Well put Rick that is how I feel if I want a chill session I listen to podcasts while forging, making potions and exploring. If I feel like something more in depth I complete one of the questlines
I use Skyrim as a vacation spot, I can put my worries, work, and stress in hold, slip away to Skyrim and pick alchemy ingredients, fool around with making armor, wander the hills with my companion, explore a few caves, collect some loot… and sleep soundly that night because I gave myself a break. Skyrim is like nothing else.
@@caleb.a.robinson i have enjoyed a decade of this game or 10,000 hours of Skyrim according to steam, i hope to enjoy Skyblivion as much as i loved playing Skyrim. supposedly it comes out this year of 2025.
I do the same thing when winter comes around. More downtime/lazy weekends to stay in and play games, the weather matches that in Skyrim, just overall something about the season makes me boot the game back up, without fail.
Fall through early spring is usually when I play Skyrim. I live in Georgia and it’s hot Af in the summer and I can’t immerse myself in the game when it’s that hot in real life lol.
I've played hundreds of hours of Skyrim. There were moments, just wandering around in the wilderness, letting Jeremy Soule's music wash over me, that I realized were just plain therapeutic. I could jump into this world, even for just an hour, and it was a total meditation, an escape from the real world. Magnificent!
yeah i have done a bit of that, these days however it makes me fall asleep, but so does FO4's music score, i like them both, but they both make me fall asleep while i play, but when skyrim was new to me, man i played late into the night and morning of playing that game, it kept me awake for years, but eventually it started to make me sleep. these days i have to have some interesting podcast in my ears to keep that from happening.
@@puresnowball965 yeah, steam says i have 10,000 hours in this game for skyrim LE, and about 500 in SE, but it's not counting the hours i had on xbox 360 for the first 3 years before i got my first PC. now with this said, i have taken a break from the game playin FO4 for the last 3 years, but skyrim calls me back all the time.
Reflection is key. 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨ "Before I start, I must see my end. Destination known, my mind's journey now begins. Upon my chariot, heart and soul's fate revealed. In time, all points converge; hope's strength resteeled. But to earn final peace at the universe's endless refrain, we must see all in nothingness... before we start again." 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨ --Diamond Dragons (series)
I did this but with the DLC quests for a long time. Now I've just come to accept that even though I've done almost everything, it's still worth coming back to.
@@caleb.a.robinsonThat’s the true beauty of it. You beat the main quests and then still find yourself in the game 100 hours later. I beat the main quest at level 16 on my first play through 😅. But I used that same save for years.
same, iv only completed the main quest once and that was over 10 years ago and I have 800 hours on skyrim 200 on special edition, 500 on creation kit and 300 on special edition creation kit
My favorite thing is that you don't have to "play Skyrim" - you can play anything you want, and play it IN Skyrim. Create your own exploits or scenarios, role play anything you can imagine. Hero or villain, noble or commoner, renowned or unknown, it doesn't matter - there is space in this game for all of it (especially with some of the amazing mods that people have created over the years. Thank you modding community!) This is what makes Skyrim the perfect open world imo. Imagine trying to play Witcher 3 as a farmer or trader 😀 Thank you for another great video essay. Time for me to open up the game!!
@@pinkleWeenkies I agree, Skyrim is a lot more "sandbox" than most fantasy games but the dialogue system isn't that great for rp. But it's never bugged me, the world is just that good!
I have an entire family I'll roleplay aside from other characters; the 'main' playthrough is altmer-dunmer Dragonborn, then there's his altmer-dunmer sister and two half-sisters(full dunmer and full altmer), his dunmer father, his dunmer niece, his niece's nord wife, maybe another I'm forgetting about? He's Dragonborn who did the Dawnguard and civil war and Miraak quest, he married Kaidan and Eamon(modded followers). Everyone else-a mercenary who married Teldryn Sero, vampire Archmage of Winterhold who marries Jenassa, vampire Listener who hooks up with whomever(never decided), dad is a retired alchemist-restoration healer who goes around Skyrim wielding Dawnbreaker to deal with undead threats and marries Ondolemar and Ghorbash, niece becomes Thief Guildmaster who marries another thief(the nord woman)... I could go on. I could talk about them for hours. There's so much history and detail and things and gods I just love Skyrim and I love my characters and that's just the /family/ of characters and not the several others who aren't connected to anyone else.
That was my issue with the Witcher 3. You can’t roleplay as you choose. We’re forced to rolepay as Geralt, a swordsman that uses a crossbow as a secondary weapon and a few selected spells. To me Skyrim is the real definition of an RPG. The freedom it provides is the main part of it, that and its overall ambiance.
i had a moment of this watching mxr look at swamp fungal pod outside abandoned shack, and muse: 'i wonder what that is, must be added by some mod...' xD
One of my favorite mods was the one that created a backpack/camping system. Its really nice having to find eat sleep and stay warm, plus finding a camp sight makes you look at the world in a whole new light. Relaxing by the fire, reading a lore book until the stars fade away. Its cozy.
Sometimes videos pop up in my subscriptions and i have no idea who the uploader is. These are usually the best, because they were made by someone that hooked me with one or two amazing videos and then went quiet. Then they drop another banger out of nowhere. That's you buddy. Thank you
Sometimes I have no damn clue who it is uploading but the algorithm says 'hey, you might like this' and when it's about skyrim, I click. Dude nailed it in this video.
12:03 just reminding everyone of the greatest track, “Forgotten vale”. Shame Jeremy won’t make the ES6 soundtrack. Skyrim is one of those games that’s more of a captivating experience than just a game. While simple on a lot of fronts, it’s incredibly rich on others. This did a great job of getting across that unique and wondrous adventure we’ve all had while playing it. Honestly it feels like home. I always get a nice feeling seeing the things I’ve seen for years, and feel comfortable and doing whatever I feel like pursuing, even if incredibly unserious, like turning a bandit camp into sweet rolls with the wabbajack. Can always come back and probably always will. Great work 👏
I once played every japanese rpg out there.. and then i found skyrim around four years ago.. its quite hard for a JRPG gamers to dwelve into skyrim since the quest system and other things really different.. About one years ago i give skyrim another go.. and using my true gamers instict mode on.. i finally find the flow of skyrim and can actually enjoy it ever since.. I found my self in a world i never felt so immersive and full choice.. just like a real life.. Im still playing skyrim atm, and will be playing it, for the rest of my life..
Thank you Caleb, for bringing me home. It's like watching one of my own playthroughs, even having Erik the Slayer accompany us because we can't help but empathize with his dream of being an adventurer.
I'm currently reexploring Skyrim since it was released. Back then I was 18, now I'm 31. Such a beautiful world. With the now available mods this game becomes like an infinite journey. I'm so excited for the Beyond Skyrim projects.
I was streaming Skyrim tonight, as I have done for years, and a viewer asked me what keeps bringing me back to Skyrim again and again after all this time. The gist of my answer was the thesis of this video, and what a coincidence it is that I should stumble across it tonight. I love Skyrim the Game, but even more, I love Skyrim the Place. I've only watched the first 5 minutes so far, but your poetic descriptions of landmarks throughout Skyrim are already making me misty-eyed. Looking forward to watching the rest!
