The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - A Decade of Enduring Legacy

It's hard to believe that it's been ten years since The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released, marking a remarkable milestone in the world of gaming. As I sit down to reflect on this iconic game, I'm filled with nostalgia and a sense of wonder at how far it has come. With its numerous re-releases, revamped versions, and endless iterations, Skyrim has become a sort of urban legend in the gaming community, with each new iteration being met with a mix of excitement and skepticism.

As someone who has been making videos for over a decade, I've had the privilege of watching games that were brand new back then become old favorites. And what better game to reflect on than Skyrim, which was initially released in 2011? It's fascinating to think about how my perception of the game has changed over time, and how it continues to captivate audiences to this day.

The game's enduring popularity is a testament to Bethesda Game Studios' dedication to creating an immersive experience that draws players in. With its vast open world, intricate storyline, and richly detailed characters, Skyrim offers something for everyone. And let's not forget the game's infamous re-releases – who can forget the numerous times it was released on different platforms, with each iteration bringing new features and updates?

As I look back on my own video about The Elder Scrolls Arena, which I covered in 2011 to coincide with Skyrim's release, I'm struck by how quaint it feels compared to today's gaming landscape. Seeing that original DVD release again brings a sense of nostalgia, reminding me of the excitement and anticipation surrounding Skyrim's launch.

The game's evolution is a fascinating story in itself. Over the years, Bethesda has continued to support Skyrim with new content, updates, and re-releases, cementing its place as one of the most beloved games of all time. And it's clear that the game's developers have never lost sight of their vision – even after 15+ versions, Skyrim remains a modern classic that continues to captivate audiences.

For those who may be new to the world of gaming or simply looking for a refresher on one of the most iconic games of all time, I highly recommend revisiting Skyrim. Not only is it an incredible experience in its own right, but it's also a fascinating example of how a game can transcend time and remain relevant for years to come.

In fact, when considering the context of 2011, it's easy to see why Skyrim became such a phenomenon. The gaming landscape was (and still is) dominated by console gaming, with PC gaming often taking a backseat. But Bethesda's bold move to release Skyrim on multiple platforms – including PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 – helped bridge the gap between console and PC gamers.

Fallout 3, which had been released in 2008, was another huge hit for Bethesda, and it's clear that fans of Fallout were eager for a new experience from the same creators. When the teaser trailer for Skyrim was shown during the Spike Video Game Awards in 2010, I must have watched it a hundred times – yes, you read that right! That iconic viking choral soundtrack, combined with Max von Sydow's legendary line "Dragonborn," left an indelible mark on my psyche.

The gameplay trailer finally dropped, and I was hooked. Watching it over and over at work on my Samsung Galaxy S 4G (back in the day), I became completely absorbed in the world of Skyrim, eager to explore its vast landscape and uncover its secrets.

