I used to write more often here about games I was playing, specially because it was a rare event.
Now things have changed a bit. Essentially because my PC broke –no idea why, which is what happens with the modern computers: they just stop working–, and I got a modern-ish replacement.
It isn’t a gaming PC, but has a Ryzen 9 CPU that allows playing some stuff, including games not that new, but that for me look amazing independently of not being state of the art any more. For example: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Not the best views, but unfortunately I didn't think about taking screenshots until now
When playing new games, I don’t seem to stick with them for more than a handful of sessions, and it feels like real effort! Until I tried Skyrim. I’ve been playing for 45 hours so far, and my interest hasn’t waned at all.
Sure, some of the side quests are awful –like you stumble upon a bandit hideaway, and of course you murder everybody–, and the main quest is not super original; but there is something about walking around foraging ingredients to make potions, or visiting new places –not necessarily dungeons–, or going back to my house in Whiterun and talk to the two girls I adopted –I play a woman and they call me mommy–; that clicks with me. I had tried Oblivion –the previous game in the series– before this one, but after a few sessions I forgot to keep playing it.
You get to kill a few of these in the game and some people say that after a while it gets old
Also the difficulty seems OK for me, so far. I’m playing in the default setting and only a couple of events felt a bit unbalanced –and there are some caves with vampires that I had to give up; but some day I will return and they’ll see!–, and another couple of encounters required some creativity. In one of those, my first companion Lydia sadly died, and I refused to reload a save: that’s my experience of Skyrim and I will take it as it is.
Of course everything is scripted, but you still have some agency and being an open world game, I feel like it is my story.
As always, I’m not sure how much I’m going to play, but I don’t feel like quitting for now. I know is not too original, but considering that I don’t play many new games, Skyrim is probably my favourite of the modern era!