Nov 01, 2016 Skyrim's Special Edition recaptures and beautifies the original game, but leaves a lot of room for an even-more-special edition down the road. Editor's note: This review covers the PlayStation 4. The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Special Edition also brings the full power of PC mods to consoles. New quests, environments, characters, dialogue, armour, weapons and more - with Mods, there are no limits to what you can experience. On PS4, only mods that use existing game assets are allowed. Furthermore, PS4 users can only load up to 1GB worth of mods, which may present an issue down the road considering the Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch – an essential bugfixing mod – weighs in at just over 500MB already. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition Winner of more than 200 Game of the Year Awards, Skyrim Special Edition brings the epic fantasy to life in stunning detail. The Special Edition includes the critically acclaimed game and add-ons with all-new features like remastered art and effects, volumetric god rays, dynamic depth of field, screen-space reflections, and more.
Skyrim Special Edition review code was provided to us by the publisher.
I've been looking forward to playing Skyrim again with this Special Edition, and going on that epic journey of five years ago once more. I know full well you can't recapture the memory of a first playthrough exactly the same as the element of surprise is gone, but upon starting a new adventure on PS4, it's obvious Skyrim is one of those games that has that special something time after time that goes beyond any feeling of newness.
Much has changed in the RPG world in the five years since The Elder Scrolls' fifth series entry, Skyrim, released. Notable landmarks include the revival of the cRPG, the never-ending accolade train that is The Witcher 3, Fallout 4 streamlined and refined the Bethesda RPG experience further, and the Elder Scrolls series itself has had a particularly clumsy dance with being an MMORPG. These changes to the landscape should be considered when revisiting Skyrim for this Special Edition,especially when there were areas of weakness that now glare brighter than ever with all the games that have come and borrowed and improved on that formula.
The obvious part to get out of the way is the visuals. There's no denying this is definitely a prettier, more detailed version of the PS3 game, with some superb enhanced lighting and effects. Candles glow and flicker, sun rays penetrate the gaps in trees, mist rolls off the mountains and spells crackle and fizz with a newfound beauty. It's Skyrim as you remember it through nostalgia filters and a little extra pizzazz. Not everything is equally scrubbed up, mind. Character faces remain almost exactly as they were, which seems backwards compared to Fallout 4's more expressive and varied facial types. Meanwhile, a fair few textures look their age now. Occasionally you'll focus on something like a patch of rubble and see it's just a flat texture and it takes you out of the immersion somewhat. All in all though, it's a decent enough leg up from last generation.
On the technical side it's a bit hit and miss. If you played the PS3 version and were one of the unfortunates that encountered a whole ream of PS3-specific issues, the PS4 version mercifully fixes a lot of them by default thanks to the PS4 being easier hardware to run the game on. The garden variety glitches, bugs and crashes that lurked within all versions do remain though, so there's still that element of unwanted potluck to your adventure. Frame rate is a lot smoother now, though the odd stutter still shows up in especially hectic moments. I didn't expect all the problems to be fixed, but a few more of the existing ones being scrubbed out would have been nice.
New addition: Skyrim PS4 mods
The extras are likely the biggest lure for existing console-based fans (especially those from PS3, who waited an eternity to get DLC). Dragonborn and Dawnguard expansions are here alongside the home-making Hearthfire DLC, and they add a significant chunk of content to an already huge game. Then there are the mods, sadly limited on PS4; but also of little consequence right now if you're going for trophies as all mods disable trophies, even if they have zero effect on gameplay. A filter for that would have been nice as it seems harsh to deny us something like fresh load screens and weather effects on clothing because of a catch-all rule. In fairness the PS4 mods available do add some interesting improvements for the most part, so if you're that into Skyrim, you're probably going to have a second playthrough. That's where the mods provide a little fresh variety to what you know and love.
It of course all depends on what angle you're coming into Skyrim Special Edition with. Newbies are obviously going to have more to get invested in, but Skyrim's combat, somewhat clunky in 2011, is positively archaic at this point. That sees Skyrim SE suffer greatly if the player has played anything within the western RPG genre since. On a positive note, the game is catered towards that clunky combat, so it's more a matter of taste and perseverance than anything.
