This is probably one of the best, if not the best, RPG games ever made. A bold statement, I'm well aware. But this game does so many things right that it's really hard not to be impressed with it. And let's be honest: this is a game which is now 7 years old and it's still going strong. Surely that means something....

So why do I think this game is so immensely superior within the field of RPG's?


No, I'm not talking about the open world here. If you played RPG's before you'll be familiar with the starting process: design your character, name it, choose things such as race and gender and then... choose what they should "be" and set up their stats accordingly. A warrior will need strength and stamina, a magician or wizard will need intelligence and a thief would need dexterity. All nice and well, but what if you don't know what you want to play as?

I think many of us have been here before: you chose to be a warrior because of its general stats and it might make the game easier to get into. And then you learn about all those cool spells but.... not for you! Your warrior character is too dumb so you don't get to have any fun. Maybe you could use one of your followers? Basically you had to set up some stats and those then determine your gameplay. But since you didn't know the gameplay up front you may end up disappointed. Time to start over?

That works a little bit different in Skyrim: your stats don't control your gameplay, but your gameplay determines your stats.

Meaning: if you wield a sword for a long period of time you'll gain more experience with one handed fighting, which is a specific skill. Managed to block and bash your way through enemies using a shield? Then you'll gain more blocking experience. Magic? Sure, you won't be able to cast high end spells "just like that" but some low level spells, maybe from a spellbook? No problem. And you guessed it: this would raise your spellcasting abilities (there's more to magic than that, but for the sake of a simple review let's stick with this for now).

So during an upgrade you will get to spend one (or more) skill points. You can use those to enhance some of the skills you've been using. Remember me mentioning blocking? If you gained enough XP you might be able to increase your skill which would result in your shield blocking more damage than before. That sword you were wielding? With enough one handed experience you can unlock more options, like one which will make your attacks inflict more damage. You don't obtain special skills from boring numbers, you gain them from actually doing things which will account for training.

And this applies to almost everything. From shooting a bow to sneaking. From casting magic spells to stealing. Even skills such as smithing (make your own weapons and armor), speech (bartering) and enchanting. Just play the game as you want to play and your experience (and expertise) will grow which will unlock more cool abilities. A warrior who knows how to shoot a bow and cast some powerful spells? Not a problem.


This is not official terminology so allow me to explain... When you first start you obviously don't have the best gear in the game. Your armor is probably average at best and same applies to your weapons. So how do we get better gear to enhance our gameplay? Simple: you need to do missions which will obviously reward you and you can use those rewards to get better stuff. Heck: you may even find good stuff during such a mission.

But there's also the problem: the reason we want some better stuff is to get a better chance with those missions. But you need to do missions before you get better stuff. But we want better stuff to do the missions, which you only get after doing a mission. As such: a paradox of some sort.

You probably guessed it: Skyrim doesn't work that way. So you learn about this dungeon which should contain some solid information about the recent dragon attacks. This is the mission you'd undertake to get some good rewards. But what if we want better stuff first? Simple: there's a mine nearby Riverwood. If you looked around Whiterun and talked to some folks then you probably been taught how to craft and enhance weapons and armor. So why not ignore the mission for now and instead hop over to that mine and see if you can dig up some metal ores? You should be able to use those in the forge you already know about and then use all that stuff to craft (or enhance) your current gear.

So by undertaking such an effort you're basically doing an (unofficial!) mission. One which will bring its own share of rewards and discoveries. Of course you're not doing an official quest: you're only trying to make things easier on yourself :)

It's not only about freedom in the sense of an open world, but even with the missions and their rewards. Most open world games don't do this: they only unlock stuff after certain missions. Well, not Skyrim! Fun fact: you could even ignore the main quest entirely and solely focus on making your character much better at first.


During your first walk to Riverwood, and later Whiterun, you'll come across some native animals. It varies of course but I'm sure you're going to encounter a wolf and/or a crab. At this point in the game they may even give you a hard time. So what would happen if you leveled up and have become much stronger? Do the wolves suddenly get replaced by alpha wolves or something weird?

Nope! And I think it's brilliant and really makes sense! So: if you go to this area later on in the game and come across these animals you may get attacked by them again. Only this time they won't be a match for your power and skills, some may even be slain in one hit.

This is so much better than those games which raise the difficulty of your enemies no matter what.

Why? Think about it: how would a small village such as Riverwood be able to exist if it were surrounded by monsters which only (very) high skilled warriors could defeat? You probably know the Riverwood trader (and if not: the town has a trader, you should look him up sometime). But how is he going to get his supplies when only the strongest of warriors would be able to pass through the surrounding woods? Wouldn't it be fair to say that if you had those kind of beasts surrounding your town then everyone with a bit of common sense would steer clear from the whole area as best as they can? So much for trading!

So if the local trader doesn't have anything to trade, then where are the town folks going to get their food from? Whiterun you say? How? Surely a simple townsman won't be able to survive the woods anymore, and surely the Jarl won't sent out his best detachments only to guard a trading convoy?

Skyrim has a sense of realism. And I think it's really good for the gameplay.

• Truly open world gameplay: you decide what to do and when to do it.
  
• Total freedom: your stats don't determine your skills, your actions do.
  
• Total roleplay: just because you started doing evil stuff doesn't mean that the only things you manage to say are also only evil from here on.
  
• Beautiful sceneries and environment.

There are also some cons... I don't necessarily like the default graphics for the player characters (my elven maiden looked like a hag at first :( ) and there are some nasty and weird bugs in the game. But that's what mods are for. And no: you can pick up plenty of mods totally free of charge. Straight from the main menu! No need to pay.

I would also have mentioned the awesome DLC but it seems my review is getting too long ;)

So here you have it, I highly recommend this game. This is a true classic.