I’d say my half-affinity for Skyrim rests on the game being a reasonably fun sandbox while also being a bland, depthless experience. Every four or five months I’m reminded of the game as it beckons me start up another run.
After “Hey, you…”, “It’s probably best if we split up…”, and “The greybeards…”, I am once again bored of the game. I drop it for another four or five months, and then pick it back up for no more than a couple days.
I don’t think the graphics have aged poorly, nor do I think the combat system is particularly bad. I actually find the mindless swinging quite relaxing.
No, my problems with the game come down to my needs as an RPG enjoyer: I just can’t manage to find the room for experimentation that I’m looking for. Beyond using calm spells to get additional dialogue in rare situations, what else is there to do that’s “crafty”? No smithing/alchemy/enchanting jokes allowed.
The leveling system features no attributes nor derived stats, so leveling itself is rather straightforward, health is the only real option to put points into, the magic system is disgustingly simple, melee combat is relaxing, but not the kind of stuff made for forty hours of gameplay, and stealth – Well, actually, stealth is pretty amazing in Skyrim, so credit where credit is due. (Hats off to archery as well.)
Take stock of the things you can do in Skyrim and you’ll find that any system that isn’t directly working with the combat is half-baked at best, and any system that is working with the combat isn’t guaranteed to be that good. The game really is just mindless relaxation dressed up in such a way that my brain likes thinking about playing it for the role-playing elements, only to be reminded that role-playing in Skyrim comes down to player imagination because it doesn’t actually exist beyond playing one of three combat archetypes.
I like thinking about Skyrim. I don’t care to play it much anymore.
GLHF,
-E
