This review is more of a personal one than an analytical one. I recommend this game. Of course everything is my opinion.

I have been playing this game on and off since 2011. At least two playthroughs a year, of which I mostly mod to some degree.
Recently I have decided to go vanilla for the first time in perhaps a decade and have a playthrough where I gain all achievements with absolutely zero mods. Not even the unofficial patch. I did this once on PS3 (getting all achievements), now I have done it on PC on the legendary edition of the game. Whilst I own the Special Edition, I feel that I wanted no strings attached; no CC content and no additional updates past that of the classic release.

This review will only be seen by those who have the link to the steam page or if you are simply friends with me on steam as Bethesda has hidden Oldrim from the steam store to funnel more funds to Special Edition. A sad reality, but it is still possible to buy and enjoy classic Skyrim. My opinion of Bethesda themselves is mixed. I love the Elder Scrolls, it is my favourite fantasy IP ever made, however their recent release (Starfield) has truly proven they have a trouble with fully committing to their visions. Skyrim however is an exception on most fronts...

Skyrim is a Bethesda game; a glitched soup with shallow characters for seasoning but this game has one thing that it does better than most other games - it has soul and a fantastic world with many secrets. The lore and story is very much present and it is (in my opinion) the most 'open' world game ever made. The game has so much content that even after more than a decade I have discovered new things and that is what makes this game so special.

Just to get the negatives out the way - I know Morrowind is the superior >>>RPG<<< to Skyrim. Morrowind is more realised and a fuller experience with less unfinished content, with more in-depth systems and perhaps the greatest main story in any fantasy game and great writing all over. However, the reality is Skyrim is my favourite game of all time. I acknowledge this is because of nostalgia, but I own that. Skyrim has issues. The progression is worse than any Elder Scrolls game before it, the final challenge should not be at level 80 because of how insane the grind is to get there without exploits, and there are many lame moments during the quests (I point to the entire of the Civil War, Companions and College of Winterhold) - these quest lines are also insanely underdeveloped and short. The game has many game breaking glitches that can halt progression unless you use the console commands (which only PC has, so good luck on console without any unofficial patches). I understand that Bethesda has patched some issues in the SE, but many issues remain and its almost a requirement by the whole community to play the game with the Unofficial Skyrim Patch(es). Skyrims melee combat is also boring and lacklustre unless you like spamming left click. The magic in Skyrim is quite bland when compared to other Elder Scrolls titles. Even with these last points concerning the combat, however, I still find joy in it.

Despite this...I have never fell out of love with this game. It has helped me when nothing else has and I have grown up as this game has (through its many releases). I have had a hard life, and Skyrim is my comfort game. I have always pointed it as my favourite game ever made, even if it is not the best.
Not all quests are shallow and neither are all characters. Skyrim has plenty of theming and metaphor at play and I love the Daedric Quests, the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood a lot. The main quest is a great metaphor for Beowulf and I find the concept of the Dragonborn incredibly intriguing. The civil war, despite its issues on a gameplay level, has a great concept between two parties that even after a decade has mixed opinions on which side people pick and why. This is because the Imperials and Stormcloaks are well built factions with valid arguments for favouring either. Dawnguard and Dragonborn are fantastic DLCs and in my opinion the best Skyrim has to offer, even if the latter was short on the main quest side of things, the island of Solstheim is dense and packed with side content. Skyrims soundtrack is upon my favourite in any media and even after all this time I tend to keep the music unmuted (please press the vinyl again, Bethesda). I love the armour and weapon designs. The lighting, even in Oldrim, is perfectly balanced; this game is absolutely beautiful. The textures have aged well even if they are rough in some places.

I have dozens more things to say about this game but this is a steam review and most people already wouldn't read one this long.

I played Skyrim for the first time in late 2011 on the PS3. The PS3 didn't have the DLCs like the Xbox 360 did until much later. I would often hate myself for owning the console because of this, but it didn't stop me from playing countless hours on just the vanilla game. And when the Legendary Edition released on the PS3, I did it for the DLCs too. When the Special Edition released on the PS4, I did it there too. When I got a PC, I did it there as well. I have always come back to this game as I see it as a pillar of my own life. It has defined my taste in genre and games as a whole, yet not many do it like the stimulus.

Skyrim is a flawed masterpiece that needed some more commitment by Bethesda to both their characters and story lines as well as their overall design choices. Despite all of these, the game is a rough diamond with a massive heart and a perfectly crafted world with some gems of great writing sparkled throughout.

I conclude this review by saying thank you to Skyrim for being that one game I can always come back to. I doubt TES 6 (Hammerfell? High Rock? Daggerfall 2?) will hold a candle to this game, but I have hopes and I will be there for its release.

Thank you for being apart of my childhood and existing with me, Skyrim <3