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. ZetignaGaming
    May 9, 2012
    7
    This is one beautiful game. Its hard to argue that the graphics are dull or uninspiring, because you would be lying. However, even though The Elder Scrolls series are hard to beat and even harder to come by on epicness, I will say that this one disappointed. Clearly, they spent a lot of time trying to make a beautiful game, but its depth is about a deep as a puddle of water. If I am thisThis is one beautiful game. Its hard to argue that the graphics are dull or uninspiring, because you would be lying. However, even though The Elder Scrolls series are hard to beat and even harder to come by on epicness, I will say that this one disappointed. Clearly, they spent a lot of time trying to make a beautiful game, but its depth is about a deep as a puddle of water. If I am this all powerful, god like warrior, I should be treated like one. You will find that you will complete missions, save an entire town or city from complete doom and your reward is that you get to buy a house in the town. Hell if I didn't save it you wouldn't have one. I should be KING! The scale in which your importance in this world feels just wrong. You spend most of the time taking on much of the world by yourself and doing what most armies can't. The rewards for being so amazing are something that should have more meaning. Being a puppet when I could clearly kill the quest giver is none to pleasing. Best example I can give is also a spoiler. If you help the stormcloaks win the war and take over Skyrim all you get is a cheap sword that does Nothing! Nuff said....… Expand
  2. Paraeon
    May 2, 2015
    10
    Update: thanks Valve and Bethesda for removing paid mods. :)
    Skyrim is one of the best RPGs ever made (when mods are used). Cannot wait for the next TES game.
  3. DogFacedGod
    Mar 16, 2013
    7
    The series improved the melee combat system but retained lots of the flaws from oblivion. Using magic is no fun in this game, the main story isnt just that interesting, stealth feels broken because of dumb npc's, your actions dont have that much influence in the game world. Interface is an insult to PC gamers. Every dungeon looks the same and many more flaws.

    It still is a fun    The series improved the melee combat system but retained lots of the flaws from oblivion. Using magic is no fun in this game, the main story isnt just that interesting, stealth feels broken because of dumb npc's, your actions dont have that much influence in the game world. Interface is an insult to PC gamers. Every dungeon looks the same and many more flaws.

    It still is a fun sandbox-RPG world to explore with splendid visuals, and a more raw, realistic feeling environment. And the mod support is incredible.    … Expand
  4. Ramanujan
    Feb 19, 2012
    6
    Pretty much the first thing I did after getting to Riverwood was the Bleak Falls Barrow quest. I did it all in one go and, very sadly, it was by far the most entertaining dungeon I did in the whole game. I had to scavenge for healing potions, I had to use my special power quite a lot (Redguard) , had to kill a few Draugr by leading them through traps and had to reload the final fight inPretty much the first thing I did after getting to Riverwood was the Bleak Falls Barrow quest. I did it all in one go and, very sadly, it was by far the most entertaining dungeon I did in the whole game. I had to scavenge for healing potions, I had to use my special power quite a lot (Redguard) , had to kill a few Draugr by leading them through traps and had to reload the final fight in there a couple of times. Good stuff. Then I got into crafting (good) and alchemy (same old thing but more boring) . Did a few quests which I would describe as moderately hard. After that it was all too easy. Still, there were plenty of places to visit and people to see or were they the same 6 people? The same 6 that had just quaffed a very potent elixir of drain personality? Eventually it felt like Bethesda had forced a potion of damage motivation on me. Why should I keep going? To spend hours in a huge dark cavern looking for plants? No thanks. To scour repetitive dungeons and houses looking for unusual gems. I'll give it a miss. To do virtually the same quests over and over again? NO. Wait, I can get some better alchemy equipment. No. Better gear? No, you're level 35 and you won't find any better stuff. I can rise through the ranks of the theives' guild and steal some outrageous things. Errr.......no. Maybe I could have an amusing chance encounter? Maybe not. Maybe the giants have some other purpose rather than to get my armour skill up and I can find out what it is? Don't think so. Well, there's that high level perk for such and such skill that will really help me when I want to do such and such. Yes, and that would be which one exactly?
    Seriously I have never played a game that left me so bereft of motivation in such a short space of time. The final battle of the main quest was over before it began and afterwards I swapped from two-handed and heavy armour to one-handed and light armour. Even then, with no perks in either, I still could take out the toughest enemies without any trouble. Just took a bit longer and I chugged a couple of healing potions in the process. Right, I've even become demotivated writing about this game. It delivers on a few superficial levels, but deep down it's very shallow indeed. I'm left wondering if it is even possible to make the whole Elder Scrolls experience more bland and anodyne than this. Let's hope not.    … Expand
  5. Baenlynn
    Feb 28, 2012
    6
    You can look but you can't touch...

    I will get this out of the way right now: Skyrim is an awesome game with a breathtaking scope and an ambitious storyline with a few foreshadowing elements in its main plot (perhaps Bethesda is working up to throwing ITS lit match at WoW?) However in many respects, Skyrim doesn't actually understand that it is a GAME, or even that it is telling a story.    You can look but you can't touch...

    I will get this out of the way right now: Skyrim is an awesome game with a breathtaking scope and an ambitious storyline with a few foreshadowing elements in its main plot (perhaps Bethesda is working up to throwing ITS lit match at WoW?)

    However in many respects, Skyrim doesn't actually understand that it is a GAME, or even that it is telling a story. To be fair however, Bethesda have always suffered from this disease to varying degrees but this is possibly the most-jarring instance of it that I've seen from them.

    To clarify what I'm talking about: in your average game (and 99% of the memorable, engaging stories in the world) there is a sense of arc, of progression, as the plot unfolds. Characters evolve, personalities and relationships change, and at the end of the story, the state of things is changed (however subtle). With Skyrim however one gets the sense that the world is simply a matte painting into which the plot elements are tacked on. The dynamism of that place is completely invulnerable to our presence as the protagonist which makes all those positives about plot and characters and depth ring hollow. One gets the sense that the game doesn't need us and that robs even the supposedly most engaging moments of the game of any sense of reality. For example: The main side-quest in Markarth.

    After a while, when the shine has worn off the game, that's all Skyrim has left to offer: An uncomfortable sense that it is tolerating your presence even though it feels you are sullying its pristine vision of Tamriel.    … Expand
  6. moholdt
    Dec 2, 2011
    10
    I'd never imagine myself enjoying a 1st person role-playing game but with all the hype I decided to give it a shot. From the very start I got completely hooked. I haven't finished it yet, and I got the feeling I'm not even close and I've spent 100 hours (I take my precious time enjoying every pixel of every scenery).

    I've been reading some complaints though about bugs and things not    I'd never imagine myself enjoying a 1st person role-playing game but with all the hype I decided to give it a shot. From the very start I got completely hooked. I haven't finished it yet, and I got the feeling I'm not even close and I've spent 100 hours (I take my precious time enjoying every pixel of every scenery).

    I've been reading some complaints though about bugs and things not working and I'm really curious about what these bugs might be that make people so angry. The bugs I've encountered are minor and the fact that this game is so immensly huge I really don't care about them. I'd rather have a huge world to explore with some random bugs than a tiny little excuse of a "Story Mode" which is flawless.

    Recently alot of new exciting games have been released but so far none can match the gametime, depth and experience Skyrim can offer. I have no idea when I'm gonna complete the game but I don't think it will be any time soon. And after I do finish the game, I'm gonna have another go at it. This time playing another role.

    I actually created an account on metacritic just to write this review because I think Bethesda deserves the feedback. If this is the new standard for how future game should be like, then we do indeed have a bright future ahead of us. I can only imagine the amount of hours and efforts put into making such a huge universe. If anyone praticipating in creating this game is reading this review, well I would like to say thank you so much for making me feel there's still hope in the gaming industry.    … Expand
  7. HappyWolfie
    Dec 15, 2011
    5
    Skyrim is not really an RPG game. It is adventure-quest game. RPG system is so simplified event retarded children can master it. When i played the game, character race were mentioned only once or twice, and had absolutely no effect on gameplay. Story is nice but most quests very linear and lack choices.
  8. 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.
  9. 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
  10. Pootah
    Jun 26, 2012
    7
    Certainly a step up from a Oblivion; Skyrim fixes a lot of the problems of its predecessor. Menus and other UI elements have been streamlined; stats have been removed and replaced with perks, allowing for greater control over your character's progression. Level scaling has been reduced to be more like Fallout 3's, so levelling up is actually useful, where in Oblivion it only made the gameCertainly a step up from a Oblivion; Skyrim fixes a lot of the problems of its predecessor. Menus and other UI elements have been streamlined; stats have been removed and replaced with perks, allowing for greater control over your character's progression. Level scaling has been reduced to be more like Fallout 3's, so levelling up is actually useful, where in Oblivion it only made the game harder. Graphics are inevitably superior, although remain mediocre comparative to other games of recent years. As with every Bethesda game, Skyrim can be lot of fun so long as you don't think about it too hard; after a while you start wondering those niggling little questions like "how are these torches still burning when this dungeon has apparently remained untouched for thousands of years?" Or "how can I make a 30-pound suit of armour out of 5 1-pound metal ingots?" or "How the hell did so many bugs slip past QA? Seriously, there's a pile of rubble just floating 2 feet off the floor there." Skyrim's map is also slightly larger than Oblivion's, but it suffers from exactly the same problems: while the scale of the game may be impressive, quality is more important than quantity. I don't care about having virtually infinite quests to complete spread across more dungeons than you can count when nearly all of them are boring fetch quests or similar and every dungeon is just copy+paste of one of four other dungeons. Having dozens of towns sounds impressive, up until you realise that the alleged capital of Skyrim literally only has 9 houses in it. The most disappointing failure of scale is the characters: there must be thousands of them, but there's not one personality between them (and only maybe 20 VAs as well). The main narrative is unimaginably bland; centreing around a civil war in the eponymous province. Predictably, the player can choose which faction to join, but joining either side results in identical quests with the names switched round. Combat is similarly broken: since increasing your magic skill only reduces the amount of mana used (and you can't make your own spells any more), fights consist of either one-shotting enemies with sneak attacks with a bow or mashing the attack button in melee until the red bar is empty (the block skill is even more worthless than it was in Oblivion). As previously mentioned, even after a slew of official patches, bugs are a constant feature, whether it's quests failing to activate or merely items falling through the shelves they've been placed on, leaving modders to actually complete the game.… Expand
  11. 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.
  12. AlfaCorax
    Jun 15, 2012
    5
    I will describe Skyrim as "a world full of nothing".
    I love the landscape and I like the artistic direction of the "game", but it kind of stops there.
    After many many hours in the world of Skyrim I have given up. I have realized that it will not get more meaningful further on. Everything I do in the game feels pointless and effects the world almost nothing. That the game shipped as a    I will describe Skyrim as "a world full of nothing".
    I love the landscape and I like the artistic direction of the "game", but it kind of stops there.
    After many many hours in the world of Skyrim I have given up. I have realized that it will not get more meaningful further on. Everything I do in the game feels pointless and effects the world almost nothing. That the game shipped as a console port with all the limitations that brings is one thing that have been made better with mods, but even that cannot change the empty feeling I get from this extremely shallow game.    … Expand
  13. Mareus
    Aug 7, 2014
    4
    With the recent news of layoffs and restructuring, the big sites such as IGN are now officially in trouble and they have only themselves to blame. With games like Skyrim getting an average of 94 (a near perfect score), one has to wonder about the quality of journalism on these sites. Do not get me wrong, there is a lot to like about Skyrim and the game certainly does not deserve a 0/10,With the recent news of layoffs and restructuring, the big sites such as IGN are now officially in trouble and they have only themselves to blame. With games like Skyrim getting an average of 94 (a near perfect score), one has to wonder about the quality of journalism on these sites. Do not get me wrong, there is a lot to like about Skyrim and the game certainly does not deserve a 0/10, but there is also a lot to complain about and thus equally people that give the game 10/10 are devoid of critical thought and even the most basic understanding of good game design.

