The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is without a doubt one of the most popular video games of all time. The game was released exactly ten years ago on the Xbox 360, PC and Playstation 3 platforms. Three additions were gradually released. While the Dawnguard campaign featured powerful vampire and werewolf lords in addition to an expanded map, Hearthfire’s smaller pack focused on building and decorating your own home. The latest Dragonborn then introduced the player to the island of Solstheim, which was reminiscent of the iconic TES III: Morrowind and the Bloodmoon data disc, but was also inspired by monsters and world-famous horror writer Lovecraft. The entire game was later released as a complete edition called The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Legendary Edition. However, whoever thought they were shouting out their last FUS-RO-DAH with the legendary Dragonborn edition or Mrs. Dragonborn was wrong.
Editions and reissues
A remaster of Skyrim: Special Edition was released on PC, PS4 and Xbox One in 2016, followed by a port on Playstation VR and Nintendo Switch, as well as mobile spin-off The Elder Scrolls: Blades. And literally today, 10 years after the release of the original version of the game, Skyrim is coming out again, this time called The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Anniversary Edition, which, in addition to next-gen optimization for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S / X, will offer everything Creation Club creations that have been released for the game to date.
Owners of the Special Edition will receive the next generation technical update for free, as well as four items from the Creation Club, including a survival mode, fishing, a set of new items and a Saints & Seducers campaign that will remind you of TES IV: Oblivion – The Shivering Isles.
There is something symbolic about the Anniversary Edition. Bethesda Game Studios lead developer and seasoned TES saga lead Todd Howard noted in a recent interview with IGN that Skyrim doesn’t have multiplayer or any form of online gaming, but does have a strong social element. By this social element, he meant not only the massive popularity of the game, but also stumbled upon the incredibly active and diverse community that the game was able to create. What game boasts a fan like Granny, whose YouTube channel has almost a million subscribers?
Many people shake their heads in disbelief when Skyrim comes out, but no one can deny that if the game’s popularity hadn’t been so massive, Bethesda would have stopped publishing it long ago. But the opposite is also true, Skyrim is also pulling to new platforms, as evidenced by its presence in the top five most popular games on VR Playstation, or the pleased announcement by marketing manager Pete Hince in connection with the release of the game for Nintendo Switch. .
Fashion, Skwind, Skyblivion, Creation Club and Anniversary Edition
It makes no sense to describe how popular Bethesda games are. Not only are modders and YouTubers competing on how to visually embellish the game and turn it beyond recognition, but there are also active communities that, for example, have set themselves the goal of transferring the entire TES III: Morrowind to the current Skyrim engine. The upcoming remake is called Skywind. The lesser known Skyblivion, in turn, plans to “modernize” the world of Oblivion. from the fourth part of TES.
Progress is evident on both of these extremely ambitious and intense projects, but the question inevitably arises as to whether they will ever be satisfactorily completed and how many people will still want to play them at the time of their release. But as we see with every new release of Skyrim, this game and its fans are not to be underestimated.
Whatever the case, spontaneous fan projects like this illustrate one simple fact: at least in terms of online visibility, Skyrim has one of the most dedicated, appreciative, and creative gaming communities. The million dollar question, of course, was how to make money on it.
Bethesda’s decision to create a Creation Club has been criticized with the pejorative but true label of “paid mods”, but it should be noted that free mods are still being developed and that Creation Club items are made in collaboration between modders. and Bethesda. In addition, modders are paid by the company for their work, and some of these creatives ended up being hired by Bethesda as employees. But will the gaming community do without the Creation Club? Definitely yes. The Creation Club pieces, however, carry the official Bethesda seal, and for players who are feeling a bit of inner turmoil from mods, they represent brand new content hallowed by the company that they can access without any worries.
The current Anniversary Edition will offer all the results of this collaboration, directly included in the game world, so that once activated, players will not “wake up” at the very beginning of the game. There are about five hundred of these “contents” in the Anniversary Edition, so sometimes clicking them at the beginning is probably discouraging for many.
What was so good then?
