I love coming back to this game every now and then to try out new chaotic builds and mods. It's a decent fantasy sandbox, for the time it was released, where you can just fuck right off and do just about anything you want. The real fun and joy in this game comes with modding it on PC to fit your specific playstyle and add any quality of life you need. Usually I'd ding a game for this as if it needs mods to run, but Vanilla Skyrim is a perfectly fine game for lollygagging around and roleplaying as whatever Dragonborn you please (almost); the mods just add to the experience.
For as fun as it is, I'd be lying if I said it was the perfect game though. When you look back at this game in today's lenses, you kind of realize that there really isn't that much meaningful content going on. Your choices don't shape or change the story that much, and there are hardly any consequences to your stone-faced, no personality having Dragonborn. There have been plenty of RPGs after this one that has blown it out of the water, but it can still be a fun thing to come back to in small doses.
That being said though, it can be buggy on PC and has a bit of an unstable port. Most script mods do need a specific overwrite to fix all the existing exploits to work, and even then it will still crash often. It can be frustrating but it's sort of the contract you sign when installing multiple mods.
The graphics have definitely aged like milk, especially for a game that has been re-released 84 times, but it is still a very fun rollercoaster ride you'll get back in line for several times while you wait for the next Elder Scrolls game.
For as fun as it is, I'd be lying if I said it was the perfect game though. When you look back at this game in today's lenses, you kind of realize that there really isn't that much meaningful content going on. Your choices don't shape or change the story that much, and there are hardly any consequences to your stone-faced, no personality having Dragonborn. There have been plenty of RPGs after this one that has blown it out of the water, but it can still be a fun thing to come back to in small doses.
That being said though, it can be buggy on PC and has a bit of an unstable port. Most script mods do need a specific overwrite to fix all the existing exploits to work, and even then it will still crash often. It can be frustrating but it's sort of the contract you sign when installing multiple mods.
The graphics have definitely aged like milk, especially for a game that has been re-released 84 times, but it is still a very fun rollercoaster ride you'll get back in line for several times while you wait for the next Elder Scrolls game.