    Of course people have different tastes and they use 1 to 10 scale differently, but even a complete imbecile can see the flaws Skyrim has. The game is buggy, unoptimised with annoying graphical and gameplay glitches, horrible AI and even worse UI. But I won't even go into the technical stuff, because even if the game was as smooth as heaven itself, it still manages to fall short just based on game design decisions from Bethesda.

    1. The story is lackluster and unoriginal. You are the chosen one and have to kill the big evil monster that wants to destroy the world. Yawn.. how original.
    2. The dialogues are horrible. Most NPCs have 2 or 3 lines with some important characters a few lines more. But my main gripe is that these characters are completely devoid of any personality or uniqueness - the fact which is even more obvious due to horrible voice acting where a couple of voice actors use the same voice for hundreds of different NPCs - thus completely breaking the immersion which Skyrim clearly strives for. Beyond a couple of jokes here and there, some vary basic background to their character, there is literally nothing memorable about any of them.
    3. Quests are linear and boring. This is probably my biggest problem with Skyrim. Vast, vast majority of quests are MMO quality. For those of you who never played any MMO, MMO quality of quests boils down to this simple formula: go to X, talk to or kill Y, fetch Z and come back or deliver it to some other character, which will send you on another quest with the exactly same formula. Occasionally you will have an escort quest, or a "big battle", but that is pretty much it. This fact is even more painful due to annoying and lazy quest markers which literally hand hold you to every place, every item, every NPC that you are supposed to find, so there is nothing for you to work out for yourself.
    4. Level scaling. Although level scaling is not as horrible as it was in Oblivion, it is still there, leaving the player feeling like the whole world is turning around him and resulting in the diminished sense of progression.
    5. Loot scaling is a horrible idea. There is no sense of progression when the loot is scaled to your level. No matter where you go, you will never experience that magical moment when you find an amazing piece of equipment.
    6. Geographical design is horrible. Its just too easy to navigate even if you install a mod to remove the quest marker. Forget about feeling lost in a huge world. The design is so simple even a 6 year old can find his way around. Basically you have 1 big town in the middle, and then a road that goes around it connecting other towns. Everything is close to that road and that makes the world feel much smaller than it could have been.

    I could go on with dumb AI of your followers, unkillable NPCs, dumb down puzzles which all boil down to matching symbols that lie right in front of your face, etc... but this will suffice. Skyrim is a below average RPG in everything but its size. Combat is decent, graphic, sound and music are very good, the game a has good and interesting lore, and dragons look and act like real dragons (even though they are a bit too easy to kill).    … Expand
  14. iansarmy1
    Jul 8, 2014
    6
    Skyrim is a great game that I have spent countless hours in. Bethesda succeeded in crafting the most beautiful and vibrant open world ever, with rich and varied settings and a deep lore. However they took 2 steps forward and one back compared to Oblivion and Fallout 3/New Vegas. Quest lines are linear, offer absolutely no choices and involve mostly talking to NPC A, going to dungeon B,Skyrim is a great game that I have spent countless hours in. Bethesda succeeded in crafting the most beautiful and vibrant open world ever, with rich and varied settings and a deep lore. However they took 2 steps forward and one back compared to Oblivion and Fallout 3/New Vegas. Quest lines are linear, offer absolutely no choices and involve mostly talking to NPC A, going to dungeon B, killing everything inside, retrieving item C and then going back to NPC A. The game is also littered with bland and static characters who are never influenced by or acknowledge your actions. Most are only good for one of two lines of dialogue. There are very few if any memorable characters, just legions of AI controlled cut outs going about there business. The story falls flat because you never feel connected to the world or that anything is particular at stake. Its a shame because technically Skyrim far outshines its predecessors, and its story and character problems could have been easily solved with some additional writing and voice acting.… Expand
  15. foresterLV
    Jan 1, 2012
    5
    They said combat system will be imroved but it is still years behind games like WoW. It is very unpolished and retarded, especially if you try using magic and dual-weild. You need to constantly open equipment or favirotes menu to switch between weapons and spells because hotkeys are FUBAR. Stupid blocking animations (adding delays to weapon switching etc) make situation even worse.

    I was    They said combat system will be imroved but it is still years behind games like WoW. It is very unpolished and retarded, especially if you try using magic and dual-weild. You need to constantly open equipment or favirotes menu to switch between weapons and spells because hotkeys are FUBAR. Stupid blocking animations (adding delays to weapon switching etc) make situation even worse.

    I was not able to get good feeling of Nords (there are MMO games with better atmosphere and music), random dungeons are still copy & paste (and waste of time, don't do dungeons!), quests seems to be weak and flat (nothing like New Vegas), and why they introduced random or repeatable quests in single player game is beyond my understanding! Like someone will do stupid repeatable quests in single player game for the pure sake of 700 gold, LOL! I would recommend New Vegas much more then this.    … Expand
  16. TheFPSage
    Dec 20, 2011
    8
    I thoroughly enjoyed the game, despite any flaws it has. The biggest problems were the lack of diversity when playing as different races (ie, Altmer not treated any differently than an Orc, other than being called "Orc" rather than "Elf" by NPCs). Another problem was the repetition in the questions, which seemed to be mostly made up of Got to X Cave, retrieve/slay Y. Additionally, the mainI thoroughly enjoyed the game, despite any flaws it has. The biggest problems were the lack of diversity when playing as different races (ie, Altmer not treated any differently than an Orc, other than being called "Orc" rather than "Elf" by NPCs). Another problem was the repetition in the questions, which seemed to be mostly made up of Got to X Cave, retrieve/slay Y. Additionally, the main quest seems to be halfarsed towards the end and you will be disappointed by the ending. By this point in the series, I expect this sort of stuff, though it would have been nice if they had gone a bit beyond.… Expand
  17. f0lly
    Dec 2, 2011
    10
    GOTY...no doubt. So much to see and do. Engaging quests. Well polished game on release, with only the most minor of glitches (compare this to TW2 and the abomination that was Rage). I am 37 hours in and feel like I have only scratched the surface; I reckon I'll get an easy 200 hrs of quality gaming out of this. I will say it again; GOTY without a doubt.
  18. Scipiiouse
    Apr 27, 2015
    0
    So Bethesda and Valve get together around a table.

    They realise that Bethesda games are decent, but they're not amazing. They see that what makes their games so popular are the mods. Not content to celebrate the contributions modders have made Skyrim's incredibly long life (it's four years old and it's still one of Steam's most popular games), they decide to make a swift buck.    So Bethesda and Valve get together around a table.

    They realise that Bethesda games are decent, but they're not amazing. They see that what makes their games so popular are the mods.

    Not content to celebrate the contributions modders have made Skyrim's incredibly long life (it's four years old and it's still one of Steam's most popular games), they decide to make a swift buck.

    Nobody should be in support of paid mods.

    The modders get a terrible deal and the players get a terrible deal.

    The only people making real money here are Valve and Bethesda.    … Expand
  19. tvangste
    Nov 13, 2011
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. combats ok better than oblivion but still ok...the skill set up wasnt as good it makes u to op. every single questline just ends nothing nice happens after u complete them like in oblivion when u finish the questline everyone loves u and u get the imperial dragon armor and its awesome cuase u feel great about it, this one u defeat a dragon in a different dimension get sent back to skyrim and u get no dialogue no more quests from the main storyline and u recieve nothing. all u get is a cutscene of dragons flying away...but even after u kill all the leader dragons there is still dragons around. all the guilds were only about 3 hours each lacked any really fun story in the guild and they ended the same way as the main story the thieves guild had a darker story than the dark brotherhood, good armor rarely dropped, all the dungeons had reused parts and 60% of the time u were fighting skeletons which got annoying since every single skeleton was a one hit kill after a while. It feels like u are in a small world the entire game, while the graphics are really good all the npcs look like poop. It feels like ur given no freedom, or too much freedom its hard to tell either one can be good or can be bad in this case it doesnt help the game out too much....thats why im giving this game a 8 out of 10.… Expand
  20. Legitopinion
    Nov 14, 2011
    10
    A lot of these reviews contain complaints about the UI. Don't get stuck on small issues like this. Ya its built for consoles but despite that, this game is great. The graphics are not the best, especially after we all played BF3, however the actual world is stunning and beautiful. I like all the new combat mechanics seen in this game. I don't think I will ever get tired of sneaking up onA lot of these reviews contain complaints about the UI. Don't get stuck on small issues like this. Ya its built for consoles but despite that, this game is great. The graphics are not the best, especially after we all played BF3, however the actual world is stunning and beautiful. I like all the new combat mechanics seen in this game. I don't think I will ever get tired of sneaking up on someone and slitting their throat. The quest literally go on forever. The world is huge. You have complete power on how you experience this game. That is why skyrim is a great game. Yes there are some glitches but I don't those into account when reviewing games anymore unless they are game breaking. What release doesn't have glitches anyway? All in all if you like rpg's and you like to play the game your own way then buy this game! The content is massive, the detail is nothing short of amazing, and the experiences are just plain fun. Definitely my choice for game of the year.… Expand
  21. YellowBelly
    Nov 15, 2011
    10
    In my opinion this is the best game of the series of scrolls. Graphics up to date. Huge options for the main character. I hope for large-scale additions.
  22. Mal81
    Nov 18, 2011
    10
    This is the first Elder Scroll game I have played, and I regret that I haven't dipped in before. I have been in love with this game since the moment i walked into it's beautiful world. I have no past bias, no delusions that this game doesn't have rough edges. There are bugs, some funny, some ugly, but the sheer wonder and joy inherent in the game are excellent. After years of playingThis is the first Elder Scroll game I have played, and I regret that I haven't dipped in before. I have been in love with this game since the moment i walked into it's beautiful world. I have no past bias, no delusions that this game doesn't have rough edges. There are bugs, some funny, some ugly, but the sheer wonder and joy inherent in the game are excellent. After years of playing MMOs and Linear storyline type games, this open ended rpg has won a special place in my heart.… Expand
  23. Strange_New_Day
    Nov 18, 2011
    10
    More and more modern games sacrifice content for graphics, Betheseda's Skyrim is fortunately not one of them. Skyrim is a massive, multifaceted world that really pushes the strengths of previous Elder Scrolls games. The quests are a step above what we have seen before, the world aesthetics are beautiful though the graphics do bennifit from the latest mods that are available. TheMore and more modern games sacrifice content for graphics, Betheseda's Skyrim is fortunately not one of them. Skyrim is a massive, multifaceted world that really pushes the strengths of previous Elder Scrolls games. The quests are a step above what we have seen before, the world aesthetics are beautiful though the graphics do bennifit from the latest mods that are available. The ambient noises blend well with the over arching music themes and character noises. The lighting and sound mesh together in dungeons to really give the gamer a feeling of danger. Whilst Skyrim offers an unprecedented sandbox style fantasy world rpg, possibly unrivaled in the modern genre it isn't all a bed of rose petals. The interface for the PC is atrocious. Bugs abound all over the game. The game is pathetically easy and whilst the world is stunning and the cities gorgeous, the larger cities feel like they consist of a handful of houses consisting of barely a handful of people. The writing fails at times and could of used a bit more work. This is an excellent game but through silly mistakes, glitches and the heavy handed UI console port I cannot see how it could be rated above an 8 out of 10. Skyrim is desperately in need of the upcoming mods the PC community will put together.… Expand
  24. Mohobie
    Nov 18, 2011
    10
    Open world, free to be explored with many hidden "gems" to find. The story is both engaging and direct for those seeking a more linier path to "completing" this game. However for most of us the game will literally have no ending. It has the bonus of an unending(litteraly) supply of quests for those who want them. It's vast, and it's options are even more so. Anyone who gives this gameOpen world, free to be explored with many hidden "gems" to find. The story is both engaging and direct for those seeking a more linier path to "completing" this game. However for most of us the game will literally have no ending. It has the bonus of an unending(litteraly) supply of quests for those who want them. It's vast, and it's options are even more so. Anyone who gives this game a low rating would likely be doing so because the game is not an MMO. It is a single player game plain and simple. Impressive grafix and a mostly intuative control system allow users to jump right in and begin their journey. This game becomes what you want of it. Desire a life of bravery and justice for all... you can make it so... Want to pinch the pocket of every noble you can find...go ahead.
    There really is no wrong way to play skyrim other then to not play it at all ;) If you want todo it then you can. Ok spent to much time here... I'm going back to being the archmage! ;)    … Expand
  25. misfireRM
    Nov 19, 2011
    10
    Game of the Year for the next few years -- this game is simply outstanding. As for the 100+ negative reviews... even if my wife divorced me, my kids hated me, I got fired from work and my dog peed on my laptop, I could not imagine being in such a deranged state of mind to as to give this game a "0" rating. For those of you who have experienced the issue of flickering shadows/sunlight,Game of the Year for the next few years -- this game is simply outstanding. As for the 100+ negative reviews... even if my wife divorced me, my kids hated me, I got fired from work and my dog peed on my laptop, I could not imagine being in such a deranged state of mind to as to give this game a "0" rating. For those of you who have experienced the issue of flickering shadows/sunlight, upgrading to the latest version of graphics drivers (nvidia) did the trick for me.… Expand
  26. Renkoku
    Nov 21, 2011
    8
    The latest installment of the The Elder Scrolls saga is amazing. I have already clocked in over 80 hours in the game, and I have enjoyed every second of it. Well, mostly.