That was almost the title of the video: "We Love Skyrim the Place more than Skyrim the Game" or something along those lines. It's a wonderful world to be in. I'm glad you're enjoying the video!
“Just being in Skyrim is enough” This is so true. I did not start playing Skyrim until late 2019 on my switch! , then on the PC. After completing most of the game I have sunk in many hours often just walking aimlessly around chilling. It’s one of a kind. No matter we’re you are or what’s going off in your life you can always jump in and find your way. I Just love this game 😊
13 years later, no other game has ever come close to it for me. It's one of those rare moments in our short lives where you remember the first time you saw something or in this case, played it. I still remember the first time when i played Skyrim on my Cousin's Notebook vividly as if it was Yesterday and since that moment, Skyrim never left my heart. It is hard to describe how much impact Skyrim expecificaly had in my life. Not only the feeling of nostalgia, for simpler times, but a gateway feeling, the Inner peace that it gave me in moments of hardships. To this day, Skyrim Soundtrack is my go to music peace. And i play it every year during winter (or at least use to before i had too much IRL responsibilities) but I still listen to those 3 or 10 hours Skyrim ambience / daily.
I haven't been playing Skyrim for long. Heck, I haven't played any videogames before my boyfriend convinced me to try it during the pandemic, because we had nothing better to do. I was generally really sceptical about video games but he was convinced I'd enjoy Skyrim. And even though I've only done 2 "playthroughs" and have played a few other big titles since, it gives me this feeling of "coming home". At some point I mostly stopped fast traveling, just to walk around and look at the beautiful landscapes, combined with the amazing soundtrack.
Man, this video made me tear up a few times. It encapsulates perfectly why I love this damn game so much! I am almost 28, and I've been playing Skyrim since I was 14 - literally for the half of my life. When I hear the 'Bannered Mare' theme in Whiterun, or walk through the peaceful night with 'Secunda' playing in the background, my heart swells with longing for something distant, something... else, something I never had. People might dislike this game, some say nasty things about it, but for me... there is a reason why Skyrim stands, to this day, as one of my most favorite games of all times, and I don't see it leaving its position any time soon, if ever. Thank you for making this wonderful video!
I don't know why, but at 11:46 when it pans to the gildergreen with the city of whiterun playing in the background. He encompasses the feeling so well. I straight up got teary eyed. This is more than just a video game. It's almost like an entirely separate reality away from our own.
I'm pretty sure it was Alvor and Sigrid's house in Riverwood where I sat at a table to eat, one of the first times I ever played, where I felt true immersion. I felt a deep powerful sense that everyone at the table around me weren't NPCs, but real people, and I wasn't an untouchable main character with quicksave, but just one of the thousands in Skyrim just trying to live their life and get by. Profound.
For years I have worked on realising High Rock in Skyrim with Beyond Skyrim. They completely reset the heightmap at some point, so that world was lost, but I still have it. Nowadays when I play Skyrim I love to wander around from the bay of Normar up to the city of Northpoint and head down via Camlorn and Daggerfall all the way to Tulune, looking out at Betony and Sentinel at the other side of the Iliac bay off in the distance.
What an amazing and well articulated love letter to Skyrim. My brother was a big fan of the Elder Scrolls games, he died a few months before Skyrim was released. I ended up inheriting his gaming computer and I bought Skyrim when it came out to see what he liked so much about Elder Scrolls and became an immediate fan. Every-time I play it, it reminds me of him, even when I just hear the music, even now, 13 years later. He would have loved it 😊
When people want to share their love and appreciation of Skyrim and her people I'm there faster than a summoned arrow to the knee, i already know this is my kind of content.
Skyrim is uniquely timeless to me because of the enchanting escapism element. We live in an unfair, mundane world where our lives can get very stressful, stagnant, and saddening sometimes, and oftentimes we feel powerless to change our circumstances despite our best efforts, struggling to stay afloat and avoid sinking into depression. Each time I escape into the fantasy world of Skyrim, where I get to become a powerful person and get to experience wonderful things, all while listening to the soul-soothing music, I feel truly freed from my demons of stress, anxiety, and depression that almost always plague me otherwise. When I am in Skyrim, all my worldly worries just wither away as I wander the peaceful forests and mountains while From Past to Present plays, or watch the stars and auroras glow at night while Secunda plays, or walk around warm old Whiterun while The Streets of Whiterun plays. I was 16 when Skyrim released, now I am 29, and Skyrim to me has evolved from being my favorite action-adventure game I played as a carefree teenager into becoming a precious escapism mechanism now as a man with adult problems and challenges.
music is such an underrated aspect of games, its SO important, and while not the entire game, if you dont have good music or music at all, your game will probably not be as good, even if it has amazing gameplay…skyrim nailed it with the music, it really did, the music is like 33% of the game for me tbh
It definitely helps. All of the music is great, and there are still plenty of nights when I'm sleeping that I run the ten-hour loops of the ambient music that people uploaded on RUclips. But I remember listening to the main theme the first time I played Skyrim and I knew I was in for something extra-special. The rest of the game, even the vanilla version on my PS3, didn't disappoint. I love running around at night when the aurora borealis effect is happening or whenever it's misty and raining. Skyrim is my Tahiti - it's a magical place.
I think I've figured out at least for myself is that I essentially want a Fantasy GTA world taking itself a bit more seriously. Any game that does that in any compacity is what I want and Skyrim does it pretty good for now.
The smoke is crazy!! I was just geeking the other day by a fire out in the middle of nowhere…it was smoking, but also making the wavy distorted vision that heat waves make in real life. It’s honestly nuts!!
It's very refreshing to hear someone on this platform talking about things they love, not things they hate, and in such a calm and considered way. I think we all knew Skyrim was special when we played it for the first time on 11/11/11. There's been many good games since, but I fear no other game will touch that feeling again.
This video perfectly captures why I keep coming back to Skyrim. I've made countless characters after I've gotten bored of a certain playing style and I'll not play the game for a few months, but something has always drawn me back, and now I know what it is.
Skyrim is simply amazing, not for the technical aspects, but for the atmospherr the stories and the good feeling it conveys. I love it so much, at 45 years old is the one game I played for slmost 1000 ours❤❤❤ and I still play it. Btw, god bless the moddong community.
My first exposure to Skyrim was Skyrim VR less than 8 yrs ago and being inside this world was like nothing else in gaming. It still hasn’t been surpassed.
Wonderful video. I count Skyrim as a top 5 game after playing video games for over 30 years and that’s primarily due to the incredible world. The fusion of breathtaking music and world design is so comfy and nostalgic.
This is hands down the best video deep dive of Skyrim Ive seen, because you seem to have the same feelings towards Skyrim as many have. Its not the gameplay, quests, heck not even the roleplaying. Its the atmosphere. Skyrim always felt deeper than it probably is because of the huge atmosphere this game sets. It lets you wander. To me its as much of a hiking game as it is a role playing game 😅
A friend of mine was recently in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland and when I saw the pics it was Skyrim!! So I definetly agree that part of the beauty and wonders of the landscape is the reality factor! Now I have Lauterbrunnen on my list of travel destinations :)) because I would love to see real life Skyrim. Great video!
