The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is one of the greatest games ever made: period. And I can back this up with facts.
With 30 million units sold worldwide (multi-platform) since release, it makes it into the Top 20 best-selling games of all time. This paired with shining reviews from IGN (9.5/{localLink:umb://document/496ccf99ea704fc1a6255b3f31ccc0c6}10) and Wired (10/{localLink:umb://document/496ccf99ea704fc1a6255b3f31ccc0c6}10) amongst others, almost makes up for the myriad of technical issues that plagued the game on release. Let’s be honest though, the glitches are funny, merely a minor inconvenience, and only add to the quintessential “Skyrimness” of the title.
The open-world role-playing game (RPG) Skyrim regularly makes it into online “lists of the greatest games of all time” – as it should.
I still play Skyrim to this day. On PC, on console, on VR, on Nintendo Switch, on my Samsung Smart Fridge (that last one isn’t real… yet) but even though I will defend the Dragonborn until the day I ascend through the gates of Sovngarde - enough is enough. I need more. Namely - Skyrim 2 (or The Elder Scrolls VI: Redfall as it is reportedly titled).
If you love Skyrim so much, why don’t you marry it?
Sorry, my heart belongs to Serana. But, for real, what’s so great about Skyrim? Is it the rolling breath-taking landscapes, the immersive heart-stopping quests, or the ever-present fear that you might kill a chicken by accident? It’s all that and more.
Skyrim allows you to enter a mystical world, inhabited by lizard-people, wizards, and even evil Orphanage owners, and become the ultimate hero; The Dragonborn. Obviously, the main quest (spoiler alert?) is to follow your destiny and birthright to defeat the god-tier dragon Alduin and save the world.
At the same time, it falls to you, a random person who appeared out of thin air and almost ended up headless in Helgen, to negotiate on behalf of Tamriel in the middle of an all-out war between the rebel Stormcloaks and the Imperials. Phew, I just came here to have a good time and do some enchanting, and I’m feeling very attacked right now.
The pressure is on you as the protagonist, but the best part is – you don’t even HAVE to do it. You can swan around completing side quests if you so wish; go drinking and end up engaged, plant a magic tree, find some Crimson Nirnroot (fun!), kill Nazeem for disrespecting you for the last time (tell me ONE MORE TIME about the Cloud District, I dare you), go crazy!
The vast lore that encapsulates all of Skyrim (and the Elder Scrolls titles at large) is so deep it needs a rebreather. Understanding all of the complicated aspects of the politics, economy and religions of Skyrim takes years (and several hundred hours of YouTube video watching) before you even scratch the surface.
Now, I don’t want to rain on the parade of those Morrowind and Oblivion stans – they’re good games, but they’re a product of their time. The storytelling and graphics of Skyrim, couldn’t have been achieved in the times that came before. To be honest, ES:V itself is lagging behind newer titles due to those same reasons…
Thank Talos For The Mod Community
The mod community holds Skyrim together by the skin of its teeth by keeping it playable, whether that’s new texture packs, weather mods, or even new quests. And of course, the Marriable Serana mod (thank you). Because modders are helping the game keep up with the latest graphics trends, despite the game being nine years old, it keeps from starting to look ugly and stale, and continues to pull players back into its addictive grip.
No word of a lie, without mods keeping Skyrim looking fresh, I may have stopped playing a few years ago. But the fact that I can easily apply a few mods to make the game more responsive and prettier, is invaluable.
So, where is it?
Let’s get down to brass tacks here. Todd Howard, where is Elder Scrolls VI? Howard has been involved in the production, design and direction of The Elder Scrolls series since 1996, and was the director of Skyrim, so I think it’s fair to direct this question at Toddy Boy himself. So far, Elder Scrolls fans have been left chomping at the bit after only being fed nibbles of info about ES6 over the past few years, and I think I have a few ideas as to why so little information is out there.
What we know about The Elder Scrolls VI is scarce, even the name is still a mystery, with phrases like “Valenwood” and “Redfall” being thrown around on forums due to the few pieces of the puzzle we have.
It’s been over two years since the “official trailer” for Elder Scrolls VI was released and described as “currently in pre-production at Bethesda Game Studios”.
