The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Special Edition (PS4)

I love Skyrim. Moving from PS3 to PS4 and not having it with me was upsetting.... And Now it is back with the extra content I never had, plus I can use mods on Console. What more do I need to say? Get it, play it, Fall in love with it all over again.

A lot can happen in seven years. Not only do we get older, but many of us happen to pick up a few grey hairs and a few extra kilos in the same time. Skyrim, on the other hand, shows its age with grace, and a lot of added graphical botox. This game has changed a LOT since November 2011 when it was first released on the then generation of consoles and PC. OK, it's the same game as back then, but oh-so-pretty now. Plus, an added bonus, it is a LOT less buggy too than back then. The added mods section pumps this game with new life even further. In other words, this game is prettier than before, plays better than before, but offers the same experience as before. If you played Skyrim for countless hours then, and you still miss the sense of adventure, then grab this. If not, then it's possibly an easy pass. If you've never played Skyrim before, this is an exciting adventure for you. Do not pass on it! And know that I'm jealous of you enjoying this adventure for the first time.

Just when you thought your addiction broken, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has risen from the last-gen grave to drag you down once again into its demanding embrace. But this time, it's got its hair and nails did, its look updated and guuuurrrrrl, it's ready to make regret ever leaving it.

That's right, Skyrim has been polished up for current gen consoles (and that PC thing, too), and let me just say... Fus-Ro-Damn does it feel good to return to the world of Skyrim again! How I missed fighting dragons, overthrowing kingdoms, rendering the very heavens in twain with my voice alone to summon down the unbridled fury of the storm and more importantly... putting baskets over people's heads so I can steal their potatoes. But... How has this re-experience been on my beautiful glacier white PS4? Sit down, young one, and I shall tell you.

The story of the Special Edition hasn't changed at all and the main game still follows your character (whatever and whoever that may be thanks to a hefty character creation suite -- all hail the Ninja Wizard Cat Person!) who starts off as a nobody on their way to an execution, but ends up a god-tier jack-of-all-trades-as-well-as-master-of-them-all -LOL-totes-OP-LOL legend, as you're not only thrust into a civil war between the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks (which is making like a Lisa to a Tommy and tearing the province of Skyrim apart) but then suddenly dragons start appearing thanks to Alduin, a super pissed off OG dragon who is destined to destroy the world (as evident by his gamer tag, World-Eater).

Obviously, you have to not only help end this civil war, but stop Big Al as well by channelling the power of the Dragonborn. Yes, you have the power of dragons running through you ('cause your momma and a dragon maybe got drunk one night, put R.Kelly's Bump & Grind on repeat and then proceeded to repeatedly bump & grind) and you'll have to use it if Skyrim and the world are to survive. In between this main adventure, you'll find hundreds of other sidequests which are incredibly varied and can be as simple as delivering a letter or killing witches so you can use their heads in an arcane ritual to cure werewolves.
Included in the Special Edition are the three DLC add-ons, Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn, which themselves have their own litle thing going on. Hearthfire is the least noteworthy of the... >puts on glasses<... lot, simply allowing you to build houses (for yourself, this isn't SkyrimCities) and adopt kids with the only plot here being the one you can buy to build your homestead on. Dragonborn sees you travelling to a whole new island, Solstheim, and here, you'll come into conflict with Miraak, an ancient Dragon Priest and the very first Dragon Born... So obviously he's evil. Because tropes -- and the final piece of DLC, Dawnguard, will have you flashing back to your #TeamEdward and #TeamJacob days as Harkon, a Vampire Lord, arises to bring about an ancient prophecy that will eternally black out the sun but the vampire hunters known as the Dawnguard ain't having NONE of that. Nuh-uh. But you can change the tide of this little war by joining either side to stop the side who didn't get a rose from you. Sun's out, fangs out. Or sun's out, crossbows out. Up to you.

Hearthfire can die in a fire, but Dragonborn and Dawnguard add a ridiculous amount of content to a game which already has a ridiculous amount of content for a game, and you'll get new quests, weapons, armour, locations and characters, as well unique features like being able to tame and ride dragons or turn into a vampire/werewolf, with both having their own unique perks and skills.

But you all know the story of Skyrim. You're here to find out how the Special Edition looks and plays. So let's get on that. Visually, the game looks much better than its original release, but remember, this is really an update and not a rebuild. The same textures and character models are still there, but they look a little crisper and a little better defined, but they really don't compare to today's calibre of games in terms of visual fidelity -- however, it would be unfair to make that comparison.
But, things like the new snow and water effects immediately pop -- as well as the volumetric god rays, which turn areas into gorgeous vistas. Whether its moonlight shafting through the trees at night while Torchbugs dart around the foliage, or the rays of the setting sun hitting the peaceful river to create this wonderful, peaceful moment worthy of the fanciest postcard in your ouma's collection. It was nice to just stop and take it all in... But then the mudcrabs pop up to give you a surprise vasectomy, ruining it all.

Gameplay also remains unchanged, and you still have access to some deep RPG mechanics. You'll split your time between exploring dungeons, caves, ruins and cities, solving puzzles of varying degrees of difficulty and slaughtering your way through the world using swords, axes, maces, bows or various kinds of magic which range from simply shooting fire and lightning, to going invisible or raising the dead to fight for you and proving your aforementioned ouma right about games being evil. Or mix and match -- flame roast that giant with one hand and then fillet him with your sword. Or just be a man and punch a dragon to death. Your body. Your perks. Your choice.