As we take a look back at Skyrim's remarkable journey, one thing is clear – this game has become an integral part of gaming history. And as we continue to celebrate its enduring legacy, it's worth remembering just how far it has come since its initial release in 2011.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enWell what the nuts, Skyrim’s been out for ten years? So that’s bizarre!I’ve now been doing LGR long enough that games that werebrand new early on in my videomaking career are now old enough for  a 10-year anniversary retrospective.Cool cool, time is irrelevant and we’re all gettin' old,so let’s take a look back at The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim! Developed by Bethesda Game Studios and  released by Bethesda Softworks in 2011. And 2013. And 2016. And 2017. And 2018. And 2021. Yeeeaaah,  after 15+ versions over the course of ten years, re-releasing Skyrim is an ongoing joke with no end  in sight. Heck I feel like I’m playing an unfunny joke on myself looking back on its release and  where I was back then. Especially when I look back at my old video about The Elder Scrolls Arena,  which I covered in 2011 to capitalize on Skyrim finally hitting store shelves. Heh, and seeing  that original DVD release again feels downright quaint at this point. The game’s been revamped,  repackaged, and resold so many times in so many different forms that sometimes it feels less  like a modern classic, and more like an undead draugr that just refuses to stay dead. But that’s  now. A decade ago, I didn’t know anyone who wasn’t losing their dang mind over Skyrim hype.  It had been five long years since the release of Oblivion, and in-between Bethesda had  another huge hit on their hands in 2008 with Fallout 3. And seeing as I enjoyed Fallout 3 more than I did Oblivion, I was all-in on whatever Bethesda released next. Which was revealed with a  teaser trailer shown during the Spike Video Game Awards in 2010. It barely showed anything beyond  the title, but that viking choral soundtrack and Max von Sydow exclaiming “Dragonborn”  was enough for me. Then once the gameplay trailer finally dropped, I must’ve watched it a hundred  times at work on my phone, a Samsung Galaxy S 4G back then. Heh, that and Harry Partridge’s  musical \"Skyrim Hype\" animations, which summed up my own excitement perfectly. I also used that  phone to snap a couple pics of the midnight launch at my local Best Buy on 11-11-11,  that marketer’s wet dream of a release date. Around two dozen folks were there to pick up  their pre-orders, with me being the only one I noticed getting it on PC. Everyone  else grabbed it on PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, the latter of which they had set up for people  in line to play games on while waiting for the clock to strike 12.After envying everyone ahead of me picking up theirgigantic dragon statue collector’s editions, I finally gotgot my DVD copy and sped back home. Snapped this shot of it next to its elder sibling at 12:43 AM,  began a play session that lasted for seriously three days straight. After which I emerged into  the daylight since I had to go to work, dazed and amused, and looking like I’d done too much skooma.  And with that, let’s jump right into The Elder Scrolls V and its bombastic menu theme.Ahh yeah, that viking-infused evolution of the Elder Scrolls theme, that choral energy is  infectious. From here you start a new game and yep, that’s the extent of that. No prerendered  movies or lore-heavy narrative to catch up on this time, you’re just dropped straight into the game  engine with one mighty meme-able intro sequence.“Hey, you. Finally awake.\"You were trying to cross the border, right?Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us. And that thief over there.So yeah it’s 200 years after the events of Oblivion, and you find yourself on a cart being  hauled off to your death somewhere in Skyrim, the northernmost province of the continent of Tamriel.  Stormcloaks and the Imperial Legion are at each other’s throats, a conflict which you the player  get slapped right into the middle of whether you like it or not. Finally you reach the Imperial  execution grounds and are about to lose your head, but not before you say who you are and spend far  too long creating your character. And yeah, Skyrim’s character creator isn’t as,  shall we say, “free spirited” as Oblivion’s. Whether that’s for better or worse depends on  the type of freakshow you enjoy playing. There are still plenty of cosmetic sliders, though Bethesda  clearly designed this with set limitations to keep faces in check so you don’t end up with  an abomination. There’s also no more picking your birth sign or classes in Skyrim, only your race,  sex, name, and general appearance. With the rest of your attributes being settled through gameplay.  And now that you’ve got your head fully customized just how you like it, it’s time to lop it off  and toss it in the trash.Or, that’s what was about to happen,up until the very last moment, when suddenly:-What in Oblivion is that?!-Sentries, what do you see?Sorry, this sequence isn’t exactly funny, I just keepexpecting Thomas the Tank Engine.Dunkey’s videos have ruined my brain.Anyway yeah, it’s not a train or Macho Man,it’s Alduin the World-Eater, and he’s a problem. Dragons haven’t been here in  ages, and someone should probably kill them or something. Before that though, you gotta survive  the attack and lose those shackles, accomplished by the game holding your hand for about 20 minutes  while it thoughtfully yet unskippably guides you through the opening tutorial area so you can learn  how to play the game. An established Elder Scrolls tradition at this point. After beating down a few  soldiers, snatching some armor and weapons, and making your way through a cavern infested with  spiders and bears? You’ll finally make your way out into the light of the open world,  with that classic Bethesda landscape reveal that lets up on the hand-holding and lets you know:  “you’re free.”What’s-his-face over there decides to part ways with you,but not before giving you your first quest. And with that, well, what’s next is entirely up to you.  