Hello my people and welcome to todays blog. Our special topic for today is a video game called Skyrim. Whether or not you know much about video games after this you will know that Skyrim is -by far- the best open world video game out there. Let’s get started.

First off we should get started by talking some about the background of the game itself. Skyrim the world of Tamriel, like many games, started off with an idea. This idea was to create an open world game that could seem like role playing. The game itself was placed “200 years after Oblivion” the previous game that was developed (Gamefaqs, 2011). The idea of Skyrim came from a man named Todd Howard. He was the man in charge of developing this game along with all the ideas that came along with it. Howard is now the head director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios. The game itself was released on November 11th, 2011 but that doesn’t mean Howard didn’t already have the game for himself. Apparently, this idea had been held by him for 10 years before it was fully released to the public.

One thing that any good open world game has is a good storyline. This could be anywhere from Link trying to save Zelda to a complex storyline that requires you to remember everything. Lucky for us Skyrim is neither simple nor complex. This game was able to get the perfect blend between the two different forms of storylines.

That is what brings us to one of the first reasons Skyrim is the best and that’s its storyline. The beginning of the game you start off in a cart being carried to a town called Helgen. Where you seem to be meeting your fate for getting caught in cross fire between two army’s. While you are in the cart you begin to figure out what a Dragonborn is. A Dragonborn is someone who can absorb the power of the dragon and turn it into a powerful shout that they can use against their enemies.

Once you are at Helgen you realize you are going to die then out of nowhere a dragon, Alduin, swoops down and causes the world to quake. This makes people fall over and run for their lives and helps you escape. The opening could literally not be any cooler and you learn so much during this that you want to keep playing. This main storyline is that of the Dragonborn, aka the player, and it ends with you killing the very dragon that saved you in the very beginning.

As we continue to look at reasons why Skyrim is the best you may start to wonder “Hey, what happens once you finish the main storyline. Surely it can’t be over yet.” And boy do I have news for you, it’s not, not even close.

The next best thing about this game that makes it so awesome is the amount of quests this game has to offer. In total the “game has over 250 quests” that you can accomplish some of which are side storylines that keep you wanting more (Callum Archer, 2022). Some of my favorite side quests are the Thieves Guild quests and the Dark Brotherhood quests. For me those two are defiantly the two more fun ones in the game. But of course, there are many, many more to choose from while playing your game to enhance your characters skills more.

The amount of hours it would take to finish the main quest would be “32 hours.” Though some hard core players might play every single quest in the game could take “up to 232 hours” in real life to complete it. That is relative to over 9 days worth of Skyrim playing (Ziff Davis, 2011)

While playing remember you can choose any side quests you want, if certain violent quests are not one of the ones you want to do, that is okay. Some people may disagree with the idea of you killing people for bounty because it may seem violent and bad. So just remember you have over 200 more to choose from.

That might not be the only downside to the game either there have been people that said this game was ”to violent” and “mature” for their tastes (Wesley Yin-Poole, 2011).Then if that is the case then you can choose to have a none killing life on Skyrim. You could do this by traveling the map as a hunter or taking care of dragons that bother towns either way you get to see the world called Tamriel.

Another thing that makes this game so great is all the landscapes and graphic design in it. All the way from the prairie where you may choose to hunt all the way to high snowy mountains. The amount of views you have in this game are incredible. There is so much to this game that you could explore and you might even get lost in it. One thing I like to do when playing the game is finding a place where the sun is beginning to set and watch how the world changes from day to night.

Not only is there a lot of scenery to explore and look at there are towns too. All of them being unique in their own way and all of them withholding some kind of beauty. There are over 300 different places to see in the game and all have different uses. Being able to travel freely and see what you want to see it amazing. It is a freeing experience and all the beauty of it could make you play for hours on end.

Some people may question just how easy the game is though and that honestly depends on the person that places along with the in game skills you develop. Like I said before there are many different ways you can choose to play this game from a “Murdering thief” to a “Peaceful Hunter” all of which are equally good in the game. That is because it is open world and nobody really cares how you play your game as long as you are having fun.

That brings us to the last topic I will be talking about this game. Not that there aren’t many more that I would choose from this is just to make it more simple. That being how the game is perfect for anyone.

The last thing, for now, that makes the game so enjoyable is how user friendly it is. Anyone could pick up a remote or mouse and figure out how to play the game and have a good time while doing so. “There are 9 different platforms” you could choose to play Skyrim on (Alex Maria, 2022). This goes to show that if you are comfortable playing on one platform the possibility of it being on that one is high. So this could help you understand it better. The ability to play it on your favorite platform.

I typically use the Nintendo Switch to play my Skyrim. That is because it is also portable and it is cool to travel with Skyrim. Though the platform isn’t the only reason it is user friendly. While you are going through the beginning of the main story line it shows you all the buttons and which ones to use in the very beginning. Along with all the buttons you will use throughout the entire game. This aspect of it makes it easy to play and follow.

Not only can you choose the platform and understand how it’s played you get to customize your character and your game. You get the choice between different races as well as gender in this and customize the exact way your character looks. This part of the game always takes a long time for me because I like making a cool character and then give them the perfect name. That whole process could take me 30 minutes, at least, to accomplish.

Along with the in game play. No 2 games of Skyrim are the same. There are so many different ways to go about playing that it will be unique to you. Just because there are many different skills you can develop and all the different quests you could do. Making it difficult to play the game exactly the same each time.

So after hearing about the video game Skyrim what is your take on it? Would you give it a try or would you leave it to mystery? I didn’t expect to like this game but I ended up loving it and maybe if you choose to play you will love it just as much as me. Then perhaps you too will believe and say that Skyrim is -by far- the best game in the world.

Works Cited:

Archer, Callum. “Skyrim: 19 Best Side Quests Most Players Have Never Seen (& Where to Find Them).” GameRant, 19 Jan. 2022, gamerant.com/skyrim-best-side-quests-where-find.

Davis, Ziff. “How Long Is the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim?” | HowLongToBeat. howlongtobeat.com/game/9859. Accessed 29 Oct. 2022.

Maria, Alex. Every Console Skyrim Has Released On. 6 Oct. 2022, screenrant.com/skyrim-release-how-many-consoles-times-what-when.

Yin-Poole, Wesley. “Skyrim Gets Mature Rating in the US.” Eurogamer.net, 22 Oct. 2011, http://www.eurogamer.net/skyrim-gets-mature-rating-in-the-us.

“A Brief History of the Fourth Era (Skyrim Background Info + Maps).” The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, 18 Nov. 2011, gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/615805-the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/61031114.