Is there a better game than Skyrim?

[Magic Spazm]

I don't think there is.

[Kaelmato]

Lots of games actually, skyrim itself is really, reeeally subpar.

It is my favorite modding engine though and I love it for it.

[kdodds]

At some point, you get tired of it. Great game, but I have more time in Fallout 4. And eventually will very likely have more time in Starfield as well.

[Incredibilis]

I love Skyrim to bits, it is my favourite single-player game. And it is also one of the best games to mod. But there are definitely better games than just vanilla Skyrim (Witcher 3 comes to mind).

[FauxFurry]

It all depends on what kind of game one is looking for when making such judgments. Super Mario Galaxy is a poor Soulslike while Dark Souls is a terrible tile based puzzle game.

[Cksalzy]

Originally posted by Magic Spazm:

I don't think there is.

fallout new vegas, baldurs gate 3, god of war ragnorok, warhammer 40k space marine. Just a couple that far outmatch this game. time to take off the nostolga glasses.

[Zero McDol]

Originally posted by Cksalzy:

Originally posted by Magic Spazm:

I don't think there is.

fallout new vegas, baldurs gate 3, god of war ragnorok, warhammer 40k space marine. Just a couple that far outmatch this game. time to take off the nostolga glasses.

- FO New Vegas, imo equal. Maybe a better story in FO New Vegas, but Skyrim has better world interactivity.
- Baldur's Gate 3, not even. At the most, a better story, but nothing beyond that.
- God of War Ragnarock, not even. At the most, a better story, but nothing beyond that.
- Warhammer 40k Space Marine, dunno since I never played. I'm going to guess that it's a story game though.

If I had to guess, I'd say that you like compelling stories, and there's nothing wrong with that. Skyrim has more going on than a compelling story, and that's why I rate it far higher than the games that you listed. In the end, it's all subjective of course.

Can't say nostalgia for me, as I first bought this game in 2021, and have been playing it consistently through to 2024.

[6h0$t942]

Originally posted by Kaelmato:

Lots of games actually, skyrim itself is really, reeeally subpar.

It is my favorite modding engine though and I love it for it.

Exactly. It was novel to me when i was new to gaming 15 years ago
But now yea its subpar

[Steelfleece]

Plenty of games are superior in a number of ways. Still, Skyrim does strike kind of a sweet spot. Blends an open world map with somewhat optional questlines, the main story doesn't need to be hurried at any point so you can screw off and do whatever without feeling like you're on a countdown. In fact, holding off on doing the main and civil war questlines can actually make some other side quests easier. Character progression's also simple enough for beginners but still has at least a little meat to it for serious RPG players.

The setting, too, was kind of a sweet spot I feel. It wasn't your generic medieval Europe fantasy locale like Oblivion leaned a little toward, not was it totally alien like Morrowind. Back when it came out. Viking-styled settings for RPGs weren't quite as common back then, even if it did come out after WoW's Wrath of the Lich King (the one really good expansion that game had). Mix in the background depth of the Elder Scrolls series and it has a nice bit of mythos too. There are some other series (The Witcher is frequently brought up) that do this rather well, too.

Plus, of course, the modding. Making Morrowind in a moddable engine with creation kit and keeping that trend through later games almost makes up for Bethesda's inability to ship a complete game. Okay, maybe it fully makes up for it if the modding community is up to the task like they have been for Skyrim. Having games made for mods tends to assist their longevity, especially in this case, compared to games where modding is forbidden.

[dennoace2]

Originally posted by Incredibilis:

I love Skyrim to bits, it is my favourite single-player game. And it is also one of the best games to mod. But there are definitely better games than just vanilla Skyrim (Witcher 3 comes to mind).

However The Witcher 3 on only 3rd person, which makes it suck balls, sadly. I would LOVE this game if not.

[dennoace2]

Originally posted by 6h0$t942:

Originally posted by Kaelmato:

Lots of games actually, skyrim itself is really, reeeally subpar.

