Game, Complain, Repeat

Skyrim really is the gaming equivalent of crack. Not the good, refined stuff though. More the kind of crack that has been diluted with a mix of concrete and dandruff, siphoned from the head of a teenager that believes that regimented hygiene intel’s turning your underpants inside out after a couple of days of wear. Yet despite its ageing allure, it’s pervasive revisions and my own enduring familiarity with this decade old game, I can’t help but be beguiled by its beguiling opulence. A world replete with expansive autonomy. A sovereignty that affords a unique opportunity to fulfil your vocation of becoming Skyrim’s most revered former convict, who has ascended to being an administrator of the college of Winterhold, commander of the Companions, head of the thieves guild, chief stabber of the Dark Brotherhood and pacifier of civil wars. Husband. Father (adopted). Vampire. Werewolf. And owner of an extensive collection of daedric artefacts. That at some point during our journey, will revert back to being a stealthy archer.

When the conquest of slaying an inter-dimensional dragon, becomes a secondary consideration to property development, it’s a small wonder why we keep coming back to the frost covered mountains of Skyrim. To engage in its auspicious vastness in pursuit of achieving any of these numerous vocations, that on the surface would appear contradictory. Yet despite the games semblance of depth, this facade is somewhat skewed by the superficial depiction of morality and the conflicting principles of being a practising necromancer managing the Thieves guild, College of Winterhold, Dark Brotherhood and the Companions? Or perhaps it just speaks to our ability to diversify and expand our reputation in different factions. A freedom endowed by an environment that is specifically catered to our role as an almost omnipotent being, with the soul of a dragon.

Despite its ageing senility. The repetitious monotony of a place I recognise better than my own town, and no matter how many years have passed between engagements, I just cannot quit Skyrim! With this latest compulsion the result of a Sixth different purchase. A sixth separate variation that includes my original PS3 iteration, PS4 Special Edition, PSVR, PS5 Upgrade Special Edition, Switch and now a Steam variant. Spanning five separate platforms! There’s an almost nostalgic quality to playing Skyrim again. Like going back and to your childhood bedroom during a visit to your parents over the Christmas period to see if it’s how you remember it. And, continuing with this festive analogy, coming back to Skyrim is much like abstaining from Forrero Rochers because that’s all any one would buy you, only to eat one year’s later and recall with sudden recognition, just how much you like Forrero Rochers.

I guess what I’m saying is…I have a problem.