Many rightly point out the shortcomings and weaknesses of Skyrim, which were already obvious at the time of publication. None of the reissues actually solved them. Yes, we are talking about the well-known high and the tendency to create crazy glitches that are embarrassing, but at the same time quite funny. Even the biggest fans crash out of the game quite often and make compilations of bizarre glitches that fool the game at the most inopportune moment. Howard himself calls Skyrim’s AI the biggest flaws and the lack of depth in some systems. However, in the aforementioned IGN interview, he also mentioned what he considers Skyrim’s success in the first place: its accessibility and tone. Let’s take a closer look at these two factors.
The popularity of the game would not have been possible if Skyrim was not so accessible and at the same time did not offer the player so many opportunities for its implementation. From a variety of races to flexible options for fighting enemies, to many sub-guilds and smaller formations, whose diversity makes up a much more diverse composition of the world than the two factions vying for dominance in Skyrim. In short, Bethesda has succeeded in fooling an RPG that caters to the player’s taste from the start and caters to them all the time. The experience of different players and their journey through the game can be quite different, which supports the social aspect of the game mentioned above.
One of the first things that came up for Skyrim was the music.
Tone also plays a key role, but it consists of more things. In an interview with IGN Editor-in-Chief, Howard also told an interesting fact: one of the first things that came up in Skyrim was music. Only after that did the creative team focus on creating a world that matched the background music. By the way, the same will happen with the upcoming Starfield.
Jeremy Soule’s Skyrim soundtrack is extremely enjoyable, and its melancholy tones permeate the dreamy atmosphere of the local fantasy world (youtuber covers are worth it too). Journeying through the landscape of Skyrim has an unmistakable allure, thanks to the perfectly functioning nexus of game world design and orchestral music that has drawn many gamers to their screens.
Speaking of immersive gaming, Skyri’s user interface, like other Bethesda titles, is designed to be as engaging as possible. Therefore, you do not see the minimap on the screen – you are forced to monitor the environment first of all, the compass is used for direct distance orientation. Let’s not forget how huge the map of Skyrim used to be. Long after the game’s release, open world news discussed the size of the open world. them maps compared to command Skyrim.
It’s also worth noting that, unlike many subsequent open worlds, Skyrim doesn’t detect that crazy biomass mismatch when you stumble across the tundra until you’re up a hill and land on the edge of a rainforest or desert. The landscape of Skyrim next to the snow-capped mountains was filled with autumn colors, and the light often gave it a dreamy hue. There was no shortage of majestic stone architecture, breathing history, but at the same time we found cozy, modest buildings in the streets of poor villages. It was like a fantasy world that had a clear vision and didn’t drown in the absurd attempt to tick off every possible type of scenery so they wouldn’t get bored. This is also due to the well-defined tone of the game, which gave it a specific personality.
The Elder Scrolls VI, Starfield and Fallout…?
So when will there be a sequel? Another major project of the Howard team is the sci-fi role-playing game Starfield, which is due out exactly one year later. Although the intention to release The Elder Scrolls VI was announced in a trailer three years ago, the release of Skyri’s successor is still a long way off. The distance from individual Bethesda projects is usually three, and preferably four years, so we can assume that we will see the game no earlier than 2026, in the best possible (and rather unlikely) scenario – in 2025.
Howard himself claims that if it were possible to speed up development, that’s all he would want, but he is also very grateful for the opportunity to work on a completely new brand like Starfield after so many years. What it all means for the Fallout brand is in the stars, but it’s possible that before Howard’s team’s hands are free, someone else might be able to touch the brand. Obsidian and inExile, other role-playing game specialists also owned by Microsoft, would be the most likely candidates. However, fans of Obsidian’s Fallout New Vegas should understand that the studio is currently busy preparing the RPG Avowed and Outer Worlds 2 and is busy.
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Despite its flaws and obsolescence, Skyrim is an RPG that has left an indelible mark on gaming history. He still has millions of loyal fans, and their number will continue to grow. I have to admit that the game still depends on me even after these ten years. Yes, the open world game genre has changed since Skyrim came out, mostly thanks to Sorcerer 3, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Red Dead Redemptions 2.
However, I feel that Skyrim still has its own specific, essentially irresistible charm. The strength of the game is not in the story, developed characters, artificial intelligence or combat system. Against. However, Bethesda has managed to create a masterpiece that has its own very strong and engaging personality while being extremely open to different types of players and communities. This is what makes Skyrim a star that shines in the gaming sky even after ten years. All the best!
Source :Indian TV
