No Arrows To The Knee, Please.

Normally I don’t give Bethesda much praise because I find their games icky, particularly in the combat department. It’s incredibly difficult for me to stop playing Dark Souls II and talk about a game from 3 years ago that everyone already likes, especially when the transition of swordplay is like going from a European super car to a shopping cart trolly with a broken front wheel.

But if I could describe Skyrim in one sentence it would be this; it’s an RPG where a bunch of stuff happens.  However if I were to leave it at that I’d be doing it a great disservice, because what it has been able to accomplish is quite a bit, and I don’t think anyone in his or her right mind can deny that it’s an impressive technical feat, at the very least. The sheer volume of the game is staggering, and the fact that I had found myself quite indulged in the cruel landscape and unfolding events can only further prove the game’s merit. You stop seeing things as goals and objectives, and start seeing them as adventures. Capturing the child-like wonder and curiosity that’s dormant within all of us and managing to keep it alive for hundreds of hours on end is a truly amazing quality that it has, and is something that other RPGs probably only dream of having.

To make it simple, you are the Dragonborn, slayer of dragons and the country’s key to peace, since they’re causing a bit of a ruckus. There’s also a civil war going on, buuut that tends to be something that gives way to, say, everything else, which is infinitely more interesting and promises great reward. And guess what? If you see that your objective marker lies halfway across the map, nothing is to stop you from going in the exact opposite direction and explore to your heart’s content. Since the game is so huge, there are so many quests, events, items, and oddities that you’ll acquire and experience no matter where your journey may take you. Whether you’re raiding bandit hideouts, exploring abandoned forts and caves, fighting dragons, trading with a passerby, or hunting wildlife; Skyrim always has something to keep you occupied, and to keep you looking for more.  Everything about the experience is completely organic as well, so a hike from one town to the next can, and usually is, an escapade filled with laughs and surrealism. I remember one time I was walking along a river and found a hut, where a huntress told me about her state of affairs. A few minutes later, I see her upstream, and a bear mauled the poor lady. I didn’t even catch her name, bless her soul.

Of course this being an RPG, there is plenty of variety to suit any kind of play style. You can play as an assassin to a thief, a mage to a warrior, and anything found in between, thanks to many different skill trees that the game provides for you.  However, due to the nature and vastness of Skyrim, you’ll reach a point where you realize that your endeavors to upgrade certain skills were all for naught. I just certainly hope you didn’t put much effort into lock picking, hah.

Despite what Skyrim has created – a beautiful, vast open world for you to explore – the magnitude of it is its ultimate downfall. Not only is a game this big incredibly hard to balance, many aspects of it are horridly broken.

So expect to experience many bugs, glitches and crashes, while also finding plenty of game-breaking exploits. Just through messing around, I had figured out multiple ways to get my sneak skill to level 100 in less than 15 minutes. Enchanting and Smithing are also skills that are ridiculously easy to reach legendary status, and frankly the fault lies within the game’s design; leveling up is not determined by gathering any form of experience points, no sir. You simply level up a skill the more you use it. Want to become a master blacksmith? Iron daggers. A lot of them. Want to get that armor skill to 100? Well, you’re going to have to be patient since it only increases with every hit you withstand.

So yes, the game is far from perfect. Sometimes during a quest, you’ll see that the dragon you slain just disappeared, by clipping right through the ground. Sometimes, you will even clip through the ground, forcing you load your last save. And depending on whether you play in third or first person, these unusual glitches will strike nerves a bit harder. Imagine going through the effort to free a prisoner, only to see him walk through the wall right before your very eyes after you bid farewell. It's the kind of thing that is immersion breaking and positively maddening all at the same time, and I can guarantee that is not the first or last time something of such nature will happen to you. Sometimes, a quest will be impossible to complete altogether because of various bugs that will have you browsing the internet to fix.

In the end however, you forgive Skyrim. For it is greatly ambitious, well varied, good to look at, and has a very, very big heart.