It's worth remembering that Skyrim's greatest strength still remains its greatest appeal: exploration. Traversing Skyrim itself was, and still is, the biggest draw for myself and many others, above and beyond the initially thrilling, yet ultimately formulaic dragon-hunting that ties the game together. Seeing a cave off the beaten track and legging it from the bear that inhabits it, discovering Dwarven ruins and marvelling at all the steampunk-esque tech they hold, or finding one of the many odd, touching, and often hilarious, one-offs because you decided to take a small detour. Skyrim has your eyes on a hook, looking to yank you off the quest you were on and drag you willingly down a new rabbit hole. Never once does it feel forced, and you always feel in charge of your own destiny. Skyrim SE brings that back to life, albeit in a nostalgia-riddled ‘ah I remember this bit' way for returning players. Everyone else is in for a treat.
For a more detailed look at the game, check out our original Skyrim review on PS3
It's slightly disappointing to see Skyrim SE isn't a more thorough remaster. I'd have happily ditched mod support to get better character models or bug-fixes for half-decade old issues. Even so, this is a much more accomplished version of the game for consoles. Whether you fancy a return to Tamriel's chilliest corner or are arriving as a curious type who missed out the first time, this is as good as console Skyrim gets.
Skyrim Legendary Edition Ps4
One of the growing trends this console generation has been HD remasters. With the rising cost of AAA game development, HD remasters are a low-risk, low-cost way for publishers to pad their coffer while potentially introducing a new generation of players to existing IPs. Bethesda Softworks is no stranger to this movement, having previously released Dishonored Definitive Edition. When Bethesda announced at E3 this past summer that Skyrim – the fifth installment in the Elder Scrolls series – was getting the HD treatment, it immediately became one of the most anticipated remasters to date. Now that it's available, is this enhanced version of Skyrim as special as its name implies?
If you're heading into Skyrim Special Edition expecting a complete overhaul, you're likely to be disappointed. The core content of the game is unchanged and while the visual improvements are noticeable, some untouched elements of this five-year-old game stick out even more now; in particular the rough character models, stiff animations and archaic combat. Among the graphical enhancements are volumetric lighting, dynamic depth of field, screen-space reflections, new water and snow shaders, higher resolution art and effects, and more. In layman's terms, Skyrim is much brighter and more colorful, it's environments more lush and detailed, and it's world that much more immersive. The Special Edition also sees a boost in performance across all platforms with shorter load times, a longer draw distance, and generally smoother gameplay. In the same breath, I've experienced several audio glitches, disappearing NPCs and other bugs not present in the original game; issues that Bethesda is currently addressing.
Perhaps more significant than remastered visuals, Skyrim Special Edition adds mod support to consoles for the first time; user-created content in the form of graphic upgrades, new quests, environments, characters, dialogue, armor, weapons, spells, perks, creatures – you name it – that can greatly expand and improve the overall experience. It wasn't until the last minute that Sony allowed mod support in the PS4 version, and even now restrictions remain in place. On PS4, only mods that use existing game assets are allowed. Furthermore, PS4 users can only load up to 1GB worth of mods, which may present an issue down the road considering the Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch – an essential bugfixing mod – weighs in at just over 500MB already. By comparison, Xbox One users have less space restriction (up to 5GB) and no content restrictions, resulting in a much larger selection of mods on what is hands-down the console version of choice.
The extras are likely the biggest lure for existing console-based fans (especially those from PS3, who waited an eternity to get DLC). Dragonborn and Dawnguard expansions are here alongside the home-making Hearthfire DLC, and they add a significant chunk of content to an already huge game. Then there are the mods, sadly limited on PS4; but also of little consequence right now if you're going for trophies as all mods disable trophies, even if they have zero effect on gameplay. A filter for that would have been nice as it seems harsh to deny us something like fresh load screens and weather effects on clothing because of a catch-all rule. In fairness the PS4 mods available do add some interesting improvements for the most part, so if you're that into Skyrim, you're probably going to have a second playthrough. That's where the mods provide a little fresh variety to what you know and love.
It of course all depends on what angle you're coming into Skyrim Special Edition with. Newbies are obviously going to have more to get invested in, but Skyrim's combat, somewhat clunky in 2011, is positively archaic at this point. That sees Skyrim SE suffer greatly if the player has played anything within the western RPG genre since. On a positive note, the game is catered towards that clunky combat, so it's more a matter of taste and perseverance than anything.
