Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon - Initial Thoughts
I first played The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in June 2013. This was over 18 months after the game’s initial release and the base game and DLC were bundled together in a “Legendary” edition. Although a seasoned gamer at the time, familiar with the RPG genre with such titles as Mass Effect and Grand Theft Auto IV, I had not played a game from this franchise before. It only took a few hours of gameplay to realise that this was a special title. The scope of the story, the art design and the size of the world were immediately notable. Tamriel was immersive in a way I had not experienced with other titles. Often simply traversing the terrain and watching the dawn break while the game soundtrack swelled, was sufficient to hold my attention. I instantly picked up on the voice acting of Christopher Plummer and Max Von Sydow. All of which indicated that this was a gaming landmark.
Reinstalling a Game to Recapture the Past
Think of a game that you’ve played in the past that impressed you greatly and left a marked impression upon you. A game which you feel is a real genre milestone or is at the very least, a personal favourite out of all the games that you’ve played in your lifetime. A game that has a special space in your heart. Of which you have many fond memories that are as clear to you now as when you first played it. A game in which you invested a significant amount of time, potentially at the expense of other hobbies and pastimes. Time you gave freely because you were so enamoured by what you were experiencing. In the context of this blog post, I shall be referring to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the PC. However, that is simply a point of reference for the benefit of my writing. Hopefully, the points that I make will be just as relevant and applicable for any other title you may have in mind.
Skyrim: 30 Million Copies Sold and a Decade Later
I read the following post over at Kotaku recently, “Skyrim Player Tries To Kill Every Single Living Thing In The Game” and it struck me how Skyrim is still popular with gamers after ten years. Since its initial launch back on 111th November 2011, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has sold over thirty million copies worldwide, across multiple platforms making it one of the best selling games of all times. Originally released on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 Skyrim has been ported to all subsequent generations of consoles including the Nintendo Switch. A remastered Special Edition of the game that was released in 2016 and a VR version followed in 2017. It has proven extremely popular with the video game modding community and currently supports thousands of nds and addons. You can log on to Twitch at any time of the day and find someone playing Skyrim. That is quite a legacy for a game that’s a decade old.
Looking for the Right RPG
Sometimes when you try something new, you can inadvertently enter the market at the top end. For example, if the first fantasy novel you read may be The Lord of the Rings or the first RPG game you play is either Skyrim or The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, then you’re definitely dealing with A list products. Although this has the benefit of providing a high quality personal experience, it also comes with a downside. The bar for such content has now been set extremely high and subsequent forays into similar territory may not be as good or enjoyable. To use a clumsy analogy, once you’ve had Châteauneuf-du-Pape, your local stores economy brand may no longer suffice.