The Endless Journey of Skyrim

One of the greatest parts of Skyrim that makes it my GOY is that even 150+ hrs into the game, there are still new areas that i'm discovering. The world is so vast and differs a bit every time you play it. Everything is so interactive in that, when I look at the real world it makes me want to check out that flora bc "maybe I can use it to create a potion."


Just the other day, I passed by the hot springs area south of Windhelm. Countless times I had defeated a group of giants and mammoths that had destroyed a caravan of khajits. I'd follow the path south east towards Riften.. but I thought, "hey, there is a bit of a hill over there to the left which I haven't taken.. maybe something interesting is behind it." To my surprise, I found 2 hunters with horses had made camp behind there. Something new every time.

There is so much one can do and many ways to accomplish it. For example, a player may just want to be a blacksmith. The player can either buy, gather, or loot crafting materials. If they didn't want to fight monsters, they could travel the world of Skyrim for the many mines and harvest them from the nodes. Or if they're a bit sneaky, they can go to various shops (blacksmith shops in particular) and steal from the shopkeeper. For those that are rich and don't like grinding skill, the player can even go to a blacksmith trainer and buy the skill.


There is not just one way to be effective in the game. Many players like to get the best gear to be able to defeat their enemies, and enemies do tend to scale to their level. Although some enemies do scale in skyrim, others are preset, such as dragons, liches and bandits. Bandits will normally always be in hide/leather armors and easy to dispatch at any level, while liches are formidable for even the strongest player. Although strong, a weak character can find ways to defeat stronger foes; whether it be by getting companions to soak damage, distract or increase dps. They can summon creatures to their aid, consume potions for buffs, or be more strategic in their combat (kiting).


There are fluff things one can do in the game as well and thats ok. Very few games have the ability to interact with items and change their position. Did you defeat your enemies one on top of each other, making it hard to loot? Simple, just move them off each other. One can own in-game housing to store excess loot and decorate. Instead of The Sims-like placement of decorations (via sticking to walls or the floor), the player is able to place items however they like. Think Jenga, but with in-game items.