    The game starts off very strong, and yet slow. I did not like being unable to control anything with my character for a while. But after you get control, the game really picks up. The game definitely shows a    The latest installment of the The Elder Scrolls saga is amazing. I have already clocked in over 80 hours in the game, and I have enjoyed every second of it. Well, mostly.

    The game starts off very strong, and yet slow. I did not like being unable to control anything with my character for a while. But after you get control, the game really picks up. The game definitely shows a collaboration of everything Bethesda has implemented into their other releases over the years. Some of these things improve the game, yet some hinder it. The shear amount of player choice is amazing. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of the game, even after completing several guilds and most of the main story.

    However, I feel like the guild quest chains are too short. While most of the quests were fun, I didn't feel as accomplished with the guild's completion as I had in Oblivion. And the minor objectives given at the end of a guild feel repetitive.

    The game looks great. The more neutral color tones work well with the rest of the game. Though, there have been several times where my frame rate suddenly drops and lags, or various textures don't render correctly and I'm left looking at a shiny variation or a pure white base model. Not to mention the countless times that the game shuts itself off on me. I am hoping that those issues are fixed in the upcoming patch.

    I have fun with this game. It is a good way to waste away hours in a blink of an eye. Although I love the game to death right now, I don't feel like it's worth a 10 rating. It's great, but not the overall best. Hopefully once more of the bugs have been fixed or the expansions and modding community add more to the game, it will become a game that deserves a perfect score.    … Expand
  27. Kirsteek
    Nov 24, 2011
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I play a lot of RPG games and this had to be the best of them all. You start the game and within 5 minutes, a dragon appears. The story line is brilliant. The amount of quests you can do without storyline is immaculate. The map size is incredible and the expanse of places you can explore is unbelievable. I've started my second save to explore the other side of Skyrim. For anyone thinking of buying this game, do it and enjoy.… Expand
  28. nowandever29
    Nov 25, 2011
    10
    Skyim, put simply, is a fantastic game, worthy of the undivided attention of any fan of role playing games. It is deep, well written and acted, well designed and beautiful. The game does have the occasional bug, and the characters still look fairly creepy, but those are quibbles - this is the best video game this year, and continually surprises. Honestly. thank you, Bethesda!
  29. Mcad
    Nov 26, 2011
    10
    Simply great game, can't fault it. Graphics look great, it plays well and the story is interesting and follows on from the 2 previous great games. Don't think bethsda has made a bad game yet.
  30. Grimloon
    Nov 27, 2011
    9
    It's not Oblivion, it certainly isn't Morrowind. Good fun though! This game is probably the most approachable Elder Scrolls game so far but it has to make sacrifices to be that. [Insert generic anti console rant here]. It's made anti RPG players pure fanatics for the genre by restricting the options. The ones that are left are glorious, just not as great as some of us are used to.
  31. silmaril464
    Dec 5, 2011
    10
    100 hours in game and no bugs encountered, this game is a masterwork, is the best game of the year ;)
    bethesda ha hecho un gran trabajo con este juego, una verdadera obra maestra, espero que gane todos los malditos premios habidos y por haber xD Larga vida a SKYRIM!
  32. Rennn
    Jun 26, 2013
    7
    It's very hard for me to review this game. I loved Oblivion, which makes this all the more painful.
    Skyrim is just as good as Oblivion. There. I said it.
    Skyrim is EXACTLY as good as Oblivion. I get the feeling that most of Skyrim's raving fans have never played a previous Elder Scrolls game. There's very little progress for the series. Graphics have barely improved, gameplay is    It's very hard for me to review this game. I loved Oblivion, which makes this all the more painful.
    Skyrim is just as good as Oblivion. There. I said it.
    Skyrim is EXACTLY as good as Oblivion.
    I get the feeling that most of Skyrim's raving fans have never played a previous Elder Scrolls game.

    There's very little progress for the series. Graphics have barely improved, gameplay is identical, and quests are no more creative than they were in 2006.

    For everything Bethesda added in Skyrim, they removed something else. To add more unique spells, they removed spellcrafting. To add dynamic shadows, they removed most of the HDR lighting quality. To add NPCs with more personality, they removed many of the total NPCs, leaving Skyrim barren. To add horse combat, they removed the first person horse camera. Etc. It just continues like this. Every time Bethesda adds something to a sequel, they take away something else. Essentially, Skyrim is the same game I played in 2006, and although I loved Oblivion then, it's not okay to sell the same game year after year.

    Morrowind defined the genre in 2002, and 10 years later, Skyrim still hasn't significantly improved. It kills me to do this to a series I still like, but at most, Skyrim deserves an average review. Mods on the PC version are the only reason to buy this game instead of literally any other generic RPG to release in the last 10 years.    … Expand
  33. SirDucky9
    Dec 15, 2011
    8
    Amazing game. The level up system is really great and in depth. The variety of things to do in this game is enormous. If you simply want to wander around roaming the wilderness for animals, then fine you can do it. If you feel like going on a mass murder spree then the wish is yours. You may also do exciting quests or have fun throwing food at someones face. These are just the starts toAmazing game. The level up system is really great and in depth. The variety of things to do in this game is enormous. If you simply want to wander around roaming the wilderness for animals, then fine you can do it. If you feel like going on a mass murder spree then the wish is yours. You may also do exciting quests or have fun throwing food at someones face. These are just the starts to this amazing journey however for some people they are not even allowed to experience this amazing game due to massive bugs. I, myself have never had any of these although I know someone who cant even open a door without crashes. Another issue I have found is that i am bored. I have no idea why because I always had great time playing, but for some reason I still just don't feel like playing this game. Odd… Expand
  34. Chubzdoomer
    Jan 14, 2012
    7
    Skyrim is a classic example of a game with all the potential in the world but that falls victim to repetition and uninspired characters and quests. The main storyline is interesting enough to keep you glued to your seat. The game kicks off with you, a prisoner sentenced to death, escaping a city called Helgen amidst a surprise dragon attack and going on to discover that you're a rareSkyrim is a classic example of a game with all the potential in the world but that falls victim to repetition and uninspired characters and quests. The main storyline is interesting enough to keep you glued to your seat. The game kicks off with you, a prisoner sentenced to death, escaping a city called Helgen amidst a surprise dragon attack and going on to discover that you're a rare individual known as a "Dragonborn." Dragon encounters and epic trips up gigantic, treacherous mountains follow as you learn more about who you are and what you can do to cleanse the world of evil and make things right again. Then come the side quests. Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood quests aside, Skyrim is absolutely filled to the brim with some of the most pathetic, repetitive quests I've ever undertaken in an open world role-playing game. Nine times out of ten, it's "Go collect this, then return to me!" or "Go kill so-and-so, then return to me!" There is no originality to be found and by the time you've fetched the 50th item for the 50th uninteresting character, you'll be ready to tear your hair out and call it a day. The dungeons in which you'll be doing most of your fetching and killing are largely repetitive affairs, too, with copy-and-paste layouts and repetitive puzzles that make each one feel exactly like the last. These gripes aside, not all is bad in the world of Skyrim. The world is large, the graphics are much improved over Oblivion, and the soundtrack is mesmerizing and memorable. The lockpicking system brought over from Fallout 3 is an excellent replacement for Oblivion's annoying one, too, and even the leveling system has been improved. Overall, Skyrim is a great game hampered by quests with no soul and uninteresting characters. Had it featured more interesting characters and a greater variety of quests and things to do - I missed the arenas from Oblivion, for example - I would've played until my eyes had rotted inside my skull. As it stands, however, Skyrim features a huge, gorgeous world to explore but offers little to do in the way of interesting activities once the story reaches a conclusion and you've assisted both the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood. Had there been more to do, this would've easily received a perfect score from me. Perhaps upcoming downloadable content will provide this game the interesting content it desperately needs.… Expand
  35. NeasOlc
    Oct 26, 2012
    8
    While the game isn't perfect, and suffers from occasional bugs and a poor vanilla interface, the great thing about the PC version is it's openness to modding. A lot of the complaints in these reviews are remedied by mods that are free to download and use. The open world is great and Skyrim fixes a lot of the ugly repetition and bland generic landscapes present in Oblivion. The open,While the game isn't perfect, and suffers from occasional bugs and a poor vanilla interface, the great thing about the PC version is it's openness to modding. A lot of the complaints in these reviews are remedied by mods that are free to download and use. The open world is great and Skyrim fixes a lot of the ugly repetition and bland generic landscapes present in Oblivion. The open, classless character system adds even more freedom, and increases re-playability: even if you know the storyline, it can be fun to play with entirely different skills and a different race as you did before.… Expand
  36. SlickRick
    Mar 6, 2012
    5
    The game is visually great in my opinion. But the game has suffered greatly due to consolization because bethesda just wants more money from console kids... Truly a shame. The dungeons are just awful. YES, they are visually diverse and pretty. YES they all have a cool story to tell. BUT, you enter the dungeon, find books, dead bodies with stories etc... Then you continue down the linearThe game is visually great in my opinion. But the game has suffered greatly due to consolization because bethesda just wants more money from console kids... Truly a shame. The dungeons are just awful. YES, they are visually diverse and pretty. YES they all have a cool story to tell. BUT, you enter the dungeon, find books, dead bodies with stories etc... Then you continue down the linear corridor of the dungeon, find a treasure chest, kill some enemies, then you get to a 'boss' who is as easy as every other NPC but takes longer to kill and does something like electric bolts or a shout, then you kill him. Loot him and a treasure chest or something, and RIGHT THERE is the exit to the dungeon. 100% linear. This game is so casual it hurts… Expand
  37. FryGuy
    Mar 12, 2012
    9
    Absolutely one of the best RPG I've ever played. There is so much to do, many places to explore and you can be anything you want. I have played over 150 hours now in total and there is still some side quests to be found. There is still some bugs and personally I miss multiplayer but these things doesnt ruin much.
  38. Aeryx
    Feb 18, 2013
    10
    Skyrim is the kind of game that makes me totally proud of being a PC gamer. This has got to be one of the greatest games ever. When I was in highschool, Morrowind led to many near-failed grades. Regretful but it was damn worth it! When I was in college, Oblivion led to so many failed grades! Terrible loss and my parents disowned me, but HELL IT WAS WORTH IT! Now I am a working man, ISkyrim is the kind of game that makes me totally proud of being a PC gamer. This has got to be one of the greatest games ever. When I was in highschool, Morrowind led to many near-failed grades. Regretful but it was damn worth it! When I was in college, Oblivion led to so many failed grades! Terrible loss and my parents disowned me, but HELL IT WAS WORTH IT! Now I am a working man, I didn't lose my job because of Skyrim but if I did, IT WOULD STILL BE WORTH IT! Get this game now and you will be reborn!… Expand
  39. Seryin
    Mar 10, 2013
    7
    Every TES game from Bethesda SHOULD have been a 10. However the size of the game is NOT an excuse. These game are LOADED with bugs and glitches. It is inexcusable by Bethesda. If you have the manpower to make the large games you do, than you have the manpower to clean it up right before you release it. It is a shame that TES has the potential to be a legend among games but can never seemEvery TES game from Bethesda SHOULD have been a 10. However the size of the game is NOT an excuse. These game are LOADED with bugs and glitches. It is inexcusable by Bethesda. If you have the manpower to make the large games you do, than you have the manpower to clean it up right before you release it. It is a shame that TES has the potential to be a legend among games but can never seem to do anything but scratch the surface because of its bugs. Bethesda should be embarrassed that they can't properly polish up the games they push so much praise into.
    The game could have been a 10, but the army of bugs and glitches always seem to bring your character to his knees before any Dragon can.    … Expand
  40. MCZaphelon
    Apr 3, 2013
    9
    Before I bought Skyrim, I was wondering what all the fuss was with the Elder Scrolls series. I mean, I'm not the world's greatest RPG fan. I bought the game, and I was instantly absorbed in it. It has a dynamic storyline and an incredible level of immersion I'd never experienced before! A must-have for any gamer.
  41. Larwick
    Nov 1, 2013
    6
    Skyrim never really lived up to its expectations for me. The hype was exciting, considering the games apparent vastness and depth. However in truth the game in many aspects pulls the player away from believing in its world and the developers hype was mere illusion. NPC's have 1 body type and little facial variation, all children have exactly the same face and the game won't stop makingSkyrim never really lived up to its expectations for me. The hype was exciting, considering the games apparent vastness and depth. However in truth the game in many aspects pulls the player away from believing in its world and the developers hype was mere illusion. NPC's have 1 body type and little facial variation, all children have exactly the same face and the game won't stop making this apparent. Dungeon designs are repeated and enemy types are too few for a world so large. Armor and weaponry is absolutely linear, removing all illusion of choice. Civilians repeat the same phrases over and over again as you pass them with different voice actors repeating the exact same written phrase as another. Junk items litter the game world that serve absolutely no purpose mechanically (other than filler). We were told that arrows would be hard to find to balance the fact bows were so good, but in reality it's impossible to run out and using a bow in melee combat is exploitable. The AI is quite poor, especially in stealth situations, and does not convey an illusion of a living world. The game was and still is littered with bugs and issues. It certainly wasn't a terrible game, but it was no where near as good as people seem to believe. My opinion is certainly in the minority, but hype is a powerful thing.… Expand
  42. turlocs
    Nov 5, 2013
    7
    This game really did dissapoint me i know this is many people's game of the year but i cant help but think this whole game was nothing but a dissapointment half of the people that have played other elderscrolls games knows what im talking about oblivion was alot alot alot alot better in every respect and was ahead of its time my heaps but this is just hack and slash with crysis graphicsThis game really did dissapoint me i know this is many people's game of the year but i cant help but think this whole game was nothing but a dissapointment half of the people that have played other elderscrolls games knows what im talking about oblivion was alot alot alot alot better in every respect and was ahead of its time my heaps but this is just hack and slash with crysis graphics everything about it just made me think why am i playing this its done better in oblivion id honestly say this was my biggest dissapointment of the year i was so hiped up for this game hanging on to every peice of gameplay and trailer bethesda gave us and i was just givin bugs popins hack and slash with no good story or any effect on the world no matter what you do 7/10 good game im not saying its bad its just really not as good as it schould have been… Expand
  43. gaminggun
    Apr 27, 2015
    0
    Fans of this once great game now feel betrayed by Bethesda and Steam as they ruined this game completely. Mods were such a great lifeline of the community and now Paid mods is very much beyond a joke . Do not support this disgusting behavior by these company's. Skyrim has indeed sold its soul.
  44. Khaosom
    Mar 18, 2014
    4
    Subtract everything you liked about the other elder scrolls and well you basically have this game. A very limited spell system, with an overpowered fireball, game play that feels more like an mmo than an elder scrolls, very little combat on main thorough fares, even in the wilderness battles are few and far between. Combined with that and the fact that enemy spells were hitting meSubtract everything you liked about the other elder scrolls and well you basically have this game. A very limited spell system, with an overpowered fireball, game play that feels more like an mmo than an elder scrolls, very little combat on main thorough fares, even in the wilderness battles are few and far between. Combined with that and the fact that enemy spells were hitting me through a solid mountain when I wasn't even in line of sight, demolished any chance of me playing this game past that point.… Expand
  45. PuppetMazter
    Jul 11, 2014
    7
    A bit overrated in my opinion, but still a solid game that gave me 50 hours of fun. The graphics are impressive, but not as glorious as everyone says they are. They are about the same as the first Assassin's Creed, which came out in 2007, 4 years before Skyrim. The combat system was really disappointing and got old fast. The dungeons also got old quick. They all seemed exactly alike to meA bit overrated in my opinion, but still a solid game that gave me 50 hours of fun. The graphics are impressive, but not as glorious as everyone says they are. They are about the same as the first Assassin's Creed, which came out in 2007, 4 years before Skyrim. The combat system was really disappointing and got old fast. The dungeons also got old quick. They all seemed exactly alike to me and were fun at first but just got boring after doing a few. But the story was great and I enjoyed it very much, and the DLC was great as well. The characters could have used a lot of work, and just seemed bland and boring and made Skyrim a slightly depressing and lonely place because of it. Overall I give it a 7/10… Expand
  46. Zeniyo
    Apr 27, 2015
    0
    Paying for mods? Absolute joke. No.
    Now we got payed mods, early access payed mods.
    no
    I refuse to stand for this utter ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ on both Valve's and Bethesda's end