It is my favorite modding engine though and I love it for it.

Exactly. It was novel to me when i was new to gaming 15 years ago
But now yea its subpar

So you are saying a 14+ year-old game is Subpar NOW, in 2024?? Jesus what do you expect from this game? To be the best ever...forever??

[FauxFurry]

Nothing delivers quite the experience that Skyrim does just yet even if some approach it in some way.
For example, Kingdom Come: Deliverance is not a fantasy game with a player determined character. It also lacks an option to play in third person. The Witcher 3 is a fantasy game but the main character is predetermined (down to his class pf adventurer) plus one can not switch to first person perspective.

Neither comes close in terms of mod tools or mod community, either.
Of course, on the flip side, Skyrim lacks the specialties of other games made before or since so at best, one can call it a best in genre or sub-genre title. If I feel like playing a Hitman game, I am not going to just play through Skyrim's Dark Brotherhood questline. If I want to play one of the Deception games, luring enemies into traps in Skyrim will not suffice as a substitute.

[Zero McDol]

Originally posted by FauxFurry:

Nothing delivers quite the experience that Skyrim does just yet even if some approach it in some way.
For example, Kingdom Come: Deliverance is not a fantasy game with a player determined character. It also lacks an option to play in third person. The Witcher 3 is a fantasy game but the main character is predetermined (down to his class pf adventurer) plus one can not switch to first person perspective.

Neither comes close in terms of mod tools or mod community, either.
Of course, on the flip side, Skyrim lacks the specialties of other games made before or since so at best, one can call it a best in genre or sub-genre title. If I feel like playing a Hitman game, I am not going to just play through Skyrim's Dark Brotherhood questline. If I want to play one of the Deception games, luring enemies into traps in Skyrim will not suffice as a substitute.

Indeed.

I place Skyrim as the best that I've played in the fantasy-medieval genre, but wouldn't compare it to games outside of this genre. Such is why I then switch gears to GTA IV, GTA V / Online or Cyberpunk 2077 for a more urban setting, and of course, other games for other things.

If anything, I consider Skyrim to be the GTA of medieval-fantasy games, having a solid collection of features but not necessarily beating other games at any one thing.

Other games of this type may do certain things better, but their limited to only doing a small number of things better than Skyrim. With Skyrim, this is a game that's strong-suit lies in it's collection of features and decent enough storyline. No other medieval-fantasy game, that I've seen, has been able to match Skyrim, aside from likely other Elder Scrolls games.

In my opinion of course.

[~ Fabulous ~]

Skyrim is a really good game but

Kenshi beat it in terms of emergent stories and walking simulator

Matchless Kungfu beat it in terms of fantasy sim sanbox open world RPG

Mount and Blade beat it in terms of total overhaul mod

[kaintk]

assassin creeds game (some of them are crap thought), bg3, cyberpunk, dragon quest 1-11, final fantasy 1-16 (15 is crap), witcher 3, wukong, civilization 5, fallout 3-4,vegas, god of war, zelda games, metroid games, a lot of NES game, SNES games, you want me continue ? lol open your eyes, man

[Zero McDol]

Originally posted by kaintk:

assassin creeds game (some of them are crap thought), bg3, cyberpunk, dragon quest 1-11, final fantasy 1-16 (15 is crap), witcher 3, wukong, civilization 5, fallout 3-4,vegas, god of war, zelda games, metroid games, a lot of NES game, SNES games, you want me continue ? lol open your eyes, man

Hmm....

I've played a few of those, and still don't think that most are better than Skyrim. In my opinion of course. Better stories? Sure, but far too linear of a gaming experience imo and not enough sand, in the case of most of the games that you listed.

It's all subjective of course, as what one considers the best can easily be some else's worst.

edit:
It's hard for me to put into words how I feel about Skyrim, but the best way that I can put it, is that Skyrim feels the most feature complete imo. The vanilla Skyrim has almost everything needed to really enjoy RP'ing in its world, and then comes the mods.