The world of Skyrim is at your disposal, and while you do have a quest to fulfill,  clearly marked on the new 3D map screen, surveying the terrain via the map can be deceptive.  The world looks rather small and devoid of life zoomed out from above like this,  and I’d recommend ignoring it for a while and just go exploring. Wandering the landscape at random,  aimlessly touring its 15 virtual square miles of hilly terrain and medieval Scandinavian  architecture. See that snow-covered barrow? You can go inside. See that body of water? You can  swim there. See that mountain? You can climb it. It just works. Well, mostly. Skyrim was  chock full of bugs and glitches on release and that fact hasn’t changed even a decade later.  It’s gotten better and typically it’s nothing game-breaking, and honestly most are so minor  that they seem comical in a world where Fallout 76 and Cyberpunk 2077 exist.But y’know. It’s still rather distracting.That being said, Skyrim is a perfectly playable,  inoffensive Elder Scrolls experience thatI continually find engaging with every newly-made  character. It’s a lengthy role-playing adventure to immerse yourself in as much or as little as you  want, with all kinds of characters to meet, points of interest to discover, and creatures to admire  and/or kill at the pace you’re most comfortable with. For the way I like to play these games,  half the fun comes from general exploration, where I don’t have anything marked on the HUD and I’m  free of pesky distractions like stats screens and storylines. That stuff is still there  when I want it, but I’m also happy to spend an evening admiring the passing storms, with their  howling wind and rolling fog. And the familiar constellations and moons I’ve grown fond of in  previous Elder Scrolls games look better than ever. And the number of memorable new locations  to explore is great. Like Bleak Falls Barrow, the first dungeon many players end up down in  the depths of, Winterhold with its imposing school of mages and constant snowstorms, the Dwemer ruins  of Blackreach being an underground mushroom kingdom, the icy Hoth-like Bleakcoast Cave up  in the far north, the whole area northwest of Fort Greenwall with forests full of autumnal elegance,  the port city of Solitude with its natural bridge overlooking the sea, and of course the Greybeards’  sanctuary up at the highest point at the Throat of the World. These spots all stick out with  a vibrancy that few other games from the time still do to me, and revisiting it for this video  has been a pleasure. Even when getting tossed into orbit by mammoth-defending Frost Giants.As for the gameplay side of things, let’s start with combat, which has been overhauled in some  immediately apparent ways. Dual wielding is one of the largest additions, letting you mess around  with multiple maces, and swords and axes and things, simultaneously. Same goes with wielding  magic, with unique spells being able to be cast from each hand, or stronger spells if you equip  two of the same type. And of course, at long last Skyrim lets you mix and match magic spells  and physical weapons. No more having to choose one or the other, now you can finally role-play Zeus  crossed with Jack Torrance and toss lightning bolts while waving an axe at the same time.  Archery is also more fleshed out, feeling more solid and reliable than games past, and able to be  upgraded significantly with things like controlled breathing, zooming in, staggering effects,  and slowing down time. Like seriously, 95% of my first playthrough was via overpowered stealthy  archery, to the point where dealing out death on dudes from a distance was an absolute cinch.Hehe, those gratuitous kill cams and ragdoll physics. Seems like a good time to mention Skyrim  was built using the much-hyped Creation Engine, which despite all the hubbub at the time wasn’t  all entirely new. It’s just an offshoot of the old Gamebryo engine from Oblivion and Fallout 3,  which was itself based on NetImmerse, the engine used in Elder Scrolls games since 1997. So yeah,  there’s a lotta legacy jank lyin’ around. Though at least the animation is slightly less stiff.  Slightly.And the enhanced Havok tech it uses for real-time physics has some amusing sideeffects. Like dropping an item from your inventory is now affected by gravity, so you’ll have a show  on your hands once you finally realize you’re ready to let go of all your emotional cabbage.  Or if you see some crap you wanna steal and the shopkeeper won’t keep his eyes off you,  then just find the nearest bucket or cauldron and plop it on top of their head.  That way their line of sight is blocked, and the store is yours for the taking. Or hey, just pick  things up without adding them to your inventory, walk it over to somewhere they can’t see,  plop it down and bam. No one is the wiser. Perfectly balanced, as all gameplay should be.“I am sworn to carry your burdensssss.\"On the topic of burdens, dozens of follower NPCs exist for your Skyrimming satisfaction, acting as  a living storage closet for piles of pilfered property. As well as another set of hands in  sticky situations, helping as much as they can in combat with their own weapons, armor, and skills.  