I could easily summarize Games Abyss' adoration for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim with this, swiftly concluding our tribute to 2011's most content rich and most satisfying single player videogame experiences of the year. But that wouldn't be much fun, now would it?
Selecting The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim as Games Abyss' recipient for the 2011 Game of the Year Award did not come as much of a surprise to myself or the rest of the GA staff. What did come to a surprise however, is that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim wasn't any of our personal favorites of 2011. If you listened carefully to our Game of the Year podcast, you would have noticed that while we had a lot of good things to say about Bethesda's epic action PRG, none of us chose it as our individual Game of the Year. Senior Writer Matt Randisi selected Rocksteady's masterpiece Batman: Arkham City. Staff Writers Jennifer Vitale and Justin Belin went with From Software's Dark Souls. And I selected Atlus' horror/romance puzzle adventure Catherine. So how is it that a game that not a single member of the staff elected as their personal Game of the Year, was able to come out on top above all other contenders?
Simply put, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was a title that the entire lot of us became immediately obsessed with from the moment it was released on 11/11/11. At times it was just about anything the staff and I would talk about: what class we had chosen, what was our current level was, how we allocated our perk/skill points, what quest we were currently undertaking, etc. Yes, Games Abyss had a full blown addiction to the world of Skyrim. And we without a doubt loved – and continue to love – every damned second of it. With the notable exception of Catherine, a game that wholly enchanted us with it's true-to-life presentation and adult/mature themes, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim lovingly ruled our lives during the weeks following of its initial release, and it still does until this very day.
The rate at which you obtain new quests is absolutely mind-boggling; the game simply cannot run out of things for you to do. Embarking on a particular mission just means that you will unlock about 500 new things to do/explore on the way there. Just when you think you are making a dent in the overall game is when you realize that you have ultimately done nothing to progress this magical tale of Dragons and Dragonborne, and have spent close to 8 consecutive hours (which by the way feels like half an hour because you are way to engrossed to have any conception of time) to complete an admittedly unimpressive amount of side quests. And knowing that, knowing that you've just spent what little hours you have between your real life and this massive fantasy world doing what amounts to a meaningless drop in the bucket, it doesn't even begin to deter your resolve. Because in the long run, you are having the time of your life. In the long run, you are taking part in something that is infinitely bigger than you ever would have imagined.
On the onset of all this Game of the Year discussion, the question was raised that how a title such The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim a game that suffers from such an obvious amount of technical issues ranging from gameplay stutters and hiccups to system freezes and frame rate woes that inevitably render the game unplayable, could ever be considered for Game of the Year. Now I could very well go on about my very own Skyrim woes (I had no idea a brand new 360 Slim could freeze-up so frequently). Or I could go on about how the PS3 version of the title has been more than probablematic for Staff Writer Justin Belin (the slow-down alone would make you want to hurl the controller into the TV). But the sheer fact that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has received such unanimous praise from the entire staff in spite of its technical shortcomings speaks volumes for the title's deeply ingrained scope and majesty.
It is a game that will make all other facets of life, be it the need to take in nourishment, lavatory breaks, restful sleep, socializing with friends, or even satisfying yourself and your loved one, seem completely pointless by comparison. And no other single player gaming videogame experience can dare make such a boast save Skyrim.