Doing so will level up related perks (using a bow levels up archery, a sword one-handed etc) and these vary from sneaking to combat to magic and much, much, much more. But whatever direction you go in terms of character build, thanks to the massive arsenal of weapons and armour (don't like what's in the game? Craft your own), no matter your play style, you'll have no problem finding your gameplay groove.

And let's not forget Dragon Shouts, which you'll unlock by finding word walls throughout the game and these also start off simple, like a force shout which sends enemies flying back to shouts which summon a storm, striking and killing just everything. But you probably already know this.

A Bethesda game review should have its own section dedicated to bugs, but I thankfully didn't experience any issues aside from some fishes swimming on land (Alduin is the bringing about the end of the world, so I just chalked it up to #RevelationsThangs) and the Special Edition ran shockingly smooth during my play-through -- the game runs at 30 FPS, and I didn't feel it deviated to a notable level during my batrillion hours of gameplay.

But to me, the biggest thing is that loading times are non-existent, removing that internal debate of whether you should just accept that you ran out of lockpicks and you can come back for this loot later or reloading the game, wait 37 years, get married, have a child, watch that child grow up and during their 21st, you'll take a short break to come home and check to see if the game has reloaded your earlier save. It was that bad on the PS3, but here, no such issue.

Oh, mod support. Yeah, there's mods on consoles now, but the PS4 is limited, thanks to Sony's policy of no external assets, meaning people will have to remix what's already there, so don't expect Thomas the Dragon Engine to pop up any time soon. At the time of review, the mods weren't as plentiful (best I saw was a survival mod where food is needed to survive and wounds need to be treated properly), but limited as they may be, the right ones will add a near infinite amount of playtime to a game that already has nearly that.

TL;DR? Skyrim: Special Edition might not be the prettiest boy at the ball, but it looks good enough, plays fantastically, has a ridiculous amount of content -- including all the previous DLC -- as well as mod support -- limited as it may be on PS4. For those wondering if the nostalgia will be enough to keep this game afloat in a sea of new releases, the answer is yes. No matter how many hours you sank into the original, you had fun and this time, it'll be no different. And even for newcomers to the series, curious about what the hullabaloo is about, this Edition is well worth it.

I just ordered my copy! I have been looking to get it forever and at a steal like this, I couldn't resist. As a player and fan of versions such as Tamriel and Morrowind, I can't wait to start playing this.

Personally a great addition to my collection ?
THANKS RARU!

It is simply impossible to attempt to rate and review a game this good, but in simple terms if you love role-playing, if you dream about slaying dragons and collecting epic loot on a journey so full of adventure it seeps out your ears then this masterpiece is a must have.

It's not easy for a game to come out as a relaunch after such a long period, but Skyrim absolutely nailed it, perfectly immersive as before and then some, its not without its flaws as its got its bugs that can be game breaking on a few side quests that I've experienced. Although its bugs can be rectified normally with a game reload to a previous save in most instances would fix the bug and allow the game to continue as normal.

The physics, gameplay, crafting, skills and perks system are amazing, although not as fluid as games made in 2015/2016 and as graphically gorgeous, its definitely makes up for it with its content and such quality for the price. Bethesda certainly puts its full effort into all their titles that i've played such as the Fallout and Dishonored series.

Its positives outweigh its negatives 10:1, It's a certain must for any gamer that enjoys combat, magic, insanely expansive lore and worlds, intricacy or someone just trying something new.
Its not a game that easily disappoints.

Where to begin with a game so immense? After spending the better part of about a 120 hours with this masterpiece of a game it's hard to find a starting point because just like in the game you mold and fold your adventure just the way you want to. Want to play the main quest and worry about nothing but the main quest? Sure, go ahead but you will be missing out on where Skryim is strongest. That's not to say the main story is bad. It is actually rather excellent. If you want to start exploring right from the start, I would say that would be the way to go. That is where Skryrim really shines. It works along the direction of a "Choose your own adventure" style game-play. Just pick a heading and you are on your way to make your own story and live another life. That included defeating a vampire overlord, but also standing a chance of becoming a vampire or if you are more of a dog person you can always become a werewolf. Also let us not forget the legions of other factions in this game, of which you you can become a member of most of them.

Weapons and armor are also varied with anything from iron daggers to dragonplate armor. You'll never be left in a lurch thinking that there aren't enough weapons or different armor types for you to use....if you invest in the Smithing Skill branch. They even have bows so that your inner Robin Hood fantasies can be lived out.

The skill tree is varied and detailed. You have to put in a lot of man hours to get everything fully maxed out and i do mean a lot. There is everything from smithing as previously mentioned, two-handed weapons, one-handed weapons, shields, enchanting and many many more.

The PS4 and Xbox One versions bring all the bells and whistles to the party in the form of ALL DLC included and also updated graphics which is an even bigger improvement on the overall experience, something that I did not think was possible as the experience is already top-notch.

This truly is a masterpiece of our gaming generation and a must-have for any PS4 or Xbox One fan.

Now go out and make your own adventure.