Review: The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim (PC)

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8 mins read

By now you will have read a few hundred Skyrim reviews, and in fact you’ve probably already bought the game and completed it yourself. You would know that many are claiming it to be “game of the year,” “the saviour of RPGs” and any number of other explosive exaggerations. 

If you haven’t: it’s not any of those, though. It’s a very, very good game for sure, but Skyrim has flaws, and they are flaws that, were they in any other game, would border on unforgivable. It’s almost like the Elder Scrolls games have the Steve Jobs reality distortion field in effect: raw charisma is able to convince the masses to elevate the games above their reality.

But Skyrim is a very good game. There are people who will look down at the score on the bottom of this review and have that same reaction that Eurogamer and Destructoid illicited for their reviews of Uncharted and Batman, but the reality is it’s a great score for a great game. Skyrim’s artfulness lies in its ability to tell stories within stories.

Where Dragon Age: Origins forced people to wade through clunky menus to read the books and snippets of information that fleshed out that world, Skyrim is populated by books that, one and all, provide a real sense of living history and wonder in the world. Based loosely on old Norse history and mythology, exploring Skyrim itself is the fun of the game. Discovering new towns, dungeons and points of interest across a massive world, interacting with NPCs that, 50 hours in, are still capable of surprising you is a true testament to the care that Bethesda has put into the game.

Indeed, where the vast majority of MMOs disappoint me because of the disruption between the fantasy world and idiot players trying to sell me “LOL!! 1K Flamin Swordz!111” Skyrim succeeds of immersing me within a fantasy universe with the same attention to detail as the best of Tolkien and other fantasy authors.

The same can be said about the visuals which, while somewhat plastic in sheen and lit in a slightly exaggerated manner carry an artistry and consistency about them that stays through the whole game; and music, which like Morrowind and Oblivion before it is simply the best game compositions you’ll come across. We already knew Bethesda would get those aesthetics right from the screenshots, trailers and past history of the series, so it’s a relief to see the end product doesn’t disappoint.

Then come the bugs. We all knew there would be bugs, and in fairness, they’re probably not as bad or numerous as a certain Fallout game, but they’re there, and they’re ugly. Just looking at the notes I took while playing the game, in the introductory sequence alone I got to experience a freeze that went so long I nearly reset my console before it jumped back into action, I experienced two cases of NPCs floating across rock solid ground, got stuck on the scenery once, and experienced a bout of slowdown.

No doubt there will be many more patches to come, but we don’t forgive near-game breaking bugs in other games, and I’m not about to forgive it here. In fact, it’s worse in Skyrim – being absolutely enraptured in such a stunning world only to be dragged back into reality by a comic or nasty bug is incredibly disappointing.

I also take issue to the combat, which has never been a strength of the Elder Scrolls games, and though there has been some improvements here, they’re not nearly enough. The good is that the combat is now visceral – there’s real impact behind the weapons, and there’s a workable block-and-parry system in place. What really lets it down is the clunky way in which you change weapons. Going through your inventory (for both magic and weapons) you need to set a list of “favourites” which are brought up via a quick-menu at will. So, in some of the more complex fights, you’ll shoot your bow, then pause and switch to sword and shield once the enemy has closed to melee distance. You’ll take a hit or two and need to pause to bring up the menu for some healing options. Then it’s back to the combat. This pause-and-go structure is clunky and old school.

It’s just that there are better examples of combat wherever you look. Dark Souls has a more graceful and deadly combat system that keeps you on your toes. The venerable Dragon’s Age: Origins, a few years old now, has a better traditional, tactical feel to the combat. If we were assessing Skyrim purely on combat, than it remains behind the competition on most levels.

Thankfully combat isn’t so important to this game – it’s easy to go hours without actually drawing your weapon. Wandering around town, acquiring quests and talking to people is time-draining, and though this generally works well, there’s still a couple of moments where believability gets really stretched.

The biggest one is the fact that if you do something naughty, the entire town knows about it faster than a rumour or reputation could possibly spread. You could steal something, sprint to the other side of town, and the guard at the gates there will still arrest you. That’s some impressive psychic messaging system towns have adopted.

That said, it’s a very minor complaint. Bethesda have done a really good job giving each town its own unique atmosphere and environment, meaning that you’re always looking at something different, not just in terms of aesthetics, but also personality.

Of course, Skyrim is grander than the sum of its parts, and almost anyone would find themselves lost in this game for hours on end. But it’s not prefect, and the rough edges do begin to grate after a while.

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  • I'm surprised this didn't get a better score. Most of the flaws sound fairly minor, but I guess if they grated on you, I can't fault you for it. Personally, the only thing I didn't like were the glitches. Most were few and far between, though, and could easily be fixed in later patches.

  • I'm surprised this didn't get a better score. Most of the flaws sound fairly minor, but I guess if they grated on you, I can't fault you for it. Personally, the only thing I didn't like were the glitches. Most were few and far between, though, and could easily be fixed in later patches.

  •  For me, honestly, Skyrim was disappointing. I had hoped and expected that it would be something special: Bethesda have had years to work on it, and they were working with technology that they were well familiar with now (I forgave a lot of Oblivion's flaws on the basis of new technology teething problems).

    In reality it isn't special like Morrowind, and while it's a better game than Oblivion, the poor combat, the bugs and the other, more minor flaws mean that this isn't the RPG of the generation, or even year.

    But, while it was disappointing, it's also impossible to deny that it's a great game. Hense the score.

  •  For me, honestly, Skyrim was disappointing. I had hoped and expected that it would be something special: Bethesda have had years to work on it, and they were working with technology that they were well familiar with now (I forgave a lot of Oblivion's flaws on the basis of new technology teething problems).

