Skyrim. A game everyone has heard of and most have played in one way or another. A sensation that does not stop selling or enchanting, partly because modders keep it alive and enhance an already great product. The last ten years have passed in no time. But why did Skyrim become so huge, and is there anything developer Bethesda can learn next time?
An Elder Scrolls for a New Age
Skyrim was undoubtedly a Bethesda game for a new generation. The northern kingdom was larger and wilder than old Cyrodiill in the south, with varied areas that showed off all the best sides of a cold, Norwegian-inspired fantasy world. The mechanisms were also updated, with a more interactive combat system (we could cast magic with BOTH hands!) And missions that felt more natural to hide. The many caves and grottoes were no longer exactly alike, and meeting dragons never got boring. The feeling of starting a new adventure in Bethesda worlds like these is always something very special, and Skyrim was no exception.
Walking around and taking in the universe is one of my favorite activities.
Andreas Bjørnbekk / Gamer.no
Cozy villages like Riverwood and Falkreath awaited here, mountains and forests that apparently never ended, and big cities like Solitude, Whiterun and Windhelm. They all offered unique architecture and an army of characters, many with their own background stories and missions. At the same time, it was probably the mixture of the completely open world and the personal freedom that made Skyrim – and which has characterized all Bethesda games – so successful. Here we could become what we wanted, upgrade our qualities exactly as we wanted, pick up everything we saw, and steal valuable items from unsuspecting strangers. This is one of the coolest things about Skyrim; that virtually all objects we find in the world can actually be taken and used. From the beginning, we are shown that this world is not just for decoration, but that we are in a living universe that can be explored over and over again.
A living project
It should not be underestimated how valuable the modding scene has been for all The Elder Scrolls games, but Skyrim perhaps most of all. It is still very active and makes the game popular. Modifications are small and large change packages that remove, add, or that in other ways change yours and hers in the game world, be it from simple numerical values to completely new areas. The great thing about this is that modifications deleted do not come from above – these are changes that the players themselves have made and published. In this way, good and enthusiastic people have created a society that will probably die out completely late, and which has laid the foundation for a game where almost anything is possible only if you can imagine it.
There is plenty of graphics modder in Skyrim.
Nexus Mods
It says a bit about how dedicated people are when it comes to the fabulous game The Forgotten City originates as a Skyrim modification. And because so much can be upgraded and fixed, there are countless visual modifications that adorn the game’s somewhat outdated graphics, and allow you to experience Skyrim in completely new ways even ten years after release.
We should also not forget that publisher Bethesda has been active in releasing Skyrim on ever new platforms and in new editions, a practice that has become one with joy and anger. I will not try to hide that I am one of the happy fools who has pocketed too much to be able to play Skyrim in new places. Since triple-eleven I have bought the game no less than five times, then excluded the PC version of Special Edition that I got for free because I already owned the original game plus all the expansions. It’s both funny and weird to say, especially considering that I’ve almost exclusively stuck to three of these versions (the two for PC and the last for Xbox One X). I’m still not alone, and we should not ignore the fact that new physical and digital copies are torn from the pictorial shelves when the 10-year-oldAnniversary Edition released today. Now we can actually fish too!
Solitude is my favorite city in Skyrim.
Andreas Bjørnbekk / Gamer.no
Let’s go a little deeper, too. Skyrim was released at a time when the game media itself was bigger and more generally popular than ever. If we look directly at the sales figures, they tell us even more about why Skyrim has put its mark on time. Since 2002, after being released for PC and Xbox, it is estimated that Morrowind has sold around 4 million copies. These are not trifles, but together with little brother Oblivion, which came to both PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and which sold a full 9.5 million, the numbers are starting to disappear a bit.
What about Skyrim? The fifth episode of The Elder Scrolls series was released for more consoles than ever before, and to date has been released on PC (multiple times), Xbox 360 and Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and 4, and even the Nintendo Switch. It is estimated that as many as 30 million Skyrim copies have been sold to avid gamers. It’s a number that completely overshadows all other single player games from the developer, and is a sales figure most people can only dream of. It says a bit about how many people have heard of and experienced this northern fantasy adventure.
Nor should we ignore the fact that it was precisely Skyrim that made the open-world genre as popular as it has become. When all is said and done, there are many more open, “Skyrimesque” games out there today than there were before Skyrim arrived. Just think of how popular series like The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed (to some extent) and The Legend and Zelda have gone from being games with semi-open worlds to full open sandbox games.
Where does the road go from here?
The Elder Scrolls VI was, believe it or not, actually announced in 2018. It’s a very long time ago, especially when we have not heard as much as a beep since then. The only thing we can do, therefore, is to speculate, and to imagine what changes and improvements we will encounter at once during the decade (if we are lucky).
We know little about Elder Scrolls VI, but the little sneak peek put blood on the tooth.
Skyrim was a unique game when it came out, and although time puts things in perspective and shows how outdated certain things are, it remains a unique experience. At the same time, it is quite clear that the next Elder Scrolls could have benefited from polishing certain major aspects of his next feature.
First, the combat system needs an overhaul. Because even though it can be fun to swing with a sword and an ax, the fencing system is far too simple as things are now. There is zero finesse and lack of charm when swinging your weapons in all directions. I would have liked more control over where and how I struck, and perhaps even more opportunities to block, parry or dodge the enemy’s attacks. I want delicious moments on horseback rather than the slightly sharp jumping session we have now.
In addition, The Elder Scrolls VI needs to fine-tune their class systems so that being an assassin with a bow is not always the best choice one can make. A deeper magic system can remedy this, as well as a real change in how wind, weather, distance and armor change the course of arrows or weaken their mortality.
Great scenery is something Skyrim does better than most.
Andreas Bjørnbekk / Gamer.no
I want bigger cities that feel alive, really big landscapes with lots of room for exploration, and a visual upgrade that really announces that The Elder Scrolls is taking a big step into the future. Last but not least, I sincerely hope that Bethesda chooses to continue to support the modding community, which, again, will have much of the credit for keeping their games alive for as long as they do.
Happy Birthday!
Atmospheric.
Andreas Bjørnbekk / Gamer.no
It is probably never wise to buy a long-awaited game before you have finished any exams and exams, but no, if I have ever adhered to that principle. If we do not expect that a long-distance relationship that stretched across the Atlantic brought with it some challenges in terms of school work, Skyrim was probably the biggest reason why the grades did not look as good for Christmas 2011 as they had done towards the summer a few months earlier. . I was by no means a wanderer, but it was especially one morning, as I sat on horseback outside Whiterun in my new golden, dwarf armor, that I simply did not have the willpower enough to leave this magical world.
Despite the popularity, sales figures and the many good experiences, there are still more who have a lot to blame on Skyrim, myself included. Skyrim lacked some of the best aspects of Oblivion, first and foremost equally exciting and fun Dark Brotherhood missions. Others think Morrowind was better. This is how it will always be, and I’m sure many of those who had Skyrim as their first Elder Scrolls game will think back to it the same way when The Elder Scrolls VI finally shows its true face.
No matter how you twist and turn it, Skyrim has been a very important part of the gaming industry for the past ten years. Although the adventure begins to drag on over the years and the relaunches have been comical for a while, I notice that there are still new things to experience every time I turn it on. I’m looking forward as a little kid to The Elder Scrolls VI, and luckily we get the role play Starfield next year which is supposed to be Skyrim in space. But until then, good, old “regular” Skyrim is still a country I will visit every now and then.
Congratulations on the day, Skyrim. Ten years is a lot, but fuck south as fast as it has gone.
Until next time,
Watch the skies, traveler.
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