In which Neil plays Skyrim

Neil Gow

Neil Gow

Demi-God
Having had my PS4 returned to me - its a long story - I have decided to dive into Skyrim and see what its like. But Neil, I hear you say, surely if you have a PS4 you've already done Skyrim?! Well no, because before it went on holiday I never really gelled with the PS4 and had a terrible experience with Skyrim. Like taking an hour to do the starting scene as I was running into walls, staring at the ceiling and randomly hitting people on my own side. It was ... sub-optimal.

So this time around I girded my loins and went in with a determined idea that I was going to learn how to do things. So what happened?

- I managed to get this left-stick, right-stick nonsense sorted and can now run and turn and look where I want to. This is good.
- I'm getting to the point where I hit X and O when I mean to, which is again, good.
- It took me a while to see the point of favourites but when I did ... amazing

So far so good eh?

- Boy, there's a lot of running in this game. A LOT of running. I'm a lifer in WoW and this was like being back in classic Barrens. At one point, I found it was easier just to jump in the river and flow down the waterfalls...
- Finding the front door of Whiterun was fun. Well, if fun was running around cluelessly

I managed to see the Jarl, say hiya to his entourage and then stole a horse to head off to the first dungeon ... which is right back where I had come from. OK. Deep breath and ride like the wind. So...

- How flipping hard is that horse?! I was whiffing away at some bandits and the horse was murdering them to death. Nice
- LOL! Puzzles. Like it. Traps! Like them too. Ghoul things. Like them.
- Big fluffing spider. No. Not like. Death.

And then it happened. I died and I respawned ... right at the start of the dungeon. OK. So that's how it is, is it? So I ran back through, did the puzzles, dodged the traps, picked up the loot and died again. Then a worked out how to use a bow and a scroll and killed the spider. Hurrah! That's the end right? Wrong. So I plodded on, dealt with issues and then foolishly died. AND RESPAWNED AT THE BEGINNING! And the fucking spider was still alive. What the actual f**k?

And then my friends, is when a small lizard part of my brain woke up, shuddered and whispered two words to me. Save. Points.

So, after I had learned to save the bloody fucking game, I did the dungeon again, dodged the traps, completed the puzzles, dodged the blades, killed the spider and fought my way to the end. Got the macguffin, learned a Word of Power - whatever the fluff that is - and then yomped my way back to the Jarl ... to be rewarded with some marginal boots of sneakery and being sent to deal with a dragon. A dragon? I've just dealt with a bloody spider!!! Oh, and apparently I can buy a house. Of my own. Lets see, shall me?

So far, that was a very tense and immersive three hours (yes, three hours - I clicked on everything. EVERYTHING!) of fun. At this rate, I should have the game finished by the time the PS7 comes out!

Let the mockery commence...
 
Skyrim, I'm sure I have it and have played it, but I have no memory of it. Which is weird for an open world game and me. I practically have second lives in Fallout 4 for example. I kinda remember the hilarity of freeing prisoners from Imperial guardsmen though. But that's bit dim.
 
It is an addictive game. I have played well over 400 hours and finished the Main Quest in that time. When you add the DLC that is fun.
 
I should really update this, shouldn't I?

After some time I decided to have another go at the game. Having thought about it, I decided that arrowing the dragon was a good idea and after a couple of attempts (have I mentioned this is my first game with a controller and I have little control) I killed it and gained some sort of magic burp. Ad then a mountain shouted at me and I was told I had to go up the mountain. And I got promoted and a thrall. Nice. So I sell all of my fodder and find out it leaves me nowhere near being able to buy a house. Disappointing. I head off into the wilderness to climb the mountain after deftly (a) avoiding some side quests (*rolls eyes* I'll go back) and (b) restarting the game after I accidentally stole a horse and became public enemy #1


So I'm riding around, ignoring hyena wolf things and trying to find a way up the mountain. Round and around I got, getting nowhere fast. After about half-an-hour I discovered two more things. Why did no-one tell me there was a fast travel option? Like, in the game? That would have made jumping back easier. The second was, via youtube, that to get up the mountain I have to go to the village on the other side of the mountain. Again, no hints in the text there either. So I do that, find the looooong stairs up the mountain, get near to the top and get killed by a monster standing on the road before I can dismount. I decide discretion is the better part of valour and I log for the night.

The kids at work think this is all hilarious and ask whether I have lowered the difficulty. To which I reply ... what's a difficulty and how do I do it.

Apparently Mr Gow is a noob....
 
It is worth paying for the wagon taxi service to unlock the various Towns / Cities. Makes fast travel around the map easier. I never bothered with horses. Fast travel and wandering were my modes of travel (until the Dragonborn DLC and I became a Dragon Rider).

Have fun doing the Companions, Mage Guild, Thieves Guild and Assassins Guild Story Quests. Also do not forget the Civil War Story line either. When you are 400 hours+ in continue with main quest.

Also do not do the Main Quest quickly. Explore, Explore, Explore. You also have some great DLC's as well which are worth it. Homestead for more Player Homes to own upgrade and expand. Dawnguard become a Vampire or Vampire Hunter (it gives a Werewolf skill tree as well). Dragonborn which gives a new area and some new Shouts.
 
Trust me. Nothing is happening 'quickly' here 😁
 
Enjoy the journey.
 
I love that game, its the only one I've played to completion with multiple characters. I chuffing love the Argonians and Khajeet.
 
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