    Was a great game and still is but I'm just guna give it a thumbs down for the forced payment of mods now.
  47. testicules
    Apr 27, 2015
    0
    The game is fine but Valve and bethesda have gone the way of greed and are now charging money for what should be free content therefor i cannot recommend this game to anyone.
  48. jordanjmann
    Apr 27, 2015
    9
    This game without mods - 8/10
    This game with mods - 10/10
    This game with paid mods - 0/10

    Congratulations for destroying the biggest modding community in the world in one day, Valve/Bethesda.
  49. Wineneeder
    Jul 26, 2018
    4
    From the standpoint of quests, choices/effects, and enemy variety, this is the least salvageable Bethesda Software open world game to date. I have legit not seen a quest line I consider even passable. The dungeons, while a fair improvement over Oblivion's couple strains of layouts, are mostly populated by the following: Bandits, more bandits, necromancers, Falmer, Falmer-to-dwarven-ruins,From the standpoint of quests, choices/effects, and enemy variety, this is the least salvageable Bethesda Software open world game to date. I have legit not seen a quest line I consider even passable. The dungeons, while a fair improvement over Oblivion's couple strains of layouts, are mostly populated by the following: Bandits, more bandits, necromancers, Falmer, Falmer-to-dwarven-ruins, Dwarven ruins, and irrationally savage natives on the west side of the map. Bland.

    This game is in some ways so watered down that even the obvious racist factions do not care what race your character is. In many ways this game is unbelievably sterile. I think it is because they stopped letting Kirkbride be lead writer, artist, and designer. God knows it would have killed him to continue that amount of alcohol and drug abuse, but the setting is ever the blander for it.

    Anyway, in my honest opinion, the setting jumped the shark when the lore books started to directly contradict the setting, entirely to make an inoffensive, voice worked, familiar game. What do we have now? A setting more generic than the first EverQuest? Prove me wrong.

    Now this isn't fair to judge these games off the bat. They have always, at their best, been about user content. But we're lacking the 'big' mods, like Mart's Monster Mod, Obscuro's overhaul, Fransceso's, the Tamriel Rebuilt, etc and ever the poorer for it.

    So it has to be half a score. There is nothing insanely dense and creative, the writing has pooped itself, and the creators are pushing an MMO. Holy crap what a downturn.

    Imagine if the game series we had in 2002 had continued on with no sacrifices made to the gods of expedience or so your neighbors idiot kid would play it for more than an hour or two.

    The ending of the words is ALMSIVI, b*tch.    … Expand
  50. carloscmbh
    Feb 1, 2012
    6
    Man, you orctowngrot said every thing. This game start amazing, became great, then very good, then good, then ok, then mediocre, and finaly get boring. There's no challenge after you reach level 40. I'm level 46 and just kill everything without effort; dragons, bandits, trolls, falmers, elves, orcs, nords, mages. The quests get boring. The gameplay it's repetitive. In the end, you justMan, you orctowngrot said every thing. This game start amazing, became great, then very good, then good, then ok, then mediocre, and finaly get boring. There's no challenge after you reach level 40. I'm level 46 and just kill everything without effort; dragons, bandits, trolls, falmers, elves, orcs, nords, mages. The quests get boring. The gameplay it's repetitive. In the end, you just don't want play it anymore. Just get tired.… Expand
  51. 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
  52. CJx101
    Dec 3, 2011
    10
    People just **** about things that aren't perfect. Well, welcome to the gaming industry and life. Nothing's perfect, but this is not, I repeat NOT an expansion to Oblivion. There IS actually a lot more and exciting content. But please, if you don't like it go back to your repetitive Call of Duty. If you didn't notice the better graphics then I suggest you upgrade your video card. OtherPeople just **** about things that aren't perfect. Well, welcome to the gaming industry and life. Nothing's perfect, but this is not, I repeat NOT an expansion to Oblivion. There IS actually a lot more and exciting content. But please, if you don't like it go back to your repetitive Call of Duty. If you didn't notice the better graphics then I suggest you upgrade your video card. Other than that, Quotation forthcoming.… Expand
  53. euu
    Mar 8, 2012
    5
    Even though Skyrim is by no means terrible, it is by far the worst Elder Scrolls game. If Bethesda continues to dumb down this series it will soon turn into GTA with swords and magic. The attribute system has been removed, now when you level up you spend one point in either health, magicka or stamina, there are no more classes and this greatly affects replayability, the enchanting has beenEven though Skyrim is by no means terrible, it is by far the worst Elder Scrolls game. If Bethesda continues to dumb down this series it will soon turn into GTA with swords and magic. The attribute system has been removed, now when you level up you spend one point in either health, magicka or stamina, there are no more classes and this greatly affects replayability, the enchanting has been dumbed down and the spellmaking has been completely removed. The story and the quests are not that good either. I don't know how you make a story more generic than that of Oblivion, but apparently Bethesda did it. There is nothing more cliche in fantasy games than dragons and Skyrim made them the main focus of the story. That's a shame, because the side plot about the civil war had a lot more potential for an interesting narrative. The UI for the PC is very bad and there are also some bugs( even though not as many as there were in Oblivion).There have been some nice additions, like the ability to wear a weapon in one hand and a spell in the other, the smithing skill is also pretty cool, but these things are not enough to compensate for everything that has been removed.… Expand
  54. jerrypatel_07
    Oct 17, 2012
    7
    This is nowhere near a quality rpg like Planescape: Torment. Average plot, Bland NPcs,sluggish combat. It is only a decent game because of its visual design and quality world and dragons........
  55. Clams_n_Roses
    Nov 23, 2011
    7
    Beneath Bethesda's usual sloppy laziness lies the makings of a fantastic game. The world, the lore, the culture, and the atmosphere of the game are very rich, but the many flaws and bugs hold it back. The textures are extremely poor, the animations are pretty awful (good luck shooting things with magic or arrows, since the enemy models tend to float around quickly, independent of anyBeneath Bethesda's usual sloppy laziness lies the makings of a fantastic game. The world, the lore, the culture, and the atmosphere of the game are very rich, but the many flaws and bugs hold it back. The textures are extremely poor, the animations are pretty awful (good luck shooting things with magic or arrows, since the enemy models tend to float around quickly, independent of any realistic or predictable movements), and while the combat is far less "floaty" than in FO3 or Oblivion, and generally feels quite satisfying with a sword and board, the floatiness is still present when using magic, bows, spell and sword etc. The lack of any blocking mechanism with most of the combat options, ease and speed of floating around in circles, and high amount of damage required to defeat a lot of enemies, mean a lot of fights will revolve around the you and your adversary floating in circles around each other mashing the attack button. The AI is still dreadful too, and you can happily shoot someone in the face with an arrow from a few feet away, only to hear them loudly exclaim "WHO'S THERE", shrug their shoulders, and return to what they were doing.

