It's not much of a surprise to many Skyrim fans that the game is getting yet another rerelease soon. On November 11, the 10th anniversary of The Elder Scrolls 5, Skyrim will receive an Anniversary Edition, and there are many changes gamers will likely be expecting to see come along with it.
Skyrim was originally released for the Xbox 360 and PS3 alongside PC, meaning it's been two entire gaming generations since it first came out. It did receive a Special Edition, which, like Legendary Edition, bundled together all DLC packages into the main game, but remastered the hundreds of hours of content for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One about five years after its original launch, meaning there were many changes to make thanks to the growth in gaming technology between 2011 and 2016.
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Again, it's no surprise to avid Skyrim fans that the game will get yet another remaster; many have been anticipating it, in fact, though some argue that it's been rereleased too many times. Better yet, though: Anniversary Edition will be available as a free next-gen upgrade to those who already own Special Edition. And just as Skyrim: Special Edition included numerous graphical enhancements, gamers will be expecting the leap between Special Edition and the Anniversary Edition to be immense, going beyond just 60 FPS, 4K graphics, and the death of loading screens on PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles.
Skyrim NPC AI Overhaul
AI in Skyrim may have been sophisticated back in 2011, but in 2021, NPCs are clunky at best, unintelligent at their worst. For example, dragons will often attack randomly, especially after fast-traveling around the province. If the Dragonborn is located near any NPCs, especially close to cities or small towns, they'll "assist" the player by attacking the dragon. While it makes sense for guards to try and defend their cities and citizens, it makes very little sense for random residents like Male Nord Farmer #1 to take this kind of initiative rather than simply run away. If a thief or vampire attacks inside a city's walls, every single adult resident will engage in battle. Oftentimes, it just results in a cluster of dead NPCs, though many of them can randomly regenerate back into the game later on.
It would be great to see more realistic behaviors and reactions from many of Skyrim's iconic NPCs, and maybe some even new dialogue. While it's great to hear the class "arrow to the knee" quote, the same lines get repetitive and old. Instead of folks walking the streets at 3 A.M., each NPC could have scheduled day-night cycles, something Cyberpunk 2077 claimed it would do but was never able to deliver. And events that would affect an NPC's daily life, like losing a loved one or having their house destroyed during the battle at Whiterun, could trigger a difference in behavior afterward, like visiting gravesites.
Skyrim Graphics Overhaul
Graphical upgrades for Skyrim's Anniversary Edition is an obvious request, as fans will be expecting the best that the PS5 and Xbox Series X can maintain. But there are certainly specific things that players would like to see, pushing Bethesda's hit towards realism akin to The Last of Us Part 2 in the way of visuals, which often tie into the physics of objects and environmental elements.
For example, the weather in Skyrim is somewhat diverse thanks to the snowy setting—though it often turns into hours of plodding through a white tundra—but there are a number of ways it can improve, and even the smallest enhancements can make the world look all the more realistic. Early morning fog, especially near Skyrim's coasts, would add an eerieness to its gorgeous scenery. In modern day, it's normal to see characters get wet when standing in the rain or covered in snow in a blizzard. Body reactions in the form of movement would help this realism even more so. Many modders have also added thick snow to trees, which, while gorgeous, simply makes sense.
Other enhancements like newer textures, shading, updated lighting physics such as the way light travels and reflects off of objects, and atmospheric particles were seen in Skyrim: Special Edition but can be taken further thanks to how far technology has come since. And, of course, Skyrim would do well to adopt new, more lifelike facial structures for both NPCs and character creation.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim – Anniversary Edition is set to launch on November 11, 2021, on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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