    In reality it isn't special like Morrowind, and while it's a better game than Oblivion, the poor combat, the bugs and the other, more minor flaws mean that this isn't the RPG of the generation, or even year.

    But, while it was disappointing, it's also impossible to deny that it's a great game. Hense the score.

  • How many hours does the single player take to complete? I know there's many sidequest/choices, but if somebody were to pick it up and go straight through, what would they be looking at?

    I know a lot of people playing it right now, and I own the one on the original Xbox(not sure of subtitle right now), but have played it only for like 10 minutes.

  • How many hours does the single player take to complete? I know there's many sidequest/choices, but if somebody were to pick it up and go straight through, what would they be looking at?

    I know a lot of people playing it right now, and I own the one on the original Xbox(not sure of subtitle right now), but have played it only for like 10 minutes.

  • I have no idea. I didn't attempt to run through it just following the story along, as I have never felt that's the "correct" way to play Elder Scrolls games.

    If you do want to just run through the story, then I think it'll be over fairly quickly. Each time I came back to do some of the game's main story, I was startled with how quickly the plot pressed along.

     I'm going to guestimate 15 hours if you stick entirely to the main story. I'd way 100 hours minimum to get a fair experience of all Skyrim can offer, though.

  • I have no idea. I didn't attempt to run through it just following the story along, as I have never felt that's the "correct" way to play Elder Scrolls games.

    If you do want to just run through the story, then I think it'll be over fairly quickly. Each time I came back to do some of the game's main story, I was startled with how quickly the plot pressed along.

     I'm going to guestimate 15 hours if you stick entirely to the main story. I'd way 100 hours minimum to get a fair experience of all Skyrim can offer, though.

  • That's where we differ I guess. I thought the combat in Skyrim was amazing. Sure it wasn't as good as Demon's Souls/Dark Souls, but what is? Plus I never really got engrossed in Morrowind like I did in Skyrim, namely thanks to the lack of Direction and the hours it takes to get to the first quest. Seriously, I got bored of that game rather quickly, but not Skyrim. The rest…just weren't important to me like they may have been for you.

    Oh well, at least this was better than RPGFan's review, which was the only other review I've read that didn't give the game a near-perfect score – their only real problem besides the glitches was that it wasn't revolutionary, which I actually disagree with, since the way it handles the classes is a revolution in its own right.

  • That's where we differ I guess. I thought the combat in Skyrim was amazing. Sure it wasn't as good as Demon's Souls/Dark Souls, but what is? Plus I never really got engrossed in Morrowind like I did in Skyrim, namely thanks to the lack of Direction and the hours it takes to get to the first quest. Seriously, I got bored of that game rather quickly, but not Skyrim. The rest…just weren't important to me like they may have been for you.

    Oh well, at least this was better than RPGFan's review, which was the only other review I've read that didn't give the game a near-perfect score – their only real problem besides the glitches was that it wasn't revolutionary, which I actually disagree with, since the way it handles the classes is a revolution in its own right.

  • I haven't finished it yet, but my brother beat it in 2-3 solid days of playing, albeit with lots of side quests and grinding in between. If you ask me, that's not long enough, but there's a lot more to the game than the main quest anyways, so it's not so bad.

  • I haven't beaten this game yet.  Like Oblivion, I suspect this will be a title that takes me a very, very, very long time to beat.  Mainly because I tend to wander and just explore every possible nook and cranny in these titles.  Too soon for me to form an opinion/score of it yet, but I can see where those disappointments might bother you.  I felt the combat was an improvement over Oblivion, but not as tight as a 'Demons' game – but for me the world is a lot more interesting.  Definitely bugs aplenty out there, but nowhere near the level of some games like Fable 3 or New Vegas either, and none that I've encountered have been game-breaking.

  • My biggest issue with Skyrim (and I don't have many in all honesty) was the seemingly small pool of voice actors. It really hurt the immersive believable experience to talk to three different people within the same quest all noticeably voiced by the same actor.

  • Hi mate, is this game suitable for a 12 year old, he wants it for xmas but I have only seen covers saying MA or 18+, what would be in it to give it that rating. Thanks Michelle

  • There's a bit of everything. There's some pretty high impact violence (slow motion of enemies getting their heads caved in). The opening scenes of the game includes a rather graphic behedding. There's the ability to wander around almost naked.

    Possibly more important though, in terms of the game's theme, is that there's very little moral push. It's a-ok within the game to going a guild of assassins and slaughter innocent people.

    All up I wouldn't say this game is especially "bad" in terms of content, but I don't know I would recommend it to 12 year olds either. 

  • Thanks so much for the reply, I thought there must be a good reason why it is labelled for the older age group. Unfortunately, he is not too happy about it and will have to wait a couple of years to catch up. Can you recommend anything else that is like it that may be more suitable for his age? Cheers Michelle

  • Are we talking about consoles (Xbox 360, PS3) or PC? 

    In terms of PS3, there's a couple of options. Skyrim's predecessor, Oblivion, is actually less adult in content (just a M15+ rating), and I don't think there's too much objectionable content in there for a 12 year old. 

    There's also Sacred 2 (also M15+). I would suggest though that White Knight Chronicles is probably the best choice. It's just PG rated, and it's a pleasant little RPG that is fairly open too. 

    In terms of PC and Xbox 360, I'm not so sure – Oblivion in both cases, and there's an older PC game called Arx Fatalis that is a very similar style.

  • Thanks, was talking xbox 360. He has looked at Oblivion and will also check out Arx for the PC. Thanks for the reply. Cheers Michelle

  • I've played skyrim now for 107'ish hours, but I would not go as far as to say that I've gotten the whole experience yet. I feel that it "begins" at this point.

  • I've played skyrim now for 107'ish hours, but I would not go as far as to say that I've gotten the whole experience yet. I feel that it "begins" at this point.

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