The series known as The Elder Scrolls, written by Bethesda Game Studios, has one of the best games I’ve ever played, Skyrim, which is an RPG that takes on the story of the Dragonborn, aka the player. 

I’ve always loved Skyrim, ever since I was little. My older siblings and dad introduced me to it. I first played it when I was 8 years old, and I immediately fell in love with it. I love the music, the style of the game and the almost endless amounts of different quests and storylines. What else I love about it is being able to create your own character, while still falling in line with the story of the character – the Dragonborn. 

A brief, but still slightly long summary of the game: The game starts off with the player awakening in a carriage, which is taking them to the town of Helgen, to prepare for their execution after being caught in an imperial ambush. When arriving in the small town, you are greeted by a brief introduction to the current civil war going on in Skyrim, which is the Imperials vs. the Stormcloaks and the ongoing problem with the Thalmor. When the player is about to be executed, a dragon attacks the town, which the player later learns is the main villain of the game, Alduin. You are able to avoid your execution.

After a while, you are given a choice: Go with Ralof, another man who had been in your carriage and who is a Stormcloak, or go with Hadvar, an imperial soldier. Choosing who you go with is a short choice the player has to make. It can help form which side the player will side with in the civil war. Eventually after escaping Helgen, you go off on your own and then begin to discover the truth about your character – that you are Dragonborn. This will lead on to the player building their own character around this fact and eventually getting through different quests to then eventually finish the main quest and storyline,. Ultimately, the player ends up slaying the dragon, Alduin. 

With this long summary, it’s only a fragment of the game’s story. This is why I love Skyrim. It’s such a game that was so thought into, with so much interesting lore of a world that isn’t our own. Skyrim can be played in so many different ways, and that’s exactly why I love it. It’s a type of game you never truly get bored with, and eventually, will want to replay it over and over. 

However, even if I consider this to be one of my favorite games, it still has some negative issues. The game is known to be very buggy, often glitching, and known for being very poor with its performance. Other negative aspects of the game is that once the player gets to a certain level, the game, combat and different quests, can often become too easy and repetitive. Also, commonly across the fandom, players criticize the game’s survival mode, labeling it as making the game less fun and too hard to beat with all the things you have to focus on – basically, labeling it as unplayable.

I recommend this game to anyone interested in RPGs, fantasy, open world and adventurous games. Playing Skyrim for the first time is the best thing you can experience, and I wish I could do it all over again. Even after playing it for the first time, you often discover more things throughout other play throughs, which can keep the game interesting. Overall, I rate it a 4.5/5.