Though I always avoid followers with like, morals and stuff. I stab and steal way too much to have  some narc hangin’ around. Plus it gets awkward if they’re standing there judging me while I fumble  around lockpicking. Which I mean, yeah it’s fine, it’s similar to Fallout 3’s system and I still  prefer this over what Oblivion did. It’s just a tad clunky on PC since half the routine relies on  controller vibration, something the typical mouse and keyb don’t provide. Ah well, even  the worst followers are always good for a laugh when it comes to setting off traps. The doofuses.You can even develop underwhelming relationships with some of them, to the point of getting married  and settling down in one of five purchasable homes. Much like The Elder Scrolls IV, decor  options are a bore. Chat up a merchant and purchase sets of furniture and stuff to be  placed automatically, and that’s that. Bethesda did expand on homestead customization with the  Hearthfire DLC, though in the base game it’s basically pretty basic. But still worth doing  to have a convenient spot to regroup, recharge, and store your excess leafy vegetables. You  know what they say: home is where the cabbage is. Houses and the towns nearby are also where you’ll  spend countless hours upgrading and crafting weapons, armor, potions, and enchantments.  Getting rich in both gold and XP is only a million repeated mouse clicks away, with leather, ores,  flowers and the like able to be manipulated over and over, providing buttloads of experience  sellable loot. After all, “EVERYTHING'ss for sale, my friend! Everything!\"\"If I had a sister, I’d sell her in a second.”Yeah no matter how I set out to play a new character, I inevitablyend up role-playing an obsessive junk hoarder accumulating every last item of value I can find.  And when I'm not doing that, I'm creating the most overpowered things I can using  the enchanting system, making use of trapped souls to charge up otherwise normal items with  bonkers powers. And since spellmaking has been removed in Skyrim, this is how to get your fix  of creating OP magical nonsense. And there are plenty of skills available to help with all this,  accessed via the new spacey skill tree. Yeah this was a bit controversial to elder Elder Scrolls  fans. Each time you level up, you can upgrade one of three attributes: stamina, health, or magicka.  Then there are 18 skills to augment using perk points, earned on each level-up.  And they’ve been reduced and combined somewhat, so like, athletic and acrobatic skills are totally  gone. No more grinding those up by running and jumping everywhere, unless you just want to for  old time’s sake. Skills can also be boosted via perks, so instead of simply becoming better at  blocking the more you block, now you can unblock block perks to block with blockier blocks.  Yeah switching to perks is an interesting choice for The Elder Scrolls, and I don’t mind it so  much. What I do mind is how you select ‘em using these stars and constellations. It’s fun to look  at but it’s just cumbersome to go over everything, especially with a mouse and keyboard. Really the  UI in general remains one of my biggest complaints about Skyrim, it’s downright inefficient. Clearly  it’s been optimized for a gamepad, and -- okay fine. But even then I don’t understand why there’s  so little information shown at once and no easy way to find items. Like why can’t I sort by value,  damage, or weight? And why is there so much scrolling over on the left, with so much wasted  space on-screen? It’s also though to quickly see what’s what at a glance with all that gray text.  I highly recommend using a mod like SkyUI on PC, since it addresses nearly every one of these  complaints and makes inventory management more tolerable. Same with SkyComplete, which overhauls  the lackluster quest tracking system and enhances the menus with far more useful information about  tasks past and present. Especially useful since there are so many, many quests, jobs,  activities, and random weirdness on offer. Not to mention what they called “Radiant Stories,” which  are randomly-generated until the end of time for technically never-ending content. They’re largely  tedious “fetch and kill” quests, but still, value for money I guess. There’s also the return of the  Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood side quests, which always end up becoming the main quest for me  since I’m so partial to their particular shenanigans and the whole “why are these  dragons coming back to life and who is Dragonborn” main quest is kinda meh. Oh, and the Fighters and  Mages Guilds? Yeah they’re gone, having been more or less supplanted by The Companions  and the College of Winterhold, respectively. There’s something like 15 available factions to  join overall, but even if you abstain from guilds entirely, there’s no shortage of things to do.  I still find it highly engaging to delve into Skyrim’s caves, ruins, and fortresses,  especially with its more visually distinct assets being used. And honestly better design overall  compared to previous games. Elder Scrolls IV only had like one dude designing dungeons, but here  they had eight, and it’s at least eight times more enjoyable. They’re filled with traps, treasures,  puzzles, and mechanisms, and while they can get overwhelmingly huge, they’re often built so that  the player isn’t backtracking forever when they’re done. More often than not there’s a secondary  exit, or a hidden door, letting you quickly return to the main map when you’re finished. You’re also  a bit more free to tackle quests received at wildly different parts of the campaign  in more or less any order you wish, since enemy difficulty has been rebalanced. Level  scaling for AI was infamously outta whack in Oblivion, but it’s more tolerable here.  