Why You Should Play Skyrim: Special Edition

Five years after the game originally released, Skyrim is back on the shelves for gamers on next-gen consoles. Should gamers shell out $60 to buy a game they have (most likely) played before? Yes, but not without question.

The game takes us back to the land of Skyrim where a civil war is raging. As the Dovahkiin, or “dragonborn”, the player must bring balance to the nation while also, you know, fighting dragons and various other enemies. The atmosphere is absolutely beautiful, something Bethesda has always been really good at.

“But Kyle, we played the game before, we know all of that. Why should we spend all that money to replay it when we could just spend it on Call of Duty instead”. I’ll tell you why, and it’s quite simple: mods. Most of us who didn’t originally play the game on PC never got to experience mods, but Skyrim SE gives us that chance. There is even a nifty list of mods to check out.

PC gamers have used mods on Skyrim for years, but now console gamers have the chance to join them in Modvana (ok, it’s a poor play on Nirvana but bare with me). This is where I have to give a pit of pause, however. See, not every mod is available on console as-is, but there are even fewer mods allowed on PS4 than Xbox One. This is definitely something to consider if you are a PS4 owner. If you played the game enough when it was first out, and aren’t looking to shell $60 for a relatively minor upgrade, maybe the money isn’t well spent on this.

HOWEVER, if you were a fan of the game originally but did not log well over 100 hours in the game (I believe 140 was what I reached on the PS3), the changes to make enough of a difference to make it worth it. A lot of the mods focus on changes to the environment, but some give you really helpful items or some neat cheats that make the game more fun a second time around.

Overall, my recommendation is to get your hands on this game by any (legal) means possible. It is a nice enough upgrade from the original and you will most likely find yourself sinking countless hours into it. Just since its release I have logged 45 hours of gameplay, with plenty of substance left.

Whether you are returning to Skyrim or considering making your first trip, this game will definitely give you your money’s worth.