I really like how you mention ambience a lot. As an ambience crafter, it means so much to see that many people care. This game also started my hobby - you titled the video perfectly. Skyrim truly is the perfect fantasy world. Also, the way you described the music - full body chills. Truly a masterpiece!
Add visual mods on top of the base game, raising textures to 4k, and altering aspects that the main game didn't do well, like weather and water, and it feels ridiculously real. I experience various levels of rain and snow, including downpours so heavy that I almost feel like I'm really getting soaked, and blizzards so heavy that I have trouble seeing anything in front of me. I have a texture mod for icebergs that makes me feel like, when walking alongside them, I can actually reach out and touch them.
Over the years, I've come to realise that Skyrim isn't just a game, not really. In many ways, it's a deeply flawed game, especially as an RPG, and yet, that criticism can only be skin-deep, because Skyrim isn't just a game. It's an experience. Whilst for most games my memories dull with time, I've found that my recollections of Skyrim only grow stronger, until I inevitability succumb to the desire to play again. When I try to visualise a fantasy world, it's Tamriel that I think of before any other. That mixture of majesty, history, and freedom... it's the true meaning of the Sublime. I feel honoured that such a thing can exist for us to enjoy. Thank you for putting that feeling into words with this video, you capture those thoughts in a way only someone enamoured with the game can do, an emotion so many of us share.
there seems to be a popular misconception that an rpg needs to roleplay FOR the player, rather than enabling the player to rp on their own, using their own imagination
just cant belive how ahead of its time this game. was. when i first played on the 360 i thought it was over after the main quest my dumb self ending the game level 14 acter defeaing alduin. yet then 2016 i got the ps4 edition and got to level 55 and was amazed how much more i didnt realise from drinking games too waking up to get a sanguine rose and to daedric armour followersandconjured and myself then hiring a boat and waking up in a new world i honeslty didnt know if was so crazy. this was a. playtime of me being a sneakbow whe doin all factions mage etc no role play just dvouriing every quest lol. now i more role play for replay ability i love the pure mage especially an argonian female with dark themes.
I just got skyrim, and I'm lvl6 now. So once you complete the main quest it takes you to a new game? Or you recommend me to try to do all the side stuff before I finish the main quest?
@IWU447 its about character leveling more then main quest so explore and do side quests do factions do smithing and dungeon and caves go around and speak to people theres so much more then the main quest . i was 12 i got to level 14 and finished the main quest and assumed it was finished but do the civil war quests do the dark brotherhood go to solthstiem get the dadric artifacts get the trophys get the dragon masks get the house and upgrade fully have max level stats
@IWU447 no when u finish the main quest you can continue the same i just didnt know how t pllay it and just ended my save after the main quest my last play i didnt touch the main quest untilll level 35 just for the shouts. i didnt always wannt to be the dragoonborn
For me it was the overworld's design alongside music and lore. Plus I had been playing since Morrowind came out on Xbox. As a kid with danish immigrants for parents growing up and the only person in my family without a thick Scandinvian accent, there was something so special to me about how wildly different this game was compared to the last one, and the one before that - while also being so familiar and foreign at the same time. But this was also a time when a giant open game world with giant inventory systems, dialog, and objects that could be picked up just couldnt be done without sacrifices to other systems - especially considering bethesda wasnt a giant well known developer yet. So the flaws were easily overlooked. Kind of like how Deus Ex has the most ridiculous player spoken dialog, memed to death, but its okay because spoken dialog with choices was unheard of back then, even fallout only had a few talking heads and no player voice acting. This is why your thumbnail nails it: just being in Skyrim, is enough. Because just being in the world that has been built in all it's grandeur, is simply wonderful because of the lore, the music, and the design all complementing eacother perfectly. There are so many races and accents. Each person has a story of growing up in some place in or outside of skyrim, as well as a life that they plan on living, or escaping. They may not have growth, or ever acomplish the goals they speak of, but thats where our imagination fills in the blanks. Its the perfect amount of things seen and unseen to let your imagination go wild from the inspirations, then with the possibilities.
It’s not a big deal you’ve probably already gotten a ton of comments about it but the Shrine to Azura is a symbol of Dunmer faith built after the mass emigration out of Morrowind following the eruption of Red Mountain and Baar-Dau impacting Vivec
Skyrim stirs something deep in the soul. We mostly all have that inner desire for adventure, tranquility, exploring, beauty, nature, even building. And this game constantly reinvigorates it. It almost feels wrong to call it a game, it's almost like a calling. Hard to describe.
Compared to more modern games like Dark Souls, Elder Ring, Skyrim is quite a forgivable experience. It gives you time to explore, it gives you time to camp, watch the fog roll of the mountains. I am 44 years old now and I honestly hate when games push the narrative and make you sweat just about one kill. Skyrim gives you sense of freedom no other games does so well. And it gives you a lot to do and think about too
Gosh darn it you've started my return to skyrim cycle early. I remember playing this when it first came out the entire day. I've gone back to it periodically ever since, now I've seen my nephew start on his first play through. Glad you gave the soundtrack its dues too! Keep up the videos
Skyrim may not be the perfect game but it is the one game that has gotten the closest to it. It is near perfection and the modding community for the game brings it that much closer. I can't wait to mod my perfect Skyrim adventure!
Honestly, nothing compares so Skyrim. I haven’t played it in years but it will always ALWAYS have such a special place in my heart. I am also constantly listening to the music and everything about it is so so good.
Survival mode is really good for bringing certain aspects of the game alive again. Inns suddenly have relevance as you need them to rest and recuperate if you are too far from home. Occasionally camping out for the same reason is great.
In all the years past in since no other world has made me feel the same way as Skyrim. No matter how many years pass, how many new games release, I always end up coming back to Skyrim.
My installs of Skyrim are a 2/3 day nightmare of relearning how to install hundreds of mods, then 3/4 months of fun. Leave for a year then do it all again. It's always worth it, though.
I did not really play games as a kid, and only bought myself my first system when I was 22 (This was early 2010). So I spent a lot of 2010 playing all the big games I had missed over the years, including Oblivion. Needless to say, I was extraordinarily hyped for Skyrim. I watched all the gameplay trailers, pre-ordered it, took off a few days of work, and got it at midnight on 11/11/11. And it somehow exceeded all expectations. Even now, 13+ years later, I return every so often to relax and explore. I know the map by heart, mostly, so I just walk and listen to the music or my companion's thoughts. My life has changed so much since 11/11/11. Moved a ton, new jobs, marriage, had kids, deaths of friends and parents. But Skyrim is always still there if I need it. And it always will be. I imagine many of us will be venturing there even as old men and women.
