Introduction
The biting wind howls across the peaks of Skyrim, familiar as an old friend. The distant roar of a dragon echoes, a sound I’ve heard countless times, yet it still stirs something within me. I boot up Skyrim, ready to lose myself once more in its sprawling world of snow-covered landscapes, ancient ruins, and epic quests. I begin to feel the familiar itch to explore, craft, and fight. But then a thought creeps in, unbidden, a subtle discordance in the symphony of nostalgia: this one needs something.
Skyrim, released over a decade ago, remains a monumental achievement in open-world role-playing games. Its influence on the gaming landscape is undeniable, spawning countless imitators and setting a high bar for player freedom and exploration. Yet, despite its enduring popularity, Skyrim isn’t perfect. The phrase “this one needs something” frequently surfaces within the Skyrim community, reflecting a shared desire for the game to evolve. This sentiment highlights both the game’s lasting appeal and the desire for it to surpass its current limitations. While Skyrim continues to captivate players, this one needs something – enhancements, additions, or reimaginings – to truly reach its full potential for both returning veterans and a modern gaming audience. What exactly is this ‘something,’ and where do we find it?
A Call for More Engaging Combat
Let’s face it: the combat system in Skyrim, while functional, often feels like an afterthought. A button is pressed, something swings, something maybe gets hit. A lot of the time the player is spamming attacks until either you or the enemy falls. This is a far cry from the precision and depth found in many modern action RPGs. Sure, there’s a basic level of strategy involved in choosing weapons and spells, but the actual act of fighting often boils down to mashing buttons and chugging potions. This one finds the mechanics lacking.
What’s missing is a sense of real weight and impact. Animations can feel stiff and repetitive, lacking the fluidity and dynamism of games like Dark Souls or The Witcher 3. Blocking and parrying are rudimentary at best, often feeling more like a way to mitigate damage than an integral part of the combat flow. And the enemy AI? Often predictable and easily exploited. If Skyrim combat was more complex, with enemies using different abilities at different times, this one feels the game would be all the more challenging.
Imagine a Skyrim where combat is a dance of blades, a tactical exchange of blows and parries. Enhanced animations could give each weapon a distinct feel and weight. A revamped blocking system could reward skilled players who time their blocks perfectly, opening up enemies for counterattacks. Enemy AI could be improved to make encounters more challenging and unpredictable, forcing players to think strategically and adapt to different combat scenarios. Stamina management could add another layer of depth, requiring players to carefully manage their resources and choose their actions wisely. By drawing inspiration from other successful action RPGs, Skyrim could transform its combat from a simple hack-and-slash affair into a truly engaging and rewarding experience.
The Depth of Roleplaying – A Missed Opportunity
Skyrim is lauded for its open-ended gameplay and freedom of choice. Players can create unique characters, develop a wide range of skills, and embark on countless adventures. However, when it comes to genuine roleplaying depth, Skyrim falls short. While the game offers a vast array of options, many choices feel superficial, lacking meaningful consequences or lasting impact on the world.
Dialogue options are often limited and repetitive, rarely offering the opportunity to truly shape the narrative or influence the actions of NPCs. Faction relationships, while initially intriguing, often become static and predictable, regardless of your actions or achievements. This one feels that they should get different greetings from the NPCs based on quests, or their standing within a guild. The world, despite its size and detail, often feels strangely unresponsive to the player’s presence.
Imagine a Skyrim where your choices truly matter, where the decisions you make have a ripple effect throughout the game world. Dynamic faction relationships could lead to alliances, betrayals, and even full-scale wars, depending on your actions. Branching questlines could offer multiple paths to completion, each with its own unique rewards and consequences. Improved dialogue options could allow you to use your skills to persuade, intimidate, or deceive NPCs, opening up new avenues for roleplaying. More morally ambiguous choices could force you to confront difficult ethical dilemmas, challenging your perceptions of right and wrong. By adding more depth and complexity to its roleplaying mechanics, Skyrim could become a truly immersive and unforgettable experience.
Factions: A Sense of Belonging…or Boredom?
Joining the Companions, the College of Winterhold, or the Thieves Guild is a rite of passage for any Skyrim player. These factions offer unique storylines, skills, and rewards, providing a welcome diversion from the main quest. However, once you’ve risen through the ranks and become the leader of your chosen faction, the experience often becomes anticlimactic. The repetitive nature of the radiant quests, the lack of meaningful progression, and the absence of true leadership responsibilities leave players feeling like they’ve accomplished very little. This one longs for more meaningful quests.
