A fine game but not great

User Rating: 7 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition XONE

The first thing you notice about Skyrim is that it's a massive map that is gonna be fun to explore. The second thing you notice about Skyrim is that there isn't much to explore. The DLCs add a bit more locations to run around but there really isn't much in Skyrim. A bunch of basic caves and fetch quests that require you to explore locations you wouldn't even know were there. It can get rather boring.

And that brings up to the map itself. You are only allowed a basic marker and no means of how to get to the area, Which can take quite a bit of time to get to if you can't find a path to it. A form of navigation would have been a nice addition to save some time.

Now for the game itself, It looks fine for the most part. Still suffers from many noticeable glitches and bugs, It's crashed on me a few times. The most annoying is that the game will start a quest and then glitch and not let me finish, This doesn't happen to just one quest either and it's quite annoying. I am disappointed that quest related issues aren't fixed ASAP.

The gameplay is similar to Oblivion but a little bit more defined. I still think they can do a bit better but it's still fun to play. And what's cool is that you can play the game in many different styles (archer, mage, swordsmen, thief) to switch things up. And it's fun and addictive to play, I've already put in a good 30-40 hours and that's mostly because I have no issue just getting lost in the game thanks to the addictive gameplay.

Content-wise, It's pretty lacking. It doesn't take long to beat the DLC and the main game, That's even with splitting your time with side quests and exploring. There's yet to be an interesting storyline for me, Either in the main game or the DLC. Nothing really sticks out and missions are rather repetitive. I actually feel there's a lot of missed opportunities because being a vampire or a werewolf is nowhere near as fun as it could be. I feel like the entire Dawnguard DLC is the biggest disappointment of this whole game.

Overall: 7/10
Skyrim doesn't come off as a finished product. There are still many bugs despite numerous patches. I can't think of a single good story line. And a majority of the time you are walking around doing nothing, Just exploring areas that don't offer much for exploration. This game could and should have been a lot better than the score I am giving it.