We’d just fought our way through a cave system, me, Inigo and Marcurio. We were quite high up, looking over a green valley with the early morning mist rising from the ground. In the distance the mountains were capped with clouds, and the sky behind them was pink, and gold and blue. That beautiful music soared all around us. My heart was filled with pride and love.
the irony for me, is that the vast majority of skyrim players have never actually witnessed skyrim, because their first playthrough was modded to the nines (and you don't see it on youtube either)
19:13 The day I lost Eric in a vampire attack is the day I retired that character. I, the player, felt so horrible about it that I assumed my character was devastated as well. I eventually picked up that save again and didn't take another companion the rest of the game. Playing a guilt and PTSD ridden Dragonborn fighting to save the world for Eric's sake. Joining the Dawnguard was a no brainer...
Good analysis, Caleb. Many hours playing Skyrim since Jan 2013. I always come back to it... when I can get away from it at all. The vistas, the music. You are correct. New subscriber here.
Skyrim offers one thing that no other video game does: a complete fantasy world sandbox. At least that's why I keep coming back; roleplay value, allowing me to live a better life in a cooler world, using my own imagination to pull me in. That's why it's so compelling to just walk around -- because I am in Skyrim, soaking in the sights, sounds, and thoughts from my character as if they are my own -- and set aside the real world. Sometimes I think about what Skyrim would be like without a story, with multiplayer, and larger scale like the Witcher. Imagine exploring a fully fleshed out world, with political scheming like from Eve Online at the highest level, adventurers and dungeon keepers fighting for treasures, and simple farmers and merchants doing honest work at the base of it all. I can't help but yearn for a game that delivers such an experience. Video games are best used as a platform for players to create our own stories, and escape reality. I don't want to be the main character, I don't want to climb to Diamond Rank, and I don't want to learn some sappy message. I just want to be free. So today, I will play Skyrim. And I will dream.
The way you explained all of it was so spot on.. When people ask "Bro why do you still play Skyrim? Its old and outdated" i'll just refer them to this because I couldn't have explained it any better.. It's the scapism that keeps me, the idea of just for a little while.. being in a world like skyrim, the sights, the sounds, the stories, everything. Amazing video, thank you very much.
Based on these comments, I’m happy I’m not alone in why I like Skyrim. Morrowind was the better RPG, The Witcher 3 had better characters, etc. But nothing to this day beats Skyrim’s immersion. I completely escape when I play it. When I need to relax and decompress, I play Skyrim. I don’t even play games that much nowadays, but I still enjoy hopping into Skyrim.
Even the original vanilla version was so beautiful and engaging that it immediately became my favorite computer game ever. Later, being able to add mods to help make the game a bit more spiffy and that adds new content both help make it a fun place to come back to year after year, even if it's just to run around around have some fun again. But then, I also like to re-watch old tv shows and movies I've seen before too. So maybe my threshold for enjoying something because of a sense of nostalgia for the thing I've enjoyed before is at play here as well. All I know is I've recently bought a new PC and one of the first things I did after getting the basics up and running was re-install Skyrim and my mods.
The only other game that gave me the same sense of comforting wonder was a particular outdoor area of the old Age of Conan mmorpg. Used to go there and avoid spawns so I could just chill and take in the vista.
Really agree with you on this video, especially about the music. I've climbed mountains with that soundtrack in my ear, lived in the woods for a year in a canvas elk tent chopping firewood and treading moonlit snow partly because of the feeling this game gave me, and probably own this game everywhere you can. Never be another game like it.
I've put literal thousands of hours into the game. Completed every quest, explored every cave and corner of the world and yet 13 years later I'm still drawn in on a weekly basis, even if it's just to redecorate my house or stand atop a mountain and watch the sun set. That to me is the beauty of the game. You can be a badass warrior or a humble farmer/fisher on any day you want. After a bad day it's so therapeutic to just relax in a tavern or stroll along the roads and forget about all your worries and troubles from the day. Truly one of, if not my favourite game.
For me its the character building, giving my character a story, the organic experience of just playing the game how my character would. I dont fast travel, no power leveling, or min maxing etc. Just pure organic gameplay of a character build and story in my own head. Its relaxing to play.
you're totally right. I liked the ambient music, Secunda for sure. It's funny how i definitely would wander places just to see the views. The world seems so plausible.
Skyrim makes me feel relaxed. Not sure any other game does that. I don’t feel pressured to do anything, but encouraged to do everything.
2D Pokémon are the only other games I’ve found like this
Everyone in the game : a monster is going to consume the entire planet unless you stop him as soon as possible!
Rick Berman: I’m just chillin man
@@bartholomewesperanza3442
At this point almost everyone uses mod to disable main quest and dragons to roleplay as just the chill guy in skyrim.
Perfectly put
Well put Rick that is how I feel if I want a chill session I listen to podcasts while forging, making potions and exploring. If I feel like something more in depth I complete one of the questlines
I use Skyrim as a vacation spot, I can put my worries, work, and stress in hold, slip away to Skyrim and pick alchemy ingredients, fool around with making armor, wander the hills with my companion, explore a few caves, collect some loot… and sleep soundly that night because I gave myself a break. Skyrim is like nothing else.
This is what it's all about!
@@caleb.a.robinson
i have enjoyed a decade of this game or 10,000 hours of Skyrim according to steam, i hope to enjoy Skyblivion as much as i loved playing Skyrim.
supposedly it comes out this year of 2025.
just to get thrown 10meters into the air by a random giant xD
@@moddingspree 😂
Yes, or rounding the corner to see a frost troll lumbering towards you was my first thought!
Really nicely put.
I can very much relate to your comment.
It's winter again, time to resume that save of Skyrim
I do the same thing when winter comes around. More downtime/lazy weekends to stay in and play games, the weather matches that in Skyrim, just overall something about the season makes me boot the game back up, without fail.
Fall through early spring is usually when I play Skyrim. I live in Georgia and it’s hot Af in the summer and I can’t immerse myself in the game when it’s that hot in real life lol.
Southern hemisphere be like
I am still beating the last DLC for oblivion. Skyrim is next!
Skyrim and Bully do this to me👌🏻same with the Orange Box
"I want to see mountains again, mountains Gandalf!"
I've played hundreds of hours of Skyrim. There were moments, just wandering around in the wilderness, letting Jeremy Soule's music wash over me, that I realized were just plain therapeutic. I could jump into this world, even for just an hour, and it was a total meditation, an escape from the real world. Magnificent!
yeah i have done a bit of that, these days however it makes me fall asleep, but so does FO4's music score, i like them both, but they both make me fall asleep while i play, but when skyrim was new to me, man i played late into the night and morning of playing that game, it kept me awake for years, but eventually it started to make me sleep.
these days i have to have some interesting podcast in my ears to keep that from happening.
hundreds of hours? that’s rookie numbers mate 😂
@@puresnowball965
yeah, steam says i have 10,000 hours in this game for skyrim LE, and about 500 in SE, but it's not counting the hours i had on xbox 360 for the first 3 years before i got my first PC.
now with this said, i have taken a break from the game playin FO4 for the last 3 years, but skyrim calls me back all the time.
Reflection is key.
🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨
"Before I start, I must see my end. Destination known, my mind's journey now begins. Upon my chariot, heart and soul's fate revealed. In time, all points converge; hope's strength resteeled. But to earn final peace at the universe's endless refrain, we must see all in nothingness... before we start again."
🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨
--Diamond Dragons (series)
Skyrim itself is my happy place. I’ll play it just to feel the chill air and watch the night sky.