What’s missing is a sense of real belonging and purpose. Faction quests often feel generic and uninspired, lacking the depth and complexity of the main storyline. Opportunities for advancement are limited, and the rewards for reaching the top often feel underwhelming. The world doesn’t react to your position of power, and you’re rarely given the opportunity to truly lead or shape the faction’s direction.
Imagine a Skyrim where faction involvement is a truly dynamic and engaging experience. More unique faction quests could offer compelling storylines and challenging objectives. Opportunities for customization could allow you to personalize your faction’s headquarters and recruit new members. Faction wars and power struggles could create a sense of competition and conflict, forcing you to defend your territory and assert your dominance. Branching paths within a faction could allow you to specialize in different roles, from stealth and assassination to diplomacy and trade. By adding more depth and complexity to its faction system, Skyrim could create a more immersive and rewarding experience for players who choose to dedicate themselves to a particular group.
Breathing Life into the World
Skyrim‘s open world is undeniably impressive, boasting a vast and diverse landscape filled with towering mountains, lush forests, and ancient ruins. However, despite its visual appeal, the world often feels strangely static and lifeless. NPCs follow predictable routines, events rarely deviate from the norm, and encounters often feel repetitive and scripted. This one wants to know what the NPCs are doing on a regular basis.
What’s missing is a sense of genuine dynamism and spontaneity. NPCs rarely react to your actions in a meaningful way, and the world rarely changes based on your choices. Dynamic events, such as bandit raids, dragon attacks, or political uprisings, are few and far between, leaving the world feeling strangely predictable. The economy and trade systems are simplistic and unrealistic, lacking the depth and complexity of a real-world economy.
Imagine a Skyrim where the world feels truly alive, where NPCs have their own motivations and agendas, where events unfold organically and unpredictably. Improved NPC routines could give each character a unique personality and backstory, making them feel more like real people. Dynamic events could create a sense of excitement and danger, forcing you to react to unexpected situations. A more realistic economy could add a new layer of depth to the gameplay, requiring you to manage your resources carefully and make strategic decisions about trade and commerce. By adding more dynamism and spontaneity to its open world, Skyrim could become a truly immersive and unforgettable experience.
The Modding Community: A Double-Edged Sword
The Skyrim modding community is a force to be reckoned with, responsible for countless enhancements, additions, and overhauls that have breathed new life into the game. From graphical improvements and gameplay tweaks to entirely new storylines and characters, the modding community has consistently pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in Skyrim. But there are also many factors that can cause problems with the modding community.
While the modding community is a valuable asset, relying solely on mods to fix Skyrim‘s problems is not a sustainable solution. Mods are not available on all platforms, and they can often be buggy, incompatible, or even game-breaking. Furthermore, the quality of mods can vary wildly, and finding the right combination of mods to create a stable and enjoyable experience can be a time-consuming and frustrating process.
Official improvements from Bethesda are still needed, even with the robust modding scene. These improvements would ensure that all players, regardless of their platform or modding expertise, can enjoy the best possible Skyrim experience. A stable, enhanced base game provides a solid foundation for the modding community to build upon, further expanding the possibilities and extending the life of Skyrim for years to come.
Conclusion: A Lasting Legacy or a Missed Opportunity?
Skyrim remains a remarkable game, a testament to the power of open-world RPGs and the enduring appeal of fantasy adventures. Yet, as we’ve explored, this one still needs something to truly reach its full potential. Improved combat, deeper roleplaying, more engaging factions, a more dynamic world, and official technical upgrades are all crucial steps towards solidifying Skyrim‘s legacy for future generations. This Khajit feels something is still missing in Skyrim.
Bethesda has a unique opportunity to breathe new life into Skyrim and address the lingering issues that have plagued the game for years. By listening to the community, investing in meaningful improvements, and embracing the potential of its own creation, Bethesda can ensure that Skyrim remains a beloved and relevant title for years to come. The question is: will they heed the call and give Skyrim the something it desperately needs? Or will Skyrim remain a game with unrealized potential, forever tantalizing players with a glimpse of what could have been? Perhaps “this one needs something” isn’t a criticism of Skyrim, but a testament to its enduring appeal and the boundless potential that still remains untapped, a yearning for the game to evolve and surpass its current limitations, forever etched in the hearts of its devoted players.