It's worth remembering that Skyrim's greatest strength still remains its greatest appeal: exploration. Traversing Skyrim itself was, and still is, the biggest draw for myself and many others, above and beyond the initially thrilling, yet ultimately formulaic dragon-hunting that ties the game together. Seeing a cave off the beaten track and legging it from the bear that inhabits it, discovering Dwarven ruins and marvelling at all the steampunk-esque tech they hold, or finding one of the many odd, touching, and often hilarious, one-offs because you decided to take a small detour. Skyrim has your eyes on a hook, looking to yank you off the quest you were on and drag you willingly down a new rabbit hole. Never once does it feel forced, and you always feel in charge of your own destiny. Skyrim SE brings that back to life, albeit in a nostalgia-riddled ‘ah I remember this bit' way for returning players. Everyone else is in for a treat.
For a more detailed look at the game, check out our original Skyrim review on PS3
It's slightly disappointing to see Skyrim SE isn't a more thorough remaster. I'd have happily ditched mod support to get better character models or bug-fixes for half-decade old issues. Even so, this is a much more accomplished version of the game for consoles. Whether you fancy a return to Tamriel's chilliest corner or are arriving as a curious type who missed out the first time, this is as good as console Skyrim gets.
Skyrim Legendary Edition Ps4
One of the growing trends this console generation has been HD remasters. With the rising cost of AAA game development, HD remasters are a low-risk, low-cost way for publishers to pad their coffer while potentially introducing a new generation of players to existing IPs. Bethesda Softworks is no stranger to this movement, having previously released Dishonored Definitive Edition. When Bethesda announced at E3 this past summer that Skyrim – the fifth installment in the Elder Scrolls series – was getting the HD treatment, it immediately became one of the most anticipated remasters to date. Now that it's available, is this enhanced version of Skyrim as special as its name implies?
If you're heading into Skyrim Special Edition expecting a complete overhaul, you're likely to be disappointed. The core content of the game is unchanged and while the visual improvements are noticeable, some untouched elements of this five-year-old game stick out even more now; in particular the rough character models, stiff animations and archaic combat. Among the graphical enhancements are volumetric lighting, dynamic depth of field, screen-space reflections, new water and snow shaders, higher resolution art and effects, and more. In layman's terms, Skyrim is much brighter and more colorful, it's environments more lush and detailed, and it's world that much more immersive. The Special Edition also sees a boost in performance across all platforms with shorter load times, a longer draw distance, and generally smoother gameplay. In the same breath, I've experienced several audio glitches, disappearing NPCs and other bugs not present in the original game; issues that Bethesda is currently addressing.
Perhaps more significant than remastered visuals, Skyrim Special Edition adds mod support to consoles for the first time; user-created content in the form of graphic upgrades, new quests, environments, characters, dialogue, armor, weapons, spells, perks, creatures – you name it – that can greatly expand and improve the overall experience. It wasn't until the last minute that Sony allowed mod support in the PS4 version, and even now restrictions remain in place. On PS4, only mods that use existing game assets are allowed. Furthermore, PS4 users can only load up to 1GB worth of mods, which may present an issue down the road considering the Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch – an essential bugfixing mod – weighs in at just over 500MB already. By comparison, Xbox One users have less space restriction (up to 5GB) and no content restrictions, resulting in a much larger selection of mods on what is hands-down the console version of choice.
Mod support is nothing new to PC users, and so for them the value of Skyrim Special Edition gets as murky as the swamps of Morthal. Unless you never played with the official high-res texture add-on, there simply isn't enough incentive to pay full price again for a slight increase in performance. If you owned the original Skyrim and each of the three major add-ons (Hearthfire, Dawnguard and Dragonborn) prior to the launch of Skyrim Special Edition, congratulations, you can upgrade for free. For everyone else that has been playing and modding Skyrim on PC for the past five years but who didn't meet the launch criteria, as you were.
Bethesda The Elder Scrolls V
With a fresh coat of paint and the introduction of mod support, Skyrim Special Edition is clearly aimed at, and a better value for console owners; especially on Xbox One. Even if you've already spent hundreds of hours wandering Skyrim's countryside, the mods available at launch provide new ways to play, new loot to acquire, new locations to explore, and much more. Skyrim Special Edition is the best version of one of the all-time great fantasy role-playing games, even if it has begun to show its age.
80%Reviewed By: Stephen Riach
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Rating: 80%
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This review is based on a digital copy of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition Sims character creator demo. for the Xbox One provided by Bethesda Softworks.