And listen to the masterful music
Skyrim for me is like an alternate reality. I have intentionally avoided completing the main quest so that it never ends.
I did this but with the DLC quests for a long time. Now I've just come to accept that even though I've done almost everything, it's still worth coming back to.
100 percent
I only finished the main quest this year for the first time.
Still never built a house , or done the full other dlcs only bits of them.
@@caleb.a.robinsonThat’s the true beauty of it. You beat the main quests and then still find yourself in the game 100 hours later.
I beat the main quest at level 16 on my first play through 😅.
But I used that same save for years.
same, iv only completed the main quest once and that was over 10 years ago and I have 800 hours on skyrim 200 on special edition, 500 on creation kit and 300 on special edition creation kit
Brother, you cant just play secunda with this gorgeous view and not expect me to boot up skyrim one more time :)
The music
My favorite thing is that you don't have to "play Skyrim" - you can play anything you want, and play it IN Skyrim. Create your own exploits or scenarios, role play anything you can imagine. Hero or villain, noble or commoner, renowned or unknown, it doesn't matter - there is space in this game for all of it (especially with some of the amazing mods that people have created over the years. Thank you modding community!)
This is what makes Skyrim the perfect open world imo. Imagine trying to play Witcher 3 as a farmer or trader 😀
Thank you for another great video essay. Time for me to open up the game!!
Great point! I love watching the kind of "sub games" other people play in Skyrim. I don't know of any other fantasy games you can do that in.
yeah but even then, the RP in this game is really horrible- still love the game and "rping" in it but its fair to say its not good
@@pinkleWeenkies I agree, Skyrim is a lot more "sandbox" than most fantasy games but the dialogue system isn't that great for rp. But it's never bugged me, the world is just that good!
I have an entire family I'll roleplay aside from other characters; the 'main' playthrough is altmer-dunmer Dragonborn, then there's his altmer-dunmer sister and two half-sisters(full dunmer and full altmer), his dunmer father, his dunmer niece, his niece's nord wife, maybe another I'm forgetting about? He's Dragonborn who did the Dawnguard and civil war and Miraak quest, he married Kaidan and Eamon(modded followers).
Everyone else-a mercenary who married Teldryn Sero, vampire Archmage of Winterhold who marries Jenassa, vampire Listener who hooks up with whomever(never decided), dad is a retired alchemist-restoration healer who goes around Skyrim wielding Dawnbreaker to deal with undead threats and marries Ondolemar and Ghorbash, niece becomes Thief Guildmaster who marries another thief(the nord woman)...
I could go on. I could talk about them for hours. There's so much history and detail and things and gods I just love Skyrim and I love my characters and that's just the /family/ of characters and not the several others who aren't connected to anyone else.
That was my issue with the Witcher 3. You can’t roleplay as you choose. We’re forced to rolepay as Geralt, a swordsman that uses a crossbow as a secondary weapon and a few selected spells. To me Skyrim is the real definition of an RPG. The freedom it provides is the main part of it, that and its overall ambiance.
Skyrim just feels like home, you know every secret, but uncovering them again is still fun
i had a moment of this watching mxr look at swamp fungal pod outside abandoned shack, and muse: 'i wonder what that is, must be added by some mod...' xD
Jeremy Soule's music ties everything together. Breaks my heart that he isn't returning for TES 6, but that is another story...
another twig on the bonfire of why i'll likely not buy tes6, should it ever exist...
One of my favorite mods was the one that created a backpack/camping system. Its really nice having to find eat sleep and stay warm, plus finding a camp sight makes you look at the world in a whole new light. Relaxing by the fire, reading a lore book until the stars fade away. Its cozy.
Mmmm campfire,,Just added a mod to my Skyrim VR which allows me to physically chop trees for firewood for the fire.wonderfull immersion🫠
Skyrim has been a therapy for me in the last 10 years
Sometimes videos pop up in my subscriptions and i have no idea who the uploader is. These are usually the best, because they were made by someone that hooked me with one or two amazing videos and then went quiet. Then they drop another banger out of nowhere. That's you buddy. Thank you
Yeaa samme ❤😮
Sometimes I have no damn clue who it is uploading but the algorithm says 'hey, you might like this' and when it's about skyrim, I click. Dude nailed it in this video.
12:03 just reminding everyone of the greatest track, “Forgotten vale”. Shame Jeremy won’t make the ES6 soundtrack.
Skyrim is one of those games that’s more of a captivating experience than just a game. While simple on a lot of fronts, it’s incredibly rich on others. This did a great job of getting across that unique and wondrous adventure we’ve all had while playing it. Honestly it feels like home. I always get a nice feeling seeing the things I’ve seen for years, and feel comfortable and doing whatever I feel like pursuing, even if incredibly unserious, like turning a bandit camp into sweet rolls with the wabbajack. Can always come back and probably always will. Great work 👏
Skyrim is a Timeless masterpiece! 🙌
I once played every japanese rpg out there.. and then i found skyrim around four years ago.. its quite hard for a JRPG gamers to dwelve into skyrim since the quest system and other things really different..
About one years ago i give skyrim another go.. and using my true gamers instict mode on.. i finally find the flow of skyrim and can actually enjoy it ever since..
I found my self in a world i never felt so immersive and full choice.. just like a real life..
Im still playing skyrim atm, and will be playing it, for the rest of my life..
Thank you Caleb, for bringing me home. It's like watching one of my own playthroughs, even having Erik the Slayer accompany us because we can't help but empathize with his dream of being an adventurer.
I love Secunda. Every time it comes on I just have to pause and take in the atmosphere. Look up at the stars and enjoy how beautiful the night is
I'm currently reexploring Skyrim since it was released. Back then I was 18, now I'm 31. Such a beautiful world. With the now available mods this game becomes like an infinite journey. I'm so excited for the Beyond Skyrim projects.
I was 24, and now I'm 37. I still go back to Skyrim once a year or so.
I was streaming Skyrim tonight, as I have done for years, and a viewer asked me what keeps bringing me back to Skyrim again and again after all this time. The gist of my answer was the thesis of this video, and what a coincidence it is that I should stumble across it tonight. I love Skyrim the Game, but even more, I love Skyrim the Place. I've only watched the first 5 minutes so far, but your poetic descriptions of landmarks throughout Skyrim are already making me misty-eyed. Looking forward to watching the rest!
That was almost the title of the video: "We Love Skyrim the Place more than Skyrim the Game" or something along those lines. It's a wonderful world to be in. I'm glad you're enjoying the video!
I love finding relatively small channels with great video games analyses before they get huge.
Respect your beard as well mate
"Nords are so serious about beards. So many beards.
M'aiq thinks they wish they had glorious manes like Khajiit".
“Just being in Skyrim is enough” This is so true. I did not start playing Skyrim until late 2019 on my switch! , then on the PC. After completing most of the game I have sunk in many hours often just walking aimlessly around chilling. It’s one of a kind. No matter we’re you are or what’s going off in your life you can always jump in and find your way. I Just love this game 😊
I LOVE how you much you emphasized music in this game!
