and writing all seemed rather lazy, adventuring and crafting was keeping me really entertained. However, because of item and level scaling, all of the dungeons start to feel the same. Even some treasure equivalent to Fallout 3'sA pretty decent game, ruined by level and item scaling. Had I reviewed this game when I first started playing, it would be a solid 8 out of 10. While the quests and writing all seemed rather lazy, adventuring and crafting was keeping me really entertained. However, because of item and level scaling, all of the dungeons start to feel the same. Even some treasure equivalent to Fallout 3's bobble heads would have made it worth exploring but when every dungeon is full of the same enemies and weapons, the game quickly loses its flare. While most complaints can be fixed by mods, I cannot count that as part of the rating.… Expand
  13. PrincessSunny
    Dec 26, 2011
    6
    As somebody who didn't really play Oblivion, this game started out as very impressive. However, after having put a lot of time into the game, the flaws start to build up. The graphics are indeed very impressive and detailed. Facial expressions are somewhat limited but this is more than made up by the beautiful scenery. Voice acting is relatively high quality though not in abundance - itsAs somebody who didn't really play Oblivion, this game started out as very impressive. However, after having put a lot of time into the game, the flaws start to build up. The graphics are indeed very impressive and detailed. Facial expressions are somewhat limited but this is more than made up by the beautiful scenery. Voice acting is relatively high quality though not in abundance - its kind of annoying talking to someone with the exact same voice as somebody in the last town. Combat is fun though it doesn't have much depth. I enjoyed it as far as hack-and-slack goes but due to the 2-ability only gameplay, and the clunky way to change your active abilities, I found that spells and strategy became a bit pointless. Additionally, the game is relatively easy and no strategy other than 'hit them hard' was really needed. In any of the more difficult fights you simply paused the game and spammed healing potions... While the game was immersive graphically-wise and the storyline is fine in most places, the quests are typically boring. I found the thieves guild extremely fun, but otherwise I found that you just went somewhere to kill someone or get an item from the back of a cannon-fodder filled cave (with exceptions of course). I did not find the atmosphere or characters to be deep, comparing it with games like Dragon Age, the characters were often very NPC-like with little back story or personality. While big cities were usually fine the smaller ones lacked characters and for example, there is virtually no one in the smaller inns except a bard and an innkeeper. Lastly, there are, as stated often, quite a few bugs with the game. Throughout my whole playthrough I found myself without a companion because my first one had bugged and nobody else would join me because the game seemed to think I still had my first one. Not that most games are without their bugs, all of these issues seem to ring loudly because of how over-hyped the game has been. While this review does seem critical, the game is definately fairly good and gave me a lot of hours of gameplay.… Expand
  14. 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
  15. Zudeare
    Nov 23, 2012
    6
    I really really really really REALLY want to like this game, but i can't for some reason, I'm serious, the graphics are decent, the music is epic and the world looks very open and fun, but for some reason, i get bored with it, Maybe it's because of the quests, but i'm not sure, I love Bethesda in general, Fallout 3 happens to be one of my favorite game, but skyrim, not really, still, i'veI really really really really REALLY want to like this game, but i can't for some reason, I'm serious, the graphics are decent, the music is epic and the world looks very open and fun, but for some reason, i get bored with it, Maybe it's because of the quests, but i'm not sure, I love Bethesda in general, Fallout 3 happens to be one of my favorite game, but skyrim, not really, still, i've spent a good 30 hours in it and i've had a few moments where i had an absolute blast playing it.… Expand
  16. 10-Breaker
    Jan 3, 2012
    6
    The game Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, name that brought so much smile on gamer faces.

    This game, the state it is now, it's still in beta. Unsheathe your weapon while crouching allows you to run normal speed. Developing stealth is a joke. If you want to build up anything combat related fast, pick a mammoth where there's a tree or 2 and keep running around them. Wanna try even something more    The game Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, name that brought so much smile on gamer faces.

    This game, the state it is now, it's still in beta.
    Unsheathe your weapon while crouching allows you to run normal speed. Developing stealth is a joke.
    If you want to build up anything combat related fast, pick a mammoth where there's a tree or 2 and keep running around them. Wanna try even something more fancy? Use 1st stage Whirlwind sprint upstream.

    And what is the use for the horse? Sometimes it helps, sometimes it just makes a suicide run against everything. The speed barely matches you sprinting around combat ready. Whereas on the horse you're completely helpless. You can't talk or interact with anything, you can't even use the other hand to cast a spell or swing a sword to defend yourself.

