Game profile
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
As the fate chosen Dragonborn, you explore snowy Skyrim entirely at your own pace. A huge modding community keeps this decade plus old game feeling fresh to this day.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is RPG / Adventure, set in a fantasy world. Visually it is deliberately stylised rather than photorealistic, and the overall tone stays somewhere between light and heavy. The world is open, so wandering off and ignoring the main path is part of the deal. It rewards long uninterrupted stretches more than quick check-ins.
Difficulty stays forgiving, so progress rarely depends on your reflexes. The story matters and gives the mechanics a frame, without taking over. It is a single player experience from start to finish. It is available broadly, on 4 platforms. It sits in the budget bracket.
What stands out
- Legendary modding scene
- Free character development
- Timeless fantasy world
This fits you if
- exploring for its own sake is the point for you
- you want to live through a story, not just play a system
- you can sit down for a proper long stretch without interruptions
- you like getting lost and ignoring the main objective for hours
- you want zero frustration and no difficulty wall
- you play alone and want a complete experience without other people
Look elsewhere if
- you need real difficulty to stay interested
- you do not have 70 hours to give a single game
- you only ever get short bursts of play time
- you want to play it side by side with someone
How long is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim?
About 70 hours in total. At three evenings a week and two hours each, you will be busy for roughly 12 weeks, or 35 sessions.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 80 out of 100, which puts it above 30 percent of the 1276 games here and at rank 881 overall. That is the lower end of this database, critics were more reserved here than with most titles. The number does not tell you whether a game is exactly right for the right evening, though.
For comparison, RPG averages 82 points across the database, so this one sits 2 points below its own genre. The figure rests on 4375 collected ratings.
Released in 2011, which makes it 15 years old. A genuine classic, and worth checking how the version you buy holds up today.
The facts
- Release year
- 2011
- Genres
- RPG, Adventure
- Playtime
- approx. 70 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Relaxed, forgiving
- Story weight
- Present and relevant
- Play with
- Solo
- Setting
- Fantasy
- Visual style
- Stylised
- Price bracket
- Budget
- Platforms
- PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
- Critic rating
- 80 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | 2011 | approx. 70 hrs. | 80 | Budget |
| Realm of Ink | 2026 | approx. 40 hrs. | 84 | Mid price |
| Hogwarts Legacy | 2023 | approx. 35 hrs. | 85 | Mid price |
| Pokémon Karmesin und Purpur | 2022 | approx. 35 hrs. | 72 | Full price |
If you liked this, try these
- 84/100 Realm of Ink Shared: RPG, Adventure, Fantasy, shorter
- 85/100 Hogwarts Legacy Shared: RPG, Adventure, Fantasy, shorter
- 72/100 Pokémon Karmesin und Purpur Shared: RPG, Adventure, Fantasy, shorter
- 99/100 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Shared: RPG, Adventure, Fantasy, shorter
- 86/100 Cassette Beasts Shared: RPG, Adventure, Fantasy, shorter
- 76/100 Pokémon Legends: Z-A Shared: RPG, Adventure, Fantasy, shorter