It’s been a decade since one of the most highly regarded Elder Scrolls games was released, and Bethesda is celebrating by releasing yet another iteration of Skyrim, Skyrim Anniversary Edition. This will make 15 versions of Skyrim total to be released since 2011. While this latest version is essentially an upgrade of the Special Edition, a remaster with all expansions included from 2016, with content from the Creators Club for new consoles, is it really worth it in 2021? Over the last ten years, a lot has changed in gaming, and Skyrim hasn’t evolved with the times.
When Skyrim first released, it quickly became one of the best RPGs of its time. There weren’t many new RPGs with worlds quite as open to exploration as Skyrim, with games like Dragon Age II or Fable III being very linear and closely following the story. It was freeing to have a sandbox-style RPG where you could follow the story, explore a vast world and build your own character, all wrapped up in a new Elder Scrolls game. However, this playstyle isn’t really innovative anymore, and not much has changed in the game with each re-release.
Gaming has evolved over the last several years, and Skyrim is simply no longer special compared to modern RPGs or even action and survival games. There have been innovations not just in world-building but in mechanics too. Survival games and MMOs use similar systems to the Elder Scrolls leveling system; using a skill like magic, blacksmithing or even thievery makes a character better at it. Nearly all RPGs also let players make their own choices when it comes to the main story, side quests, other characters and multiple endings.
Since then, the action gameplay has also been refined in many triple-A games, making Skyrim’s seem a bit clunky and more like that of indie action RPGs. For example, Outward is an open-world RPG where you choose your own path, build your character and explore the world with a focus on magic that plays a lot like Skyrim. Horizon Zero Dawn follows a specific character, but she gets to explore the world and decide which direction to take in combat style, like Skyrim. It’s a common formula now. Skyrim doesn’t really stand out in that arena anymore.
While the story is part of the larger Elder Scrolls lore, which has years of world-building, other games emerge with their own rich content and modern gameplay. The most notable game to do this has been The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. It had a lot of ambiguity in its choices and many outcomes for different parts of the game, not just the ending. The world was massive, alive and full of lore based on a popular Polish book series of the same name and two other games which came before it. While it didn’t sell as many copies as Skyrim during its initial release, it has caught up and is widely regarded as one of the best RPGs out there.
Despite this, Bethesda continues to produce more and more versions and remasters of the same game without bringing anything new to the table. Its initial sales are often pointed to as its popularity and reason for it being repackaged; however, there isn’t much information on more recent numbers, and sales aren’t what makes a game great. It might be time to retire this particular Elder Scrolls game and focus more on future titles with modern gameplay, like the next game in the Elder Scrolls series or Starfield.
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