    Armors some look fancy some just clip through your character's skin. Ouch I say. And for Argonian and Khajit races. Would it have been such a trouble making the tail slide below the armor or making the armor custom build, like having a hole for the tail.

    Dragons become a joke if you want to. They select weird landing spots and are unable to defend themselves against arrows or spells. It doesn't take much to see where they land 80% of the time and then running to distance where you can hit it and it still lands on the same place. And when your character is 60% behind a large object they are unable to attack. For some reason they just don't bother coming any closer.

    Then the usual battles and difficulty. Yes clearing a normal dungeon, fortress, cave. With a stealth bowman it's a disaster. If you play with stealth and arrows you can develop your stealth like 14 points while clearing one. It takes from 20 minutes to an hour to clear one with harder difficulty like expert or master. Even with 45 stealth your enemies are totally blind and in "shadow" area you are part of the furniture. Even running over you doesn't blow your cover straight. People see 4 of their mates dead and go to everyone saying, "I will make whoever did this pay!". Or listen for them to repeat the same songs, stories, chit chat of the same woman, same gold and glory. Guy can take 30 arrows up the nose and say every time, "I guess it was only my imagination". Some say this is fun..? Yea if you listen to it for 4 hours for clearing dungeons you want to switch to lower difficulty and feel like a real stealth archer should. It's pointless to raise the level. When you encounter the problem of swarm of strong people in one room as weak stealth bowman. Just shoot few arrows, every time you re-enter a room and after the 3rd time you get back in the enemy stations have been reset so they can be found sitting at a table or watching the wall. With a ranged build your ideal places are somewhat weird ledges that you can walk over at ease but the opponent thinks it's impossible route. Yes you shoot an arrow, walk few steps back, opponent turns back and starts running around the room, then you take a step forward and s/he'll come the same route.

    With a melee player this might however get somewhat satisfying. If you don't build stealth or pick a bow on the way that is, you MIGHT actually have a challenge up your face with harder difficulties like expert and master. In dungeons, forts and so on. It ain't so. Yea you clear up halfway of the place at ease. Then comes the little bit more experienced fighter that's capable of 3 hit and finishing strike you. And the leaders can do that in one blow. One way is having a table or fence around. You simply time your hit right and you can hit that baddie once, then jump over the fence or table and he will have to run around that. Now how fun is that?
    Dragons will be a pain when you run a warrior like this so what's the point if you can't hit one flying little lizard, comes floating next to you spitting fire or ice. You just can't hit it or force it to come down. You lose the ability to fight your main objective in the game.

    There is simply no point in raising the difficulty above adept so you can keep the overall combat and exploring, somewhat, pleasing.

    And yes your character can jump if you tap jump button while down and rising up.

    And then there's the final touch. Eventually you have to choose a side. You make a game this scale and don't add grey area.

    Most of the game's score comes from beautiful environment. Great story since you make it only as big as you like thanks to all the quests around the world. Visual, story. Easy to use UI once you get hang of it.

    I wished that the fight animations would've been a bit more versatile. And not having pretty much the same animations for 3 weapons.

    Yes. My opinion stays. Still beta...    … Expand
  17. poiuta0
    Jan 15, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As many here, I was a fan of Morrowind and I bought the game when it was released. A solid 15 hours of fun it was, and then... The varnish went off: the game is dull and repetitive, and there is no sense of an epic progression. No legendary objects crafted aeons ago that would beat anything I'd make myself; no reward in becoming a thane, a guild's master or solving the civil war; a clunky menu, because, hey, it's a console port; a boring combat system with ridiculously cheap and unvaried animations. If anything, the whole action felt, well, generic. On top of that, and after roughly 30 hours, I am completely overpowered *** possible spoilers ahead ***: I'm a pure two-handed warriors with armor crafting and enchanting to the max, and it takes me two or three hits to kill an ice-dragon. Boring. Once you're past the discovery of the supposedly beautiful (I find them colourless) landscapes and of the skill system (which is OK), the game is nothing but a series of repetitive dull tasks, and you get NO sense of achievement whatsoever.… Expand
  18. PrimalHunter70
    Mar 27, 2012
    6
    Skyrim is greatly overrated by the media and everyone who has bought it. Skyrim has a poor story, with no twists and turns in the plot, no stunning moral choice options which will affect the outcome of your experience, and there is just no justification to why your character should be good or bad; there's just no incentive, because it doesn't affect the outcome. The dialogue also poor, asSkyrim is greatly overrated by the media and everyone who has bought it. Skyrim has a poor story, with no twists and turns in the plot, no stunning moral choice options which will affect the outcome of your experience, and there is just no justification to why your character should be good or bad; there's just no incentive, because it doesn't affect the outcome. The dialogue also poor, as you don't even hear your character speak, and like I said before, there are no moral choice options to choose. The combat is fun but clunky, and doesn't flow like other games I have played. Also, the voice acting and character animations are fairly mediocre, as half the characters in the world have exactly the same voices and looks. The ending is pretty unsatisfying, and lacks the spectacularity in other games. After playing the Mass Effect series, I simply cannot say that Skyrim is as good as everyone is saying.… Expand
  19. Puuugu
    Jul 7, 2012
    6
    This game could have been the greatest game ever, but it simply is a hollow shell at this point. It has very shallow characters and quests. It is horribly repetitive and gets very boring after 60 hours. The combat is lacking, loot is horrible and voice acting still consists of ~8 people. It also gets very easy.