    I've heard a lot of people argue that mods will fix the huge amount of bugs in the game (almost constant crashing, giant purple crystal looking trees/objects/characters loading up, etc), as well as the many other problems, however Bethesda's recent actions suggest they will do everything in their power to stop this- for those of you who don't know, for some bizarre reason, Skyrim is capped to use only 2GB of RAM (about as much as a basic laptop has), resulting in constant stuttering, framerate drop, and crashes. Some helpful fellow made a fix to bypass this; allowing the game to run without so many hiccups, but Bethesda patched the game to add more DRM (which of course only affected those that had already bought the game anyway) which broke this fix. A new fix has been made by someone, but it begs the question of why Bethesda not only didn't fix this themselves, but then prevented others from fixing it.    … Expand
  56. Jima
    Nov 26, 2011
    10
    This game is amazing. I am almost 30 hours in and feel like I just started the game. Around every corner is something a little more exciting.
  57. shintsurugi
    Nov 23, 2011
    9
    TLDR: Skyrim > Oblivion, buy it, play it, quicksave. Awesome.
    I'm just gonna put it out there. Skyim is awesome. As for why, well, that's a much longer statement.
    This game does not need my praise as it's gotten overwhelming support from game critics and the community, but I'm gonna put my own two cents out there anyway. To be upfront, I did not like Oblivion. Something about how that game    TLDR: Skyrim > Oblivion, buy it, play it, quicksave. Awesome.
    I'm just gonna put it out there. Skyim is awesome. As for why, well, that's a much longer statement.
    This game does not need my praise as it's gotten overwhelming support from game critics and the community, but I'm gonna put my own two cents out there anyway.
    To be upfront, I did not like Oblivion. Something about how that game began, the lack of direction, the clunkiness of the combat and the bugginess of the game engine put me off three separate times.
    Skyrim fixes a lot of those issues. I feel the start of the game is stronger than Oblivion's (if you remove Sir Patrick Stewart from the equation)., in that it remains fast-moving and gives you a good primer on many of the systems (although some more explanation about magic and the favorites system would be nice). I found the town of Riverwood much more inviting than the monstrosity that is the Imperial City. My own personal preference of course. Some people complain about the compass and the plot arrows, but I think they're a great addition from the Fallout series of games. They may make things a bit easier, but they just add to the wanderlust you get going through the immense world of Skyrim. Also, I don't know about other people, but I don't like to get lost, so having a convenient plot arrow is a bonus in my book.
    To be honest... I can't really tell you what's different about Skyrim's combat from Oblivion's. It's still swinging a sword, backpedaling and blocking every now and then. Maybe the animations are smoother, or the timing is looser (or maybe it's just those awesome kill animations...), but I really do enjoy the combat in Skyrim. Not the game's strongest suit, but when has that ever been Bethesda's strong point? And it's definitely not a weak point in this game.
    I am proud to say that Skyrim has only crashed on me once during my 60-odd hours of gameplay (apparently it didn't like a chest I looted). A massive improvement over Oblivion's constant instability. I can't speak to the graphical improvements, as I have it turned all the way down to the ass-end of the spectrum because my laptop is, well, a laptop. But the environment design is more varied than you'd expect from a winter-y continent and some of the dungeon designs are just flat out awesome.
    I feel like I don't need to speak too much about the story, other than it's pretty sweet. Bethesda remains strong in this respect and every side quest is given just enough attention to make you feel like you're not doing yet another side quest for yet another sum of gold and XP. Speaking of XP, the leveling system. Oblivion's leveling system was... weird. The scaling brought all sorts of craziness to your character's performance, which put off a lot of people, including me. Skyrim simplifies the leveling system a bit further than an RPG-geek like myself would have wanted, but I feel like I still have a good amount of control over the direction of where my character goes (except for leveling Restoration to 40 to get that damned perk...). Everything in it is fairly intuitive and almost every time you level up, I feel like you get a tangible benefit.
    Oh, right, one more thing. The interface. It's obviously been designed from a console perspective, which would normally annoy me, but that also means almost every menu can be navigated through WASD and E, which I personally find a helluva lot more accurate than using a mouse pointer. Favorites are an interesting idea, if a bit hard to get used to. Reading the manual helps. Scrolling through items gets tedious at times, but something akin to that issue probably would remain regardless of the interface. The one complaint I do have (and this is horribly nitpicky) is that you should be able to select OK with E and not the mouse. Consistency, people.
    All in all, again, Skyrim is awesome. It's the best game Bethesda's put out so far, and despite its few flaws, it remains an immensely enjoyable experience all the way through. (Just keep quicksaving!)    … Expand
  58. Endrevius
    Nov 23, 2011
    8
    Quite good game. Surely recommended, bears same addiction that rest of TES series had. Same funny bugs as well ;]. The main disadvantage is the graphics. Looks so outdated that heavily modded Oblivion looks a lot prettier. Cause of that, if You finished Oblivion, Skyrim gets boring after 50-100 hours of playing, its like a huge DLC, but nothing more. Pretty high time of playthrough as forQuite good game. Surely recommended, bears same addiction that rest of TES series had. Same funny bugs as well ;]. The main disadvantage is the graphics. Looks so outdated that heavily modded Oblivion looks a lot prettier. Cause of that, if You finished Oblivion, Skyrim gets boring after 50-100 hours of playing, its like a huge DLC, but nothing more. Pretty high time of playthrough as for modern cRPGs, but compared to The Wither 2 (Ultra++ settings), that after 4th finish (4x~30h) still gives me the same "Oo-ooh" graphic wise and still makes me want to play again with massive sightseeing and eye orgasms, still wont make me change wallpaper gallery made from thousand of screenshots, its not impressive anymore. Game surely worth finishing + exploring most of its content but thats it. Finish and forget. The Witcher 2 made a lot better impression on me TBH.… Expand
  59. Compgamer55
    Nov 27, 2011
    10
    This is a very worthy next installment in the elder scrolls. The graphics are good, the gameplay is fluid, the lore is outstanding. Having started the series at morrowind it has been interesting to see the lore develop through out the series and I really like how you can hear/talk to people about the other lands that you have previosly visited and sometimes they even talk about actions ofThis is a very worthy next installment in the elder scrolls. The graphics are good, the gameplay is fluid, the lore is outstanding. Having started the series at morrowind it has been interesting to see the lore develop through out the series and I really like how you can hear/talk to people about the other lands that you have previosly visited and sometimes they even talk about actions of your previous character. (ex hearing of an eruption on red mountain that caused alot of elves to relocate to skyrim). They have improved the gamplay alot, the fighting is outstanding but one of my favorite additions was the ability to buy and upgraid a house, particularly the weapon racks and mounts that were added. I think its cool to be able to put my old sword up on the wall, or to have my favorite set on a rack for easy taking whenever I want. The only part I was a little disappointed in is the dark brotherhood quest line seemed a little short and was too easy. My character was very not stealthy and I had no problem completing the quests w/ no bounties or killing necessary people where as in oblivion that was impossible in many missions and overall the oblivion quests were more exciting (for the dark brotherhood). There is an abundance of quests, its really crazy the amount they put into this. I also think the dewmer ruins in this game are far more interesting to explore than in the other titles. Crafting is also a very big upgrade. I LOVE the redesigned armor, oblivions armor was rather ugly in my opinion and even possessing daedric armor didnt excite me as much where as in this game almost all the armor looks great. Another downfall for me is some of the characters use the same voice (one in particular is very distinct and able to be heard from few characters) The world is very large and full of places to explore, iv played for over 80 hrs and im not near finished. I cant wait for the DLC to come out... Also to Therealjonah who was the top negative rater when I posted this I just loled at him. I read down to the part where he said some thing like "when the first morrowind came out..." what a moron morrowind is the Eldar scroll III, thats some "experience". To add to that he wants morrowind with better graphics, anyone with the PC version of morrowind has access to all the mods made to the game MANY of which re-do much of the visuals to make them look much better and add variety I suggest trying them out. To someone else "This game is really broken on PC, it's unbelievable that reviewers do not take into account whether developers put in any effort on the version (PC) of the game that they are rating" wouldnt know I bought it on the 360, why would anyone who has it on a console take into consideration how it runs on the PC? Thats the dumbest expectation from people iv ever heard... I own morrowind and oblivion on console and PC, do prefer PC but went with console for this one until it goes on sale on steam or something but why would I think that the majority of people who will own it once on a console car about the PC? Anyway Overall this game is great, a vast improvement in the series and I will enjoy playing it until the next installment comes out, hopefully the gap wont be as large as the last one! 10/10… Expand
  60. gary72
    Nov 22, 2011
    10
    Wow, I feel like Bear Grylls in this game! I love exploring the wilderness, climbing up rocky hills - and killing stuff! You won't have to drink your own urine either. Love this game!
  61. Kadan123
    Nov 21, 2011
    10
    what can i say. the only bad thing is this game is too good and way too addictive. it takes up too much of my time. that time has a new name and its called skyrimming. an absolute masterpiece. thank you bethesda and all involved.10 out of 10
  62. Limbo75
    Nov 29, 2011
    10
    I've been a hardcore gaming for the last 30 years and this game sets the bar for fantasy RPG for the last few years. The game play is excellent, graphics on ultra settings are unmatched for this genre, character development is extremely complex and allows for unique class creation based on desired playing style. I have hit level 30 and barely touched the main quest line which shows thatI've been a hardcore gaming for the last 30 years and this game sets the bar for fantasy RPG for the last few years. The game play is excellent, graphics on ultra settings are unmatched for this genre, character development is extremely complex and allows for unique class creation based on desired playing style. I have hit level 30 and barely touched the main quest line which shows that the side quest variety and availability feels almost endless. Mark my words this game will be the best of the year hands down. The visceral experience of hearing a dragon approach while hiking a mountain peak and then the ensuing epic battle is one of the most satisfying gaming experiences to date. None of the bad reviews I've read offer anything truly constructive (many don't even seem to have played the same game I am) and the majority of graphics critiques seem insane as on Ultra Settings it looks better than anything else I'm playing right now on PC. As many others have said I will be surprised if it doesn't win game of the year.… Expand
  63. LORDofDOOM
    Nov 30, 2011
    10
    One of the best games ever made - I've played now over 80h and it got better and better :-)
    If you can buy ony one game for this year - Buy Skyrim.

    BTW: This is one of the very rare games in last time that comes with Mod Support/SDK. If the Moddingscene is active as they was by skyrim you can have fun forever with this game.
  64. MetalHeadCrab
    Nov 28, 2011
    10
    The most impressive thing is the game hardly ever crashes like Bethesda's previous titles. Summary: Its good, enough said or it will all be spoilers.
  65. redpanda751
    Nov 19, 2011
    10
    Skyrim lives up to its hype and is truly an amazing game. The game is almost everything I wanted except for a few minor glitches, but that's to be expected from a game that hasn't been out that long.

    Gameplay: there's so much you can do in this game that it's almost too overwhelming? There's over a couple hundred hours of gameplay which is an incredible amount of time to keep you    Skyrim lives up to its hype and is truly an amazing game. The game is almost everything I wanted except for a few minor glitches, but that's to be expected from a game that hasn't been out that long.

    Gameplay: there's so much you can do in this game that it's almost too overwhelming? There's over a couple hundred hours of gameplay which is an incredible amount of time to keep you occupied.

    Graphics: The graphics are amazing. I have installed many graphics enhancing mods that have already been released and it looks AWESOME. The people that complain about how bad the graphics are either needs to get better hardware or get their eyes checked out. Seriously, how could anyone say this game looks bad compared to most games released this year?