It’s not just a game I play, but more often a place I go, to get away and escape. What a masterpiece, truly.
Real comment
13 years later, no other game has ever come close to it for me. It's one of those rare moments in our short lives where you remember the first time you saw something or in this case, played it. I still remember the first time when i played Skyrim on my Cousin's Notebook vividly as if it was Yesterday and since that moment, Skyrim never left my heart. It is hard to describe how much impact Skyrim expecificaly had in my life.
Not only the feeling of nostalgia, for simpler times, but a gateway feeling, the Inner peace that it gave me in moments of hardships. To this day, Skyrim Soundtrack is my go to music peace. And i play it every year during winter (or at least use to before i had too much IRL responsibilities) but I still listen to those 3 or 10 hours Skyrim ambience / daily.
Kingdom Come Deliverance has entered the chat.
Kingdom Come Deliverance laughs at you.
I haven't been playing Skyrim for long. Heck, I haven't played any videogames before my boyfriend convinced me to try it during the pandemic, because we had nothing better to do. I was generally really sceptical about video games but he was convinced I'd enjoy Skyrim.
And even though I've only done 2 "playthroughs" and have played a few other big titles since, it gives me this feeling of "coming home". At some point I mostly stopped fast traveling, just to walk around and look at the beautiful landscapes, combined with the amazing soundtrack.
That’s because it is your home. It’s a game you never leave
@EggEnjoyer I'm hoping that Elder Scrolls 6 will come out one day and give us a similar experience. But I guess for now, Skyrim is my home. ;)
Man, this video made me tear up a few times. It encapsulates perfectly why I love this damn game so much! I am almost 28, and I've been playing Skyrim since I was 14 - literally for the half of my life. When I hear the 'Bannered Mare' theme in Whiterun, or walk through the peaceful night with 'Secunda' playing in the background, my heart swells with longing for something distant, something... else, something I never had. People might dislike this game, some say nasty things about it, but for me... there is a reason why Skyrim stands, to this day, as one of my most favorite games of all times, and I don't see it leaving its position any time soon, if ever. Thank you for making this wonderful video!
I have been blessed to not hear negative things about this game greatest fantasy game of all time IMO
I don't know why, but at 11:46 when it pans to the gildergreen with the city of whiterun playing in the background. He encompasses the feeling so well. I straight up got teary eyed. This is more than just a video game. It's almost like an entirely separate reality away from our own.
I'm pretty sure it was Alvor and Sigrid's house in Riverwood where I sat at a table to eat, one of the first times I ever played, where I felt true immersion. I felt a deep powerful sense that everyone at the table around me weren't NPCs, but real people, and I wasn't an untouchable main character with quicksave, but just one of the thousands in Skyrim just trying to live their life and get by. Profound.
For years I have worked on realising High Rock in Skyrim with Beyond Skyrim. They completely reset the heightmap at some point, so that world was lost, but I still have it. Nowadays when I play Skyrim I love to wander around from the bay of Normar up to the city of Northpoint and head down via Camlorn and Daggerfall all the way to Tulune, looking out at Betony and Sentinel at the other side of the Iliac bay off in the distance.
Tundra is by far my favorite song on the Skyrim sound track (which to my surprise ended up being my top listened album this year). Anyone else?
I listen to that album every single day at work.
funny enough mine was Skyrim Atmospheres because I often put it on when I'm trying to sleep or relax (and it's a 40 minute track lol)
Every landscape in this game feels like a painting.
What an amazing and well articulated love letter to Skyrim. My brother was a big fan of the Elder Scrolls games, he died a few months before Skyrim was released. I ended up inheriting his gaming computer and I bought Skyrim when it came out to see what he liked so much about Elder Scrolls and became an immediate fan. Every-time I play it, it reminds me of him, even when I just hear the music, even now, 13 years later. He would have loved it 😊
When people want to share their love and appreciation of Skyrim and her people I'm there faster than a summoned arrow to the knee, i already know this is my kind of content.
Out of many rpg and fantasy games, Skyrim is one of the very few where I can just enter the world and have no goal, and feel totally relaxed.
almost as though forcing the players hand over and over again somehow impedes the player's freedom to roleplay xD
Skyrim is uniquely timeless to me because of the enchanting escapism element. We live in an unfair, mundane world where our lives can get very stressful, stagnant, and saddening sometimes, and oftentimes we feel powerless to change our circumstances despite our best efforts, struggling to stay afloat and avoid sinking into depression.
Each time I escape into the fantasy world of Skyrim, where I get to become a powerful person and get to experience wonderful things, all while listening to the soul-soothing music, I feel truly freed from my demons of stress, anxiety, and depression that almost always plague me otherwise. When I am in Skyrim, all my worldly worries just wither away as I wander the peaceful forests and mountains while From Past to Present plays, or watch the stars and auroras glow at night while Secunda plays, or walk around warm old Whiterun while The Streets of Whiterun plays.
I was 16 when Skyrim released, now I am 29, and Skyrim to me has evolved from being my favorite action-adventure game I played as a carefree teenager into becoming a precious escapism mechanism now as a man with adult problems and challenges.
I sometimes wonder if it's all because of the music
music is such an underrated aspect of games, its SO important, and while not the entire game, if you dont have good music or music at all, your game will probably not be as good, even if it has amazing gameplay…skyrim nailed it with the music, it really did, the music is like 33% of the game for me tbh
It definitely helps. All of the music is great, and there are still plenty of nights when I'm sleeping that I run the ten-hour loops of the ambient music that people uploaded on RUclips. But I remember listening to the main theme the first time I played Skyrim and I knew I was in for something extra-special. The rest of the game, even the vanilla version on my PS3, didn't disappoint. I love running around at night when the aurora borealis effect is happening or whenever it's misty and raining. Skyrim is my Tahiti - it's a magical place.
Skyrim music is the best music I have ever heard…so soothing, and exciting at the same time ☺️, and I, too, love the sunsets! 🥰
I have many VR games but Skyrim VR is my favourite. No other game gives me an experience of being INSIDE a fantasy world more than Skyrim.
I think I've figured out at least for myself is that I essentially want a Fantasy GTA world taking itself a bit more seriously. Any game that does that in any compacity is what I want and Skyrim does it pretty good for now.
The smoke is crazy!! I was just geeking the other day by a fire out in the middle of nowhere…it was smoking, but also making the wavy distorted vision that heat waves make in real life. It’s honestly nuts!!
It's very refreshing to hear someone on this platform talking about things they love, not things they hate, and in such a calm and considered way.
I think we all knew Skyrim was special when we played it for the first time on 11/11/11. There's been many good games since, but I fear no other game will touch that feeling again.
I jump into Skyrim a lot just to relax and enjoy the scenery. It really is like no other game.
This video perfectly captures why I keep coming back to Skyrim. I've made countless characters after I've gotten bored of a certain playing style and I'll not play the game for a few months, but something has always drawn me back, and now I know what it is.
Skyrim is simply amazing, not for the technical aspects, but for the atmospherr the stories and the good feeling it conveys. I love it so much, at 45 years old is the one game I played for slmost 1000 ours❤❤❤ and I still play it. Btw, god bless the moddong community.
