The Elder Scrolls games have always been about freedom; from rat exterminations gone wrong to cross dimensional demon invasions the underlying and defining aspect of the series has always been freedom. This is more apparent in Skyrim than in any of the previous iterations of the franchise. After bearing through fifteen minutes of quite the epic introduction to the game your character is left to do whatever it is you want. Obviously quests exist which govern the overlying storyline for the game but these serve as mere guidelines to your experience in Skyrim. After holding your hands for the tutorial the game then throws you out into the big open world and treats you like an adult by opening up every single aspect of the game for you to explore.
In the past few years I’ve seen a lot of games claiming to be open world games, where you can do whatever you want but their freedom always comes with a catch; usually requiring you to reach a certain quest before you’ve unlocked a region or key ability in the game. Skyrim offers no such restraints; this is a game that expects you to enjoy it at your own pace.
In my third play-through I find there are still entire regions of the game I have yet to explore and unearth all the more exasperated by the fact that not a single corner of the game is like another. Every cave, ruin, monument and city comes with its own subtle history and atmosphere expressed in either conversations of passersby or in the journals and items you find within the caves. You also learn to tread carefully and keep an eye out for these conversations and items before entering caves or ruins since some of these encounters can have fights well above what you might be able to handle. A cave or ruin entrance adorned with skulls on sticks or with corpses strewn about is a good indicator of what kind of fight you can expect to have once inside,
While I could easily spend days going over the many ways that Skyrim enthralls you with its atmosphere none of it would matter if I didn’t go over the gameplay; that is the way in which you affect this world. Combat is slow and purposeful with every successful strike and spell raising your spirits ever so slightly and every missed swing/shot agonizing. The overall result is a gritty realism to fighting; there isn’t any fancy parrying and twirling involved when blades clash or shields shatter. A well-aimed swing of your sword or a well-timed raising of your shield makes every difference in the fights you face. You soon learn running away from foes that outnumber you to whittle them down is a much truer tactic than charging in with a war cry for dramatic effect. Your enemies aren’t meant to be your lesser in Skyrim like most RPG’s out there, they are meant to force you to finding new ways to out maneuver them while engaged in battle. Once again the ideal behind Skyrim’s atmosphere is also abundant in its combat; this isn’t a game that’s afraid to let you fail and figure things out the hard way, if anything it encourages it and lets you walk away with an adventure worth talking about.
For those of you who haven’t played Skyrim yet I strongly urge you try it for even if RPG’s aren’t what you look for in a game; adventure certainly is and that’s one thing Skyrim has in abundance. To date I’ve been a detective, dragon-slayer, vampire-hunter, a war hero, a grave robber, an emissary of demons & even an archaeologist but most of all I’ve been living my story. Now go make yours.