    Sound: The soundtrack is great. However, it's a lot of the same track being played over and over and it might get tiredsome. Additionally, the game doesn't work for me unless I set the sound quality lower. This has been an issue for many so hopefully they will solve it soon. Still not worth docking a point over this though.

    Replay value: A TON of replay value. You can make as many characters with millions of variations of what you do and the great thing about this is that almost nothing needs to be repeated. (as long as you don't want to).

    All in all, this is a game-of-the-year material that no one should overlook. Note that I am NOT a fanboy and that this is my first time actually enjoying an Elder Scrolls game. If anything just try it out at your friends place or watch some youtube videos, it'll change your world!!!!!    … Expand
  66. kolaborr
    Dec 2, 2011
    10
    Bugs? Sure but i still love this game. Big Mammoths, Giants are the best (Dragons are weak). Love the gameplay, love the graphics. Overall great game. A must buy for everyone!!
  67. Smkitdown
    Nov 16, 2011
    10
    This game is one of the best games if not the best I've played this generation. There is almost an unlimited amount of things to do and many places to see. You can walk into a town because you are there to do a certain quest and by the time you leave the town you almost forget why you originally went there because of all the things there are to do. This game's AI is a major improvementThis game is one of the best games if not the best I've played this generation. There is almost an unlimited amount of things to do and many places to see. You can walk into a town because you are there to do a certain quest and by the time you leave the town you almost forget why you originally went there because of all the things there are to do. This game's AI is a major improvement over the AI in Oblivion and the facial animation difference is like night and day. If you enjoy a lush story driven world with a great history and great lore behind it GET THIS GAME! The music of the game is great and on par with its predecessors (Oblivion had great music.). You'll enjoy the musical scores as you explore the harsh mountains of Skyrim and delve into the deep caverns and ruins. Another big improvement over Oblivion is the voice acting. In Oblivion they had only around 12 voice actors. In Skyrim there is around 75 actors doing 150+ roles! You will be hard pressed to find any of the NPC's in the game with the same voice unlike in Oblivion. The visuals are also wonderful. The races look like how you picture them in your mind and the animation is detailed and well done. The scenery of the game is also outstanding! While you travel either by foot or on horseback you will have your breath taken away when you see the highly detailed mountains, and the towns scattered all over the huge landscape. You will see castles built hanging off the sides of mountains and deep caverns with springs running through them. When you explore the dwarven ruins you can sense how they lived and the technology they possessed just from the scenery. Sure there are a few bland textures once in awhile, but that is to be expected when it comes to a game of this size. Another welcome improvement to the series is the addition of dual wielding weapons and magic. If you want to be a rogue dual wielding daggers you can. Want to be a TRUE battlemage with a spell on one hand and an axe in another you can! If you want to be the most powerful mage in Skyrim you can! You can have a destruction spell on one hand and a restoration spell on the other so you can lay waste your opponent while being able to heal yourself without having to go into the menus. Also, you can have the same spell on both hands and cast them both at once for a more powerful version of the spell (If you have the perks.). The crafting system is also greatly improved. You can smith your armor from the ore you receive from mining and then enchant it by disenchanting a magical item and taking that enchant and putting it on your item. You can go and explore the forest for herbs and make powerful potions and poisons. The main story is very well written and paced well. The side quests are so well written and produced that they are on par and even exceed main stories in other games this generation. I've played the game for 75 hours so far and I still haven't even come close to running out of things to do! Also, the replay value of the game is very good since there are so many choices to make that effect the way the game is played. I was playing while on Skype with my friend and we were at around the same point in the game, but we both got to the same point through very different means. The only downfall of the game is the UI. It is obviously made for a console and because of this I would give the game a 9.8, but I can't on metacritic. The UI doesn't make this game unplayable though it just isn't very accurate sometimes, but once you get used to it it's not a problem. This game is by far the best bang for the buck this generation! I really believe that this game will receive GOTY for 2011!… Expand
  68. carlbme
    Nov 16, 2011
    10
    I loved the past "Elder Scrolls" games, but this one blows it out of the water. The graphics on the PC blow the consoles out of the water with the use of the higher end graphics cards. Great game-play, Great story, Great controls, Great graphics, Great sound....yup. One awesome game!
  69. Hawki_ice
    Nov 21, 2011
    10
    We'll ill be damned they did it, they brought back all the things i loved from Morrowind and made what i would consider the best game in the series so far, Skyrim is like a brilliant mix of oblivion and Morrowind and a little of fallout thrown in. Gone are the class's and birth signs in favor of a much more open game play style that just hits all the right buttons, they borrowed the perkWe'll ill be damned they did it, they brought back all the things i loved from Morrowind and made what i would consider the best game in the series so far, Skyrim is like a brilliant mix of oblivion and Morrowind and a little of fallout thrown in. Gone are the class's and birth signs in favor of a much more open game play style that just hits all the right buttons, they borrowed the perk system idea from fallout, but its much more structured and beautifully presented, i have a few small issues with the game but its only things like wishing it was less console and more PC game.… Expand
  70. LazyShadw
    Nov 22, 2011
    10
    I have never been so addicted to a game since Fable or the first era of World of Warcraft back in 2004... For our times and our technology, Skyrim offers the best escape into a fictional digital world, where the limitations although present are shaded by the immense world that will consume countless hours from your life and embellish them with outstanding music and epic story. Even ifI have never been so addicted to a game since Fable or the first era of World of Warcraft back in 2004... For our times and our technology, Skyrim offers the best escape into a fictional digital world, where the limitations although present are shaded by the immense world that will consume countless hours from your life and embellish them with outstanding music and epic story. Even if you're not an RPG fan, I would strongly suggest and recommend you should try this game out, threw any means necessary, but in the end, even if you are the biggest video game pirate on the web, dig up your golden chest and pay your respects to Bethesda by buying this masterpiece.… Expand
  71. ebonized
    Nov 22, 2011
    8
    Skyrim is a good game. But let's stop right there for a second - anyone claiming that the game is 'perfect' and 'the best game of our generation' are really exaggerating the game's strengths and massively downplaying its weaknesses. This game has MANY flaws, especially on the PC version. To deny them makes your review biased, one thing that a lot of people just don't understand (or don'tSkyrim is a good game. But let's stop right there for a second - anyone claiming that the game is 'perfect' and 'the best game of our generation' are really exaggerating the game's strengths and massively downplaying its weaknesses. This game has MANY flaws, especially on the PC version. To deny them makes your review biased, one thing that a lot of people just don't understand (or don't want to). You have to step back and look at the game from an objective perspective. So that's what I'm going to attempt to do right now. ::::PROS:::: 1.massive world 2. open ended 3. decent storyline and sidequests 4. well-designed and fun to explore dungeons 5. relatively immersive 6. highly customizable (playstyle, weapons, spells, etc) 7. PC version can be modded 8. some decent voice acting 9. magic is extremely satisfying (looks cool too) 10. easy to change difficulty allow you to change it to scale with your character 11. established lore that really sucks you into the world of Skyrim ::::CONS:::: 1. repetitive fetch/kill quests with no meaning 2. bad UI on PC - going through your "Misc" items with all the bugged and non-stacked soul gems is a nightmare 3. several immersion breaking problems 4. misplaced NPC dialogue (ie. being told by an NPC not to 'leave my stuff lying around' after they just killed me, or having an enemy say 'that was only a scratch!' AFTER I just chopped his head off - seems a lot of the dialogue triggers at the wrong moments) 5. feels too much like Fallout 3 and Oblivion - Bethesda does not seem to be really improving or changing too much of the same formula they've been using for years now -many sounds/textures are the exact same from Fallout 3) (eg. picking up ingredients/'ash pile') 6. graphics are good at a distance, but terrible up close > poor textures 7. many bugs - graphical glitches, crashes, quest bugs, getting stuck 8. horrible NPC AI (especially companions) - another thing Bethesda has not really improved upon 9. some poor voice acting/too many reused voice actors (ie. that one Slavic woman that seems to be cloned at least 3 times in every town) 10. crafting is generally not very fun - alchemy is overly diluted with 10 different ingredients that do the same thing, smithing requires you to create 5000 iron daggers to level, enchanting is ok 11. poor inventory management system (something that could have been improved for the PC) that makes 'the inventory game' a pain 12. The whole game in general sometimes feels more 'mechanical' rather then 'organic' By no means am I saying that Skyrim is a bad game. It can be incredibly fun and immersive and it offers countless hours of pure entertainment. However, its flaws are numerous, and I can't rightly give this game more than 8.0 out of 10. Thanks for reading!… Expand
  72. thetinx
    Nov 22, 2011
    10
    Although I have never had any experience with previous elder scroll games, this is by far my favorite game of all time. The map is HUGE, bigger than fallout 3. The graphics are superb, and quests are... well I cant keep up with all my quests, so many it makes you want to slow down and "enjoy" the game. I must say this game has an infinite amount of "replay" value since you wont everAlthough I have never had any experience with previous elder scroll games, this is by far my favorite game of all time. The map is HUGE, bigger than fallout 3. The graphics are superb, and quests are... well I cant keep up with all my quests, so many it makes you want to slow down and "enjoy" the game. I must say this game has an infinite amount of "replay" value since you wont ever need to start a new game. If you choose to be a mage in the beginning it doesnt mean you dont get combat, and you can quickly change into combat. For me I was iffy on the 60$ for a game, however I must say I am hooked beyond belief. The only con is you might get so addicted you start falling behind on school work. But I just have no self control. The only thing I would improve are controls, however you quickly get used to them and it turns out amazing anyways.… Expand
  73. Flavorzoul
    Nov 23, 2011
    10
    Skyrim is a very addicting game, with hours of gameplay, im probably never gonna finish it. But i am sure gonna try, my advice is that you run to the nearest store and buy it, no matter the price
  74. SylarHRG
    Nov 23, 2011
    9
    From the moment you dive into Skyrim, from the opening sequence and beginning your journey through this beautiful world, you can already see the creative genius at work behind this game.
  75. adlersson
    Dec 2, 2011
    10
    I couldn't play too much with the Oblivion but I was curious about this piece so I bought it and fortunately I didn't have to disappoint. I think one of the best offline RPGs today.
  76. Awesomegamer7
    Dec 4, 2011
    10
    after a week of playing TES 5:Skyrim, I can say that the game is another masterpiece from Bethesda Studios like Fallout 3 and New Vegas.
    While playing the game you really get attached to the story that your doing and there are quests all over the kingdom of Skyrim to do.
    The controls are good (of course), music is perfect, combat mode has its problems but nothing you can't stand to play.    after a week of playing TES 5:Skyrim, I can say that the game is another masterpiece from Bethesda Studios like Fallout 3 and New Vegas.
    While playing the game you really get attached to the story that your doing and there are quests all over the kingdom of Skyrim to do.
    The controls are good (of course), music is perfect, combat mode has its problems but nothing you can't stand to play.
    The only problem with the game for me is that you cannot kill the guys important to the story (the guys that give you missions to do and etc...)
    But after all the game is a pretty good, if still haven't go to a store near you and buy it.    … Expand
  77. 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
  78. Stewartale
    Dec 26, 2011
    5
    Oh, where to begin... Well, I'm a long-standing Elder Scrolls fan, who fell absolutely in love with Morrowind, and spent hundreds and hundreds of hours on Oblivion,also. I found both games had amazing replay value, for me at least, and I know neither of those games met some criteria for some people, but most of those were fans of other genres. If you like fantasy/RPG games, you playOh, where to begin... Well, I'm a long-standing Elder Scrolls fan, who fell absolutely in love with Morrowind, and spent hundreds and hundreds of hours on Oblivion,also. I found both games had amazing replay value, for me at least, and I know neither of those games met some criteria for some people, but most of those were fans of other genres. If you like fantasy/RPG games, you play fantasy/RPG games, right? Well, simply put, with all of the attention Skyrim was getting, I was expecting it to be absolutely amazing. Full of lore, adventure, replay value, sophisticated puzzles, warring factions in which you chose a side, but no. Sadly, they decided to make it one faction warring with another unplayable one, that you can join, play through to the end, and gave absolutely no choice in what you did. To say the least, I was disappointed. Now, that is forgivable, especially since Oblivion was the same, but that was still a great game, right? Ah, well... I played through, did most of the main quest lines, and then... became very bored. Who wants to do dungeons you've seen a thousand times before? It gets quite boring, I assure you. And that's actually all there is to do. Sure there's side quests, but they almost always involve going through dungeons. Even the Daedric Shrine quests follow that pattern, in general. The puzzles are meek, the game is almost entirely hack and slash, which is good in some games, but in those games you generally have a specific skill set for whatever class you have, and in this, if you're any form of melee, it's the same thing over and over again. A child could play this game quite easily. Oh, and the game-breaking bugs... I won't bore you with the details, but I've had to restart three times now. I'm sure there's plenty of people complaining about that. Basically, my main annoyance is the lack of replay value. It's slim to none. Once you've done the quest lines, you're through. I'm disappointed in this game, mostly for not living up to it's predecessors. Hopefully next time they'll revive the Elder Scrolls for what it was originally.… Expand
  79. 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
  80. Squerol
    Sep 4, 2014
    3
    Commercial, commercial, commercial, once more commercial.... And game is MEGA simplified in relation to Morrowind, even Oblivion...