    Finally, this game has no charm; it does not wow players or makes them feel    This game could have been the greatest game ever, but it simply is a hollow shell at this point. It has very shallow characters and quests. It is horribly repetitive and gets very boring after 60 hours. The combat is lacking, loot is horrible and voice acting still consists of ~8 people. It also gets very easy.

    Finally, this game has no charm; it does not wow players or makes them feel immersed. This game is a single player MMO, nothing more, nothing less.    … Expand
  20. ReBootEd
    Feb 29, 2012
    6
    A vast improvement over Oblivion, however still plagued with bugs, from the immersion-breaking to the game-breaking, and there's upcoming DLC.
    Graphics are decent, but washed out, desaturated and dirty brown.
    Gameplay is better, but has been simplified for the mass sheep.
  21. dprkforum
    Mar 3, 2012
    6
    I did not play the previous versions of the game series, but decided to give this game a try based on the overwhelmingly positive response this particular title received. When I first loaded the game after spending a whopping $59.99, I was not disappointed with a eye-popping eye candy. Craggy rocks, very realistic flowing water, ultra-detailed characters, and the list goes on. AfterI did not play the previous versions of the game series, but decided to give this game a try based on the overwhelmingly positive response this particular title received. When I first loaded the game after spending a whopping $59.99, I was not disappointed with a eye-popping eye candy. Craggy rocks, very realistic flowing water, ultra-detailed characters, and the list goes on. After playing this for a while, I noticed the game is little more than a bunch of "fight this", "fetch that" sequence of missions scattered all over a very large map. Not that I mind that, but the story lines are thin and haphazard. More challenging puzzles in caverns, keeps and the like would have made this game a lot better as well. Overall, this game is very nice, but it certainly is not the best by any means at all. What really brought down my score is the sheer number of bugs in the game. Broken quests, buggy caves and wonky character interactions.… Expand
  22. firstevil87
    Mar 16, 2012
    6
    Skyrim, a game so loved by many that people forgot to have social life or a normal life as well. I played the game trying to understand what the fuss is about but... I got bored pretty fast. At first I was astonished by the environments, the possibilities but then I realized something was missing: reward over time. It' very easy to say that you played this game for 200 hours where half theSkyrim, a game so loved by many that people forgot to have social life or a normal life as well. I played the game trying to understand what the fuss is about but... I got bored pretty fast. At first I was astonished by the environments, the possibilities but then I realized something was missing: reward over time. It' very easy to say that you played this game for 200 hours where half the time you just follow the mark on the map and walk. And walk. And walk. Minutes upon minutes of walking when nothing happens except the occasional wolf or the big monster that kills you in one shot and force you to start all over again. This superfluous padding could have been bearable if the combat system was interesting but the user-unfriendly interface made even combat annoying. If you like this kind of games here you will find great customization, a big open world to explore, lots of thing to do. Every time I try this kind of game I end up disappointed because freedom is useless if you don't have a compelling narrative or a purpose.… Expand
  23. Tyrannis1964
    May 8, 2012
    6
    the game was fun for the first 30 hours or so but unfortunately after you began to become aware of how the game feels a bit uninspired and lackluster
  24. Nikkistix686
    Mar 17, 2012
    6
    The game looks great, plays amazing. But we've already done all these same things before. I wanted to get a new RPG that played like something completely new, not just Oblivion with new maps, I just expected much more things to be added in. Mounted combat ect... Other hand, If you want a new game to spam mods for this might be for you.
  25. ns0l
    Dec 18, 2015
    6
    A good game but buggy and stupid. There's absolutely no need to use your brain in this game, Some said that even the bugs are funny but when they spoil my game I just say: What a piece of garbage.
  26. Zoso
    Jun 15, 2012
    6
    Skyrim is not a bad game, to be sure. Some elements (Lockpicking, Archery) feel very natural - although archery is not perfect as you sometimes can't shoot through narrow openings you could shoot through in real life and arrows suddenly drop at long range. The scenery is impressive, but the character models are seriously lacking, human and non-human alike. And there numerous nice stories,Skyrim is not a bad game, to be sure. Some elements (Lockpicking, Archery) feel very natural - although archery is not perfect as you sometimes can't shoot through narrow openings you could shoot through in real life and arrows suddenly drop at long range. The scenery is impressive, but the character models are seriously lacking, human and non-human alike. And there numerous nice stories, but there not *TOLD*. I know, this an open world RPG, so telling stories can get quite complicated. But with Skyrim, there's so much to discover, but everything stays somehow flat, sterile, and unresponsive, though vast. It feels like every commoner now has a name, but it doesn't matter, they're still commoner 1 - 1000.… Expand
  27. Budget_Security
    Oct 29, 2018
    6
    Skyrim has huge amounts of content and freedom, but much of it is "quantity over quality".
    Most quests feel a bit bland, repetitive and uninspired. Many places also feel a bit lifeless, and empty (taverns with just 2 people in them etc).
    Most characters are very 2-dimensional and a lot of voice acting is not convincing. There is also the usual lack of voice actors (kill a villain, then    Skyrim has huge amounts of content and freedom, but much of it is "quantity over quality".
    Most quests feel a bit bland, repetitive and uninspired. Many places also feel a bit lifeless, and empty (taverns with just 2 people in them etc).
    Most characters are very 2-dimensional and a lot of voice acting is not convincing. There is also the usual lack of voice actors (kill a villain, then talk to quest giver who has same voice and tone). In many ways this game is not a big step up from Oblivion.
    The terrible interface is built around the limits of consoles and their controllers. Level design is linear & restricted due to console hardware limitations (Xbox360 only has 500mb RAM).