My favourite game ever, explained perfectly ❤
Thank you!
This was a fantastic overview and explained a lot of things that I have been experiencing for years and never realized.
My first exposure to Skyrim was Skyrim VR less than 8 yrs ago and being inside this world was like nothing else in gaming. It still hasn’t been surpassed.
Wonderful video. I count Skyrim as a top 5 game after playing video games for over 30 years and that’s primarily due to the incredible world. The fusion of breathtaking music and world design is so comfy and nostalgic.
This is hands down the best video deep dive of Skyrim Ive seen, because you seem to have the same feelings towards Skyrim as many have. Its not the gameplay, quests, heck not even the roleplaying. Its the atmosphere. Skyrim always felt deeper than it probably is because of the huge atmosphere this game sets. It lets you wander. To me its as much of a hiking game as it is a role playing game 😅
Been playing anniversary edition and achievements hunting this video is very well timed and im gonna play some more ❤
A friend of mine was recently in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland and when I saw the pics it was Skyrim!! So I definetly agree that part of the beauty and wonders of the landscape is the reality factor! Now I have Lauterbrunnen on my list of travel destinations :)) because I would love to see real life Skyrim. Great video!
I really like how you mention ambience a lot. As an ambience crafter, it means so much to see that many people care. This game also started my hobby - you titled the video perfectly. Skyrim truly is the perfect fantasy world. Also, the way you described the music - full body chills. Truly a masterpiece!
Moments like 1:40 are why we keep coming back
Add visual mods on top of the base game, raising textures to 4k, and altering aspects that the main game didn't do well, like weather and water, and it feels ridiculously real. I experience various levels of rain and snow, including downpours so heavy that I almost feel like I'm really getting soaked, and blizzards so heavy that I have trouble seeing anything in front of me. I have a texture mod for icebergs that makes me feel like, when walking alongside them, I can actually reach out and touch them.
Dude yes. I’ve always said the music and overall atmosphere of Skyrim is what keeps me coming back year after year
14:15 the... champion's guild?
16:38 Azura is important to the Dunmer, not the Nords. Otherwise, great video about one of my favorite games ever!
and you literally can't play through Dragonborn in Solstheim and still pronounce Azura incorrectly xD
Over the years, I've come to realise that Skyrim isn't just a game, not really. In many ways, it's a deeply flawed game, especially as an RPG, and yet, that criticism can only be skin-deep, because Skyrim isn't just a game. It's an experience. Whilst for most games my memories dull with time, I've found that my recollections of Skyrim only grow stronger, until I inevitability succumb to the desire to play again. When I try to visualise a fantasy world, it's Tamriel that I think of before any other. That mixture of majesty, history, and freedom... it's the true meaning of the Sublime. I feel honoured that such a thing can exist for us to enjoy. Thank you for putting that feeling into words with this video, you capture those thoughts in a way only someone enamoured with the game can do, an emotion so many of us share.
there seems to be a popular misconception that an rpg needs to roleplay FOR the player, rather than enabling the player to rp on their own, using their own imagination
The soundtrack alone, is worth the cost of the game:-)!
Kinda sad knowing that TES 6 won't have jeremy soule return.
I know. I don't know how they're going to match the quality unless they get Howard Shore (the Lord of the Rings composer).
Really nice mood in this video. I think it's funny how you forgor Karthwasten when counting the smaller settlements. Everybody forgets Karthwasten 😂
This is a very well made video, hope you get the views you deserve!
Simply put: I play other games.....but I live in Skyrim. Such a beautiful tribute to a beloved game. Thank you.😊
just cant belive how ahead of its time this game. was. when i first played on the 360 i thought it was over after the main quest my dumb self ending the game level 14 acter defeaing alduin. yet then 2016 i got the ps4 edition and got to level 55 and was amazed how much more i didnt realise from drinking games too waking up to get a sanguine rose and to daedric armour followersandconjured and myself then hiring a boat and waking up in a new world i honeslty didnt know if was so crazy. this was a. playtime of me being a sneakbow whe doin all factions mage etc no role play just dvouriing every quest lol. now i more role play for replay ability i love the pure mage especially an argonian female with dark themes.
I just got skyrim, and I'm lvl6 now. So once you complete the main quest it takes you to a new game? Or you recommend me to try to do all the side stuff before I finish the main quest?
@IWU447 its about character leveling more then main quest so explore and do side quests do factions do smithing and dungeon and caves go around and speak to people theres so much more then the main quest . i was 12 i got to level 14 and finished the main quest and assumed it was finished but do the civil war quests do the dark brotherhood go to solthstiem get the dadric artifacts get the trophys get the dragon masks get the house and upgrade fully have max level stats
@IWU447 no when u finish the main quest you can continue the same i just didnt know how t pllay it and just ended my save after the main quest my last play i didnt touch the main quest untilll level 35 just for the shouts. i didnt always wannt to be the dragoonborn
@@Darth_BNT alright thx
If i want to play video games i play other video games , if i want to escape into alternate reality , I play skyrim.
For me it was the overworld's design alongside music and lore. Plus I had been playing since Morrowind came out on Xbox. As a kid with danish immigrants for parents growing up and the only person in my family without a thick Scandinvian accent, there was something so special to me about how wildly different this game was compared to the last one, and the one before that - while also being so familiar and foreign at the same time. But this was also a time when a giant open game world with giant inventory systems, dialog, and objects that could be picked up just couldnt be done without sacrifices to other systems - especially considering bethesda wasnt a giant well known developer yet. So the flaws were easily overlooked. Kind of like how Deus Ex has the most ridiculous player spoken dialog, memed to death, but its okay because spoken dialog with choices was unheard of back then, even fallout only had a few talking heads and no player voice acting.
This is why your thumbnail nails it: just being in Skyrim, is enough. Because just being in the world that has been built in all it's grandeur, is simply wonderful because of the lore, the music, and the design all complementing eacother perfectly. There are so many races and accents. Each person has a story of growing up in some place in or outside of skyrim, as well as a life that they plan on living, or escaping. They may not have growth, or ever acomplish the goals they speak of, but thats where our imagination fills in the blanks. Its the perfect amount of things seen and unseen to let your imagination go wild from the inspirations, then with the possibilities.
It’s not a big deal you’ve probably already gotten a ton of comments about it but the Shrine to Azura is a symbol of Dunmer faith built after the mass emigration out of Morrowind following the eruption of Red Mountain and Baar-Dau impacting Vivec
Skyrim stirs something deep in the soul. We mostly all have that inner desire for adventure, tranquility, exploring, beauty, nature, even building. And this game constantly reinvigorates it. It almost feels wrong to call it a game, it's almost like a calling. Hard to describe.
Compared to more modern games like Dark Souls, Elder Ring, Skyrim is quite a forgivable experience. It gives you time to explore, it gives you time to camp, watch the fog roll of the mountains. I am 44 years old now and I honestly hate when games push the narrative and make you sweat just about one kill. Skyrim gives you sense of freedom no other games does so well. And it gives you a lot to do and think about too
boss battles feel like some guy wearing two bandoliers of ammo shooting at your feet and screaming 'Now Dance!'