Specific map areas have enemies spawn at minimum and maximum levels now, and while enemies do still  scale with the player’s level, they now plateau after a certain point. So you won’t be getting  killed at level 50 by random wolves, or seeing god-tier bandits with rare glass armor anymore.  Another general upgrade is the increased number of voice actors, so talking to hundreds of NPCs  can still get repetitious with the voices, but it isn’t quite as painful as before.“I used to be an adventurer like you,then I took an arrow in the knee.”A couple are even voiced by late great Hollywood actors,  like the aforementioned Max von Sydow and the superb Christopher Plummer.“You stand in High Hrothgar, on theslopes of Kynareth’s sacred mountain.”“Here we commune with the voice of the sky, and strive to achieve balance between our inner and outer selves.”Even Mario himself, Charles Martinet,  jumped in on the fun, giving vocal life to the ancient dragon, Paarthurnax.\"What is better - to be born good, or toovercome your evil nature through great effort?\"And whether you’re conversing with dragons, daedra, or dorks downtown,  speech is overall simpler without Oblivion’s persuasion minigame. It’s now back to normal text,  with responses occasionally having a speech skill check for stuff like Intimidate, Persuade,  Bribe, Mock and so on. And of course you’ve got shouting, that’s kind of a  big deal. Being Dragonborn, the player has the inherent ability of performing Dragon Shouts.  These work like traditional once-a-day powers, but recharge more rapidly, with  dragon words like “Fus Ro Dah” or “Unrelenting Force” being the headliner.“Fus... Ro Dah!”That never gets old, it’s like kicking with your mouth. And yeah, there are many more Words of  Power to learn, found by tracking down Word Walls. So you get things like causing fear, becoming  ethereal, changing the weather, blowing ice and fire, dashing forward rapidly. Even the ability to  call down a dragon friend to help during outdoor events. Yeah man, these shouts are where it’s at.  Though you can’t actually use ‘em until you capture enough dragon souls, accomplished by  one of the other main attractions: random dragon encounters. Ohh man, this was exciting to see  after so many years of dragons being mentioned in The Elder Scrolls but never actually seeing them.  Every so often you’ll hear a threatening roar or see an ominous shadow from overhead,  which means it’s time to gear up and prepare to fight. There are multiple types of resurrected  dragons, each with their own physical appearance and specific powers. So learning how to fight  each one with the proper weapons and kills is quite satisfying. Once you take one down,  the dragon’s soul is absorbed and they return to a pile of bones. Which can be crafted into a  lovely set of armor and weapons by the way. 10 outta 10, would kill endangered species again.And that’s about it for Skyrim! In the most arbitrary cutoff kinda way, cuz y’all know this  is by no means it for Skyrim. Naturally there’s all the official DLC, like the HD texture packs,  Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn DLC expansions. That last one being particularly  notable to me since it added certain parts of Morrowind’s map to Skyrim, and I’m a sucker  for that crap. But arguably, the biggest thing one could talk about with Skyrim is the modding scene,  as it is unthinkably vast. Whether you’re downloading through the Nexus, Steam Workshop, or  Bethesda’s stuff built into the console versions, Skyrim modding is practically a sport on its own.  Everything from fully custom characters and weapons, new quest lines and graphical overhauls,  to total conversions and exploding chickens. If you can think it up, chances are it’s been done  or it can be done, thanks to its moddability and Creation Kit software. Skyrim is perhaps the one  game that has never needed any kind of updates or re-releases at all, the modders fixed it all ages  ago. Not that THAT stopping Bethesda/Microsoft from reissuing the dookie out of it, seemingly  every year. The latest being the 2021 Anniversary Edition which adds, uh. A buncha paid mods? And  like, some fan-service quests relating to Morrowind and Oblivion, available for $50,  or a $20 upgrade. Ehh. I think I’m fine with the other 4,300 releases I have already. Or maybe  I’ll just grab the tabletop game. I dunno if it’s any good but those miniatures look neat. Whatever  man, Skyrim! It’s one heckuva game and I really enjoyed my time revisiting it a decade later.  And despite the ever-present rabble from certain Elder Scrolls fans saying it was dumbed-down to  the point of stupidity, or saying “ it’s a mile wide but an inch deep?” Yeah I get where they’re  coming from, though I still find that a hyperbolic take. Like sure, my favorite in the series  is Morrowind as well, and it’s no doubt more streamlined for consoles than even Oblivion was.  But Skyrim is one where its open-ended, systemic benefits outweigh the cons in the ways that count,  at least to me when I’m in the mood for some laid-back fantasy fun from 2011.  And when I want more I grab a mod, or two or 10, and I’m good til The Elder Scrolls 6.Which I’m sure will happen aaaany day now. Right? Definitely before I’m 40. Right?  Right guys?Hello? Bethesda? Todd? Randy Savage? Anybody?And if you dug this Elder Scrolls retrospective then check out my coverage of all the previous  games! Or stick around, there are always more LGR Things in the works for your viewing pleasure.  And as always, thanks for watching!\n"