    The mod scene is very vibrant and there is a mod to improve on just about every weak aspect of the base game, but finding and installing 100 mods is very time consuming. Still, there is nothing quite like modding Skyrim - if you persevere through the initial setup you are rewarded with hundreds of additional hours of quest content, much of it to a higher standard than the base game.

    So, vanilla Skyrim is decent, but not worthy of some of the hype. But add 100 mods and then you have something special.    … Expand
  28. Khitchary
    Dec 24, 2012
    6
    This game mostly just made me miss Morrowind. If you play a heavily modded skyrim I believe its a lot more fun,but I never bothered with that, as it is a fair amount of work to go to just to play a game. My flatmate has spent nearly as much time trying to force the game to work with a massive string of mods as actually playing. The stories for the various guilds/factions and even theThis game mostly just made me miss Morrowind. If you play a heavily modded skyrim I believe its a lot more fun,but I never bothered with that, as it is a fair amount of work to go to just to play a game. My flatmate has spent nearly as much time trying to force the game to work with a massive string of mods as actually playing. The stories for the various guilds/factions and even the main storyline are really quite sub-par in my opinion. Main good points would be better levelling system than oblivion I guess. I honestly cannot think of anything else nice to say. Only for the easily amused.… Expand
  29. Lulgrim
    May 31, 2012
    6
    Massively overrated sandbox game with poor combat mechanics, clunky UI, bad story, uninteresting characters etc. I already knew the deal from previous TES games and was prepared for lots of modding to make it playable, but it was still too boring for me to finish.
  30. aleyas
    May 25, 2012
    6
    Extremely inconvinient new interface, especially inventory, vast territories wih nice landscapes but nothing else (I've spent 20! real time minutes walking to a new destination with NOTHING in a way), poor story, dull quests and NPC's, lots of bugs, etc, etc.... - all in all its boring - the worst game in TES series, IMO. However there is not much choice what to play if you are doneExtremely inconvinient new interface, especially inventory, vast territories wih nice landscapes but nothing else (I've spent 20! real time minutes walking to a new destination with NOTHING in a way), poor story, dull quests and NPC's, lots of bugs, etc, etc.... - all in all its boring - the worst game in TES series, IMO. However there is not much choice what to play if you are done with The Witcher. So I would not advise against buying the game, just do not expect much and you will not be disappointed as I was:-)… 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.
    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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