    Bad things (more of them, so I will start with them): #Combat system - one of the worst that Ive seen in RPGs. Melee is just button masher with cluncky animations, slow, unintuitive and boring, shield/weapon bashing make it even worse, and Dragons are    Commercial, commercial, commercial, once more commercial.... And game is MEGA simplified in relation to Morrowind, even Oblivion...

    Bad things (more of them, so I will start with them):

    #Combat system - one of the worst that Ive seen in RPGs. Melee is just button masher with cluncky animations, slow, unintuitive and boring, shield/weapon bashing make it even worse, and Dragons are just dissapointing... Just no depth here in combat....
    #World and its design - empty world without depth, even worse towns, after some hours there is no motivation to explore, just boring... Some creatures and its design here are really awesome, but you can only count it on fingers of one hand, and where da hell are Daedra Creatures or Oblivion Planes?.... World is just generic designed, once again boring, developers dont care about world detailing....
    #Story/Side quests - I just dont want to go with story forward after some main quests, there are too many generic and boring side quests, some guild quests are interesting, but not many of them...
    #Character development - who simplified it? No statistics? Its just self KO, status bars, skills and perks system is just bad, and not interesting, one of the worst leveling system...
    #Gameplay - controls and travelling around is well done, but bad combat system, overall world boringness and overpowered crafting makes it not so appealing and boring again...
    #RANDOMNESS OF THE GAME! NO DEPTH IN GAME/ATMOSPERE!

    So lets go on with good things:

    #Music - some of the tracks are godly-great and memorable,
    #Some weapons and armor design - some models are very worth looking on it,
    #Legendary difficulty with patch added - its really cool try, but game mechanics and combat is that bad, that it only gives some tiny little more enjoyment....
    #Crafting - its some innovative step forward, but it too overpowered, anyway overall is good addition,
    #Open world/Freedom - world is bad, but freedom is usually a plus,
    #Modding support - cool feature, as always tons of mods, but none of them fixes real problems of the game....

    Game was a real dissapointment to me. Bethesda gone in wrong way in creating their games, and made game without depth or any atmosphere, broken game mechanics and its just boring... Expansions dont helps here sadly... 3/10, because of some positive tryies.... Commercials breaks many games today sadly... (DS2, im looking at you!)    … Expand
  81. 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
  82. InsidePCgaming
    Nov 26, 2011
    10
    Hands down best game of the year! The whole landscape is intrigueing. The graphics are amazing. To explain the game simply, would be to say that itâ
  83. goldenaxe
    Jan 14, 2012
    8
    doesn't live up to my expectations unfortunately. But since I am a fan of the series and have played the previous game quite a bit, I'm still pleased. The game is less open ended then Oblivion IV, often you can't alter or end a quest line by killing a key person, they often act like you didn't kill them the next time you go visit them, and the menu system and controls are far too consoledoesn't live up to my expectations unfortunately. But since I am a fan of the series and have played the previous game quite a bit, I'm still pleased. The game is less open ended then Oblivion IV, often you can't alter or end a quest line by killing a key person, they often act like you didn't kill them the next time you go visit them, and the menu system and controls are far too console oriented, making it feel like it was just ported straight over to the PC without tweaks for controls. It is still fun, and I like ironic bugs in the game if they aren't messing with the quest direction too much.… Expand
  84. Ageoffan
    Jul 31, 2012
    5
    The game at face value is an 8. A fairly good story, and a very vast and explorable world, when they said "if you see that mountain, you can scale it" they meant it. The addition of mods to the game also continue to add new life to it. However, this game whens played for about 1hr + becomes very boring. This game is just a hack n slash, granted all elder scrolls games are, but it is doneThe game at face value is an 8. A fairly good story, and a very vast and explorable world, when they said "if you see that mountain, you can scale it" they meant it. The addition of mods to the game also continue to add new life to it. However, this game whens played for about 1hr + becomes very boring. This game is just a hack n slash, granted all elder scrolls games are, but it is done in such a boring fashion that it is just sad, not to mention that after you are done with the main quest, it is hard to force yourself to reroll another toon. The character development, imho, could have been more developed (maybe adding a voice to him would be nice) it honestly feels as though everything you have done is pointless, and although the marriage option is nice, it feels like it was a last minute addition. Great, i can get married, anything else other than a cash source? nope.

    So if you really like exploring and finding random stuff, this game could be for you, but if you want a game with good replay value/ or a feeling that your character is actually changing as you go, do not touch this game. Combat sucks, visuals are nice, character progression is pathetic, alot of your choices or thing that happen to you (ex: becoming a vampire) is no where near as eventful as it was in previous games.    … Expand
  85. MeritCoba
    Sep 30, 2014
    3
    Three strikes.. and you're out. And that is the fate of Skyrim for me. I really wanted to like Skyrim, and I gave it three tries, but it was not to be. But why? Why can't I like this game?

    Skyrim has things going for it. For instance it offers you an open world, which allows you to go anywhere you like. It also gives you freedom in developing your character. Want to be a    Three strikes.. and you're out. And that is the fate of Skyrim for me. I really wanted to like Skyrim, and I gave it three tries, but it was not to be. But why? Why can't I like this game?

    Skyrim has things going for it. For instance it offers you an open world, which allows you to go anywhere you like. It also gives you freedom in developing your character. Want to be a mage/warrior/thief character? It is possible with Skyrim. But these are the only two positive things I can come up with.
    There is perhaps also the fact that you can mod it(modify it). But this is an advantage with a certain irony because Skyrim needs to be modded. It is simply to dull on its own.

    An example of this dullness is the story. When the game starts you are... a prisoner? Hold on, where have we seen that before? Oh right. Oblivion. And you are about to be executed? Oh wait.. wasn't something like that in Oblivion? And you are imprisoned for reasons unknown. Ditto Oblivion..
    And then something happens and you are liberated..Like in Oblivion.
    And then you have to work yourself through some underground areas to escape pursuit. Like in Oblivion.
    You might think that the story of Oblivion is so great that it is almost verbatim retold in Skyrim. But it isn't a great story despite the fact that a dragon is involved.

    But there is more dullness in the game.For instance. The excitement of having an open world to explore condenses quickly into disappointment, after you discover that the world is basically a dull sub-arctic landscape dominated by the colors grey, brown and white. The landscape is at times obscured because it is fogged over by mist and half the time it is drained of all colors because it is night. Towns do not offer a break in this dreary visual spectacle, as most of them seem to consist of half-ruined buildings and often resemble piles of stone more than buildings. They look as if dragons crash landed into them. There are exceptions, Dragon Reach has a few nice buildings and sometimes you actually see a nice landscape. But those are exceptions in the otherwise steadfast monotony of the game.

    An open world is a nice idea until you find out that the game requires that you visit a place before you can quick travel to it and it expects that you travel all the way through the dull landscape. And while you travel you find yourself subjected to attacks by the same spawned wolves over and over. It is a testimony to the dullness of the game in that it throws you the same spawned creatures at you again and again. And what is more, because the game levels with you, you should not expect any break in these pesky attacks.

    More of the utter dullness of this game: a magic user quest which makes you face an adversary who is immune to magic so that you are required to run around shooting arrows at it or make dash attacks with hand weapons. What fun is that?
    Or, as part of that same quest, your teacher, a master wizard, leaves you alone to fight hard hitting undead in narrow corridors and only reappears after you have killed the monsters. And then prior to entering the last chamber with the bad guy, he abandons you to fight this guy alone. Again!
    And..-this same quest again- Is it not predictable that when you visit an already fully explored dig site, you happen to find that hidden corridor that is overlooked by master wizards and excavation experts alike?

    Another example of how strangely boring the game is, is in the way that combat works. In skyrim combat mostly takes place in your inventory and the interface. You see, you can only equip two things in your hands. And if that is all you require than you are fine. But if you require more.. like for instance you need to quaff a healing potion, down a magic regenerate potion, swap between a summon spell, an attack spell and your bow and arrows you find yourself half the time in the inventory. Indeed, the game has no quick selection functions. It expects you to do the job with whatever you have in your two hands or waste your time in screens swapping things around.

    Quests are as inspired as the rest of the game is. The reason is not that they are they same quests as you see in any other game. As a matter of fact almost all quests are of the same nature in any game. The problem with Skyrim is that they are not embedded in a captivating story. Skyrims just fails to tell a compelling story. It offers a sandbox and expects that to be enough. Apparently it is exactly what a lot of people want. But then, MMOs seem to be immensely popular too and they are basically the same sort of thing. No wonder there is an elder-scrolls online. It is probably as boring as Skyrim is.    … Expand
  86. roboticsun
    Dec 18, 2011
    8
    After 50 hours log into to this game, I still found this game is an empty and hollow game. Skyrim has hardly any immersion. The story is bland. You can tell they created the bells and whistles THEN created the storyline around it. Which is sad. As an RPG, it should be more concerned with the story. Then the bells and whistles pull you in even further. Bethesda is losing track on what madeAfter 50 hours log into to this game, I still found this game is an empty and hollow game. Skyrim has hardly any immersion. The story is bland. You can tell they created the bells and whistles THEN created the storyline around it. Which is sad. As an RPG, it should be more concerned with the story. Then the bells and whistles pull you in even further. Bethesda is losing track on what made morrowind so enjoyable. To go from Morrowind to Oblivion then to Skyrim are huge steps backwards. This game was released with lots of bugs and even broken on PS3, Bethesda clearly choose quantity over quality. They do not even bother to polish the game. I'd say Don't buy it right now. Wait for the price to come down to $20.… Expand
  87. irtimiD
    Nov 16, 2011
    8
    I have to give this game a 8 for several reasons. it is a very fun, addicting and huge game which allows for players to play how they want to, and pick different choices. The game play is fluid and the combat system had improved a lot from oblivion. There are many enemies which are all different difficulties and where some provide a challenge for the player, other are easy to kill afterI have to give this game a 8 for several reasons. it is a very fun, addicting and huge game which allows for players to play how they want to, and pick different choices. The game play is fluid and the combat system had improved a lot from oblivion. There are many enemies which are all different difficulties and where some provide a challenge for the player, other are easy to kill after reaching a higher level. The dialogue system is a lot nicer and does not pause the game like the previous game. Instead the players and the environment around the player carry on like in real life. There are issues with the game which i would like to point out; starting with the UI ( the menu). The main problem is for the pc users who use a keyboard and mouse, who find it difficult to make a selection because the menu has been designed for the console user. I ended up using my xbox 360 controller with my pc version because i found the game play, the menu and the character creation unbearable. Right from the start of the game where i was creating my character, the mouse felt out of sync and most of the time did not recognize my commands. Another problem that i have had was the frame rate messing up and occasionally textures going funny and showing me bright pink objects. The final downside to the game is in the menu layout i would like to see the character like in Oblivion which showed what items i was wearing and allowed me to rotate and zoom in onto my character. I really liked that feature in Oblivion because it helped me choose what items i wanted to equip. I am hoping that someone will make a mod that does just that. Overall though the positives outweigh the negatives and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an excellent game that provides hours of fun, and most of all you as the player choose how you want to play the game.… Expand
  88. Asterai
    Nov 19, 2011
    10
    Magnificent. Beautiful vistas, diverse towns, an abundance of stories to be found wherever you go. Storytelling in both main and side quests is engaging, and I have yet to meet a named quest that relied purely on the simple formulas of kill-ten-rats, escort, bounty, or fetch. Strong player choice is a guiding principle of design, and nearly any classic archetype can find their home,Magnificent. Beautiful vistas, diverse towns, an abundance of stories to be found wherever you go. Storytelling in both main and side quests is engaging, and I have yet to meet a named quest that relied purely on the simple formulas of kill-ten-rats, escort, bounty, or fetch. Strong player choice is a guiding principle of design, and nearly any classic archetype can find their home, even guild, in this world. Scummy towns feel scummy, prosperous towns feel clean and sturdily built. Voice acting, music, and sound design generally are pleasing; visual art direction everywhere is superb, with culture imbued in every object you find, and wonderfully varied landscapes. Dungeons are, so far, distinct places, often featuring traps, puzzles, and environmental hazards to be used against enemies; nameless enemies can sometimes be overheard discussing obstacles that you later encounter. Killing dragons is fun and useful and never resented, but pales in comparison to the many other things you could be doing. _ _ _ _ _