Gosh darn it you've started my return to skyrim cycle early.
I remember playing this when it first came out the entire day. I've gone back to it periodically ever since, now I've seen my nephew start on his first play through.
Glad you gave the soundtrack its dues too!
Keep up the videos
Beautiful video, couldn't have explained it better myself. Happy new years!
I think you nailed it man. There is something about Skyrim that just keeps me coming back to it and you're right. its likely the world itself.
Skyrim may not be the perfect game but it is the one game that has gotten the closest to it. It is near perfection and the modding community for the game brings it that much closer. I can't wait to mod my perfect Skyrim adventure!
Honestly, nothing compares so Skyrim. I haven’t played it in years but it will always ALWAYS have such a special place in my heart. I am also constantly listening to the music and everything about it is so so good.
Survival mode is really good for bringing certain aspects of the game alive again. Inns suddenly have relevance as you need them to rest and recuperate if you are too far from home. Occasionally camping out for the same reason is great.
In all the years past in since no other world has made me feel the same way as Skyrim. No matter how many years pass, how many new games release, I always end up coming back to Skyrim.
Just when I thought I was out... you made me install it again. Damn you.
My installs of Skyrim are a 2/3 day nightmare of relearning how to install hundreds of mods, then 3/4 months of fun. Leave for a year then do it all again. It's always worth it, though.
Good luck with the new play through!
I did not really play games as a kid, and only bought myself my first system when I was 22 (This was early 2010). So I spent a lot of 2010 playing all the big games I had missed over the years, including Oblivion.
Needless to say, I was extraordinarily hyped for Skyrim. I watched all the gameplay trailers, pre-ordered it, took off a few days of work, and got it at midnight on 11/11/11.
And it somehow exceeded all expectations. Even now, 13+ years later, I return every so often to relax and explore. I know the map by heart, mostly, so I just walk and listen to the music or my companion's thoughts.
My life has changed so much since 11/11/11. Moved a ton, new jobs, marriage, had kids, deaths of friends and parents. But Skyrim is always still there if I need it.
And it always will be. I imagine many of us will be venturing there even as old men and women.
We’d just fought our way through a cave system, me, Inigo and Marcurio. We were quite high up, looking over a green valley with the early morning mist rising from the ground. In the distance the mountains were capped with clouds, and the sky behind them was pink, and gold and blue. That beautiful music soared all around us. My heart was filled with pride and love.
there are rpgs that far, far surpass skyrim game design wise but it will always be my favourite because it's set in skyrim
the irony for me, is that the vast majority of skyrim players have never actually witnessed skyrim, because their first playthrough was modded to the nines (and you don't see it on youtube either)
19:13 The day I lost Eric in a vampire attack is the day I retired that character. I, the player, felt so horrible about it that I assumed my character was devastated as well. I eventually picked up that save again and didn't take another companion the rest of the game. Playing a guilt and PTSD ridden Dragonborn fighting to save the world for Eric's sake. Joining the Dawnguard was a no brainer...
Good analysis, Caleb. Many hours playing Skyrim since Jan 2013. I always come back to it... when I can get away from it at all. The vistas, the music. You are correct. New subscriber here.
5:26 the colossal shrine of who?
Azra, Azhra, ...Ahzidal. no wait, he's just never heard an npc (or many) start their speech with 'by Azura!' as exclamation xD
a collosal shrine of Azhuwu
Skyrim offers one thing that no other video game does: a complete fantasy world sandbox. At least that's why I keep coming back; roleplay value, allowing me to live a better life in a cooler world, using my own imagination to pull me in. That's why it's so compelling to just walk around -- because I am in Skyrim, soaking in the sights, sounds, and thoughts from my character as if they are my own -- and set aside the real world. Sometimes I think about what Skyrim would be like without a story, with multiplayer, and larger scale like the Witcher. Imagine exploring a fully fleshed out world, with political scheming like from Eve Online at the highest level, adventurers and dungeon keepers fighting for treasures, and simple farmers and merchants doing honest work at the base of it all. I can't help but yearn for a game that delivers such an experience. Video games are best used as a platform for players to create our own stories, and escape reality. I don't want to be the main character, I don't want to climb to Diamond Rank, and I don't want to learn some sappy message. I just want to be free. So today, I will play Skyrim. And I will dream.
it dosent get better than this . i love the mountains and snow enviroment and norse art style
The way you explained all of it was so spot on.. When people ask "Bro why do you still play Skyrim? Its old and outdated" i'll just refer them to this because I couldn't have explained it any better.. It's the scapism that keeps me, the idea of just for a little while.. being in a world like skyrim, the sights, the sounds, the stories, everything.
Amazing video, thank you very much.
Great video, watching stuff like this brings me back to skyrim. I struggle to be motivate to play it after countless hours.
Fuck it I am going to finally beat Skyrim. This will be my New Year’s resolution. I will update my achievements.
Based on these comments, I’m happy I’m not alone in why I like Skyrim. Morrowind was the better RPG, The Witcher 3 had better characters, etc. But nothing to this day beats Skyrim’s immersion. I completely escape when I play it. When I need to relax and decompress, I play Skyrim. I don’t even play games that much nowadays, but I still enjoy hopping into Skyrim.
Even the original vanilla version was so beautiful and engaging that it immediately became my favorite computer game ever. Later, being able to add mods to help make the game a bit more spiffy and that adds new content both help make it a fun place to come back to year after year, even if it's just to run around around have some fun again. But then, I also like to re-watch old tv shows and movies I've seen before too. So maybe my threshold for enjoying something because of a sense of nostalgia for the thing I've enjoyed before is at play here as well. All I know is I've recently bought a new PC and one of the first things I did after getting the basics up and running was re-install Skyrim and my mods.
Captured so many of my own thoughts in a beautiful video essay. Great job with the video!
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
The only other game that gave me the same sense of comforting wonder was a particular outdoor area of the old Age of Conan mmorpg. Used to go there and avoid spawns so I could just chill and take in the vista.
Really agree with you on this video, especially about the music. I've climbed mountains with that soundtrack in my ear, lived in the woods for a year in a canvas elk tent chopping firewood and treading moonlit snow partly because of the feeling this game gave me, and probably own this game everywhere you can. Never be another game like it.
I've put literal thousands of hours into the game. Completed every quest, explored every cave and corner of the world and yet 13 years later I'm still drawn in on a weekly basis, even if it's just to redecorate my house or stand atop a mountain and watch the sun set. That to me is the beauty of the game. You can be a badass warrior or a humble farmer/fisher on any day you want. After a bad day it's so therapeutic to just relax in a tavern or stroll along the roads and forget about all your worries and troubles from the day. Truly one of, if not my favourite game.
Bethesda can't write out of a paper bag but skyrims physical world and soundtrack are perfection
For me its the character building, giving my character a story, the organic experience of just playing the game how my character would. I dont fast travel, no power leveling, or min maxing etc. Just pure organic gameplay of a character build and story in my own head. Its relaxing to play.
you're totally right. I liked the ambient music, Secunda for sure. It's funny how i definitely would wander places just to see the views. The world seems so plausible.