    The bad? Stealth AI could use some work; sleeping NPCs should almost never be able to detect sneaking players, and there are a few times when NPCs should respond more intelligently (or less) than they actually do (an arrow from the dark should never be explained away as "I'm just hearing things"). Smithing could be expanded more than it is. Some traveling companions have Leeroy Jenkins-like overconfidence that makes fighting beside them a struggle in dungeons; fortunately, they're almost entirely optional. Minor bugs - mostly oddities in the collision system - will bother some players; stability is quite good but not perfect. Worst from my perspective, the UI has poor sensitivity to mouse location; I've struggled to click on the conversation topic I really wanted. _ _ _ _ _

    For a player like me, however - first and foremost an explorer, a consumer of stories who narrates every action with the motives behind it, someone who sneaks past sleeping dragons to see if it is possible - this game's flaws are irrelevant, and since this review is for PC, mods will fix them anyways. This is one of the best, the biggest, the richest games I have ever encountered, and I love it to pieces.    … Expand
  89. Rakathor
    Dec 15, 2011
    10
    Very, very good game. Many people complain about the bugs, and it's understandable, but hey, it's huge game, with alot of work behind, sometimes errors slip through. Another thing is that many people have complained about hotkeys, many think there aren't any, but there is, you just have to assign them, that's not so tough is it? as far as gameplay, yes, it is like oblivion and fallout, butVery, very good game. Many people complain about the bugs, and it's understandable, but hey, it's huge game, with alot of work behind, sometimes errors slip through. Another thing is that many people have complained about hotkeys, many think there aren't any, but there is, you just have to assign them, that's not so tough is it? as far as gameplay, yes, it is like oblivion and fallout, but what can you do, this is rpg, it is supposed to be like this. It is a beautiful game, with a great story, many side quests, and generally it provides many hours of worthy gameplay, 'nough said.… Expand
  90. Otakkun
    Feb 8, 2012
    5
    Oblivion with a bland leveling system and awe inspiring graphics. Plagued with bugs as well (at least they are patching them up).
    The world is beautiful without a doubt, but is the game fun after 10 hours? Do you get any sense of accomplishment from leveling/molding your avatar? Nope. How this game got a 10/10 just about everywhere is just beyond me. There must be something about dragons    Oblivion with a bland leveling system and awe inspiring graphics. Plagued with bugs as well (at least they are patching them up).
    The world is beautiful without a doubt, but is the game fun after 10 hours? Do you get any sense of accomplishment from leveling/molding your avatar? Nope. How this game got a 10/10 just about everywhere is just beyond me. There must be something about dragons and putting buckets over npc heads that makes critics go nuts with glee.    … Expand
  91. Omap
    Mar 7, 2012
    8
    Buggy, laggy, clunky, consolized, and Fantastic. Skyrim is not so much an RPG as it is an "Adventure Simulator." that being said, it's launch was marred by bugs and clunky UI screens are a pain in the ass to navigate with a keyboard and mouse, as well as muddy textures and sometimes buggy lighting. luckily the player base has picked up where the devs have slacked, with UI mods, textureBuggy, laggy, clunky, consolized, and Fantastic. Skyrim is not so much an RPG as it is an "Adventure Simulator." that being said, it's launch was marred by bugs and clunky UI screens are a pain in the ass to navigate with a keyboard and mouse, as well as muddy textures and sometimes buggy lighting. luckily the player base has picked up where the devs have slacked, with UI mods, texture packs, model packs, and all you could ever hope for. this is why you buy Bethesda games on the PC, because while this game is about a 5/10 by itself, with all the mods at your fingertips, it is easily worthy of an 8.… Expand
  92. 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
  93. LebtNurEinTraum
    Jan 28, 2012
    6
    I don't really understand all this fuss about Skyrim. Sure, it's not a bad game, its world is very large, you get a lot of choices, but that's about all. Almost all the quest and dungeons are quite average and repetitive. There are BUGS, loads of them, even ones that brake the main quest. Graphics? Meh. Some textures look downright ugly. The inventory is ridiculous. And the "care" forI don't really understand all this fuss about Skyrim. Sure, it's not a bad game, its world is very large, you get a lot of choices, but that's about all. Almost all the quest and dungeons are quite average and repetitive. There are BUGS, loads of them, even ones that brake the main quest. Graphics? Meh. Some textures look downright ugly. The inventory is ridiculous. And the "care" for paying customers of Bethesda is really "wonderful". I just don't know how anyone can say that Skyrim is the best game of all time and stuff like that. TES series is unique for its huge open world concept, but the amount of bugs and mistakes should not be overlooked anyway.… Expand
  94. jerf
    Apr 17, 2012
    6
    For me Skyrim was more of a disappointment. I completed the College's line, but got bored already before that. Granted, the vast landscapes are amazing (though, truly so only after downloading tons of unofficial graphics mods), but the story is not really captivating, and characters are rather bland. I didn't remember their names the day after I stopped playing, which shows that theyFor me Skyrim was more of a disappointment. I completed the College's line, but got bored already before that. Granted, the vast landscapes are amazing (though, truly so only after downloading tons of unofficial graphics mods), but the story is not really captivating, and characters are rather bland. I didn't remember their names the day after I stopped playing, which shows that they didn't really touch me.
    So, in my opinion Skyrim is more of a fantasy tourism game than a real role playing one.    … Expand
  95. Pomornik
    Dec 3, 2011
    9
    Best RPG i have ever played, and i've played plenty. Its superior to morrowind and oblivion in almost every possible way. It would be easily a 10/10 if it wasn't for the fact, its a console port, and it shows. First of all, the interface is... not very good, it was obviously designed to be used with a gamepad, but you can get used to that. The bigger problems are the technical issues.Best RPG i have ever played, and i've played plenty. Its superior to morrowind and oblivion in almost every possible way. It would be easily a 10/10 if it wasn't for the fact, its a console port, and it shows. First of all, the interface is... not very good, it was obviously designed to be used with a gamepad, but you can get used to that. The bigger problems are the technical issues. Horrible, blocky and flickering shadows, random crashes, and not so great performance even on a good machine. I wont mention smaller bugs, since they are but a minor annoyance, and nothing gamebreaking.
    Still its worth to get through all that, because the gameplay itself is next to perfect. The combat is great, there is no boring quests, dialogues and voiceactors are top notch, envitorment is just beautiful. As in case of all Bethesda titles, there is a strong support for mods, which will definetly help keeping the game alive for many years.    … Expand
  96. skullzyer
    Nov 16, 2011
    8
    Once again a masterpiece from Bethesda. Game has beautiful graphics just like its predecessor. It can be enjoyed even on older graphic cards. Loving the fact that dungeons aren't made from the same schematic. All in all, good successor to Oblivion.
  97. Draco705
    Nov 20, 2011
    10
    I've been playing since Morrowind, and I've gotta say, this game takes the cake. I love the visuals on my rig, and the gameplay is simple and intuitive. Everything flows very nicely, and the quests aren't the usual "go find this" or "go kill this" all the time like Oblivion. Sure, there are a lot of those, but a good few of them are more complicated or change direction unexpectedly in theI've been playing since Morrowind, and I've gotta say, this game takes the cake. I love the visuals on my rig, and the gameplay is simple and intuitive. Everything flows very nicely, and the quests aren't the usual "go find this" or "go kill this" all the time like Oblivion. Sure, there are a lot of those, but a good few of them are more complicated or change direction unexpectedly in the middle of the quest, but I want that kind of innovation.… Expand
  98. hit925
    Nov 22, 2011
    10
    A very impressive game indeed. Being my first Elder Scrolls game, I didn't know what to expect going into it. I certainly wasn't expecting anything as jaw dropping as this. I have to say, the game's characters look awkward in parts but that's outweighed by the sheer vastness and visual brilliance of the world. Get this game if have any interest in the RPG genre. Word of warning: when youA very impressive game indeed. Being my first Elder Scrolls game, I didn't know what to expect going into it. I certainly wasn't expecting anything as jaw dropping as this. I have to say, the game's characters look awkward in parts but that's outweighed by the sheer vastness and visual brilliance of the world. Get this game if have any interest in the RPG genre. Word of warning: when you start playing, you may start to wish dragons existed...… Expand
  99. panokia75
    Nov 23, 2011
    10
    This game is a true marvel. Visually it is stunning and gameplay is, well how can I put it, absolutely massive and a 99% joy. The change in the weather and lighting is ofen mesmerising and whilst the graphics could be better no normal PC would be able to cope, so by todays standards the graphics have been I feel underrated. They are often gorgeous. The characters and buildings are notThis game is a true marvel. Visually it is stunning and gameplay is, well how can I put it, absolutely massive and a 99% joy. The change in the weather and lighting is ofen mesmerising and whilst the graphics could be better no normal PC would be able to cope, so by todays standards the graphics have been I feel underrated. They are often gorgeous. The characters and buildings are not quite up to perfection but the lighting and effects are tremendous as is the feel for a large 3D environment which is what makes the game immersive. I think they have got this right as the envoronment looks fantastic. Gameplay is similarly epic with one or two niggles but the variety of play with having a choice of weapoin and magic in either hand is great. The favoutites quick selection is not as fluent as some systems but the game stops allowing time to think. Whether it slows the game down too much is personal preferance. I quite like it as it often reminds you to check inventory or level up magic etc or decide what attack/defense method will be used. The combat system is solid and great but doesnt rely on realism too much but it is solid and enjoyable. This game is about choice not just fighting and the game really is unique where it will drag you in an impress you time after time. I have aging PC with a AMD 955 BE which easily copes on max settings as does my 6950. Anything less than this may struggle a touch at 1920 x 1080 resolutions and above. Technical issues with me However are a slight ghosting and rendering issues expecially with fabrics but are observed infrequently. I picked the cat type race (kitjiit I think), which can see better at night. A very good choice I think.… Expand
  100. BoydDaMilkman
    Jan 21, 2012
    8
    I find it hard to review this game. If I were to be legitimately honest and give my true opinions on this game I would upset a great many people that would see this. Do I hate this game? No, it is one of my top 5 games of 2011 but then again, there were only 7 or 8 games that i actually enjoyed of this year.

    Probably the thing that pisses me off the most about this game is the way in    I find it hard to review this game. If I were to be legitimately honest and give my true opinions on this game I would upset a great many people that would see this. Do I hate this game? No, it is one of my top 5 games of 2011 but then again, there were only 7 or 8 games that i actually enjoyed of this year.

    Probably the thing that pisses me off the most about this game is the way in which the story is told. The story is the same story we have seen in every RPG ever created, and if you really think about it. Itâ    … 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

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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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