Skyrim came out in 2011. I bought it in 2011. SIX YEARS I had that game in my steam library, just waiting for me to play it. A few things turned me off, all the times I would try to play it. First, the stupid opening sequence is horrible. Fine, ooh, scary, you see someone beheaded and ooh there’s a dragon. I guess it’s exciting the first time but I can’t remember the first time because I’ve played it SO OFTEN. Second, character creation was lacking. That hair, though, Bethesda. THIRD, first person ain’t my thing. 
But, newly empowered by a streak of Finishing Games, by the fact that the remaster was free, and by a working knowledge of game mods, I actually made it into the game proper.
There’s not a lot for me to say here. Skyrim is beloved because it’s a huge open world with very little in terms of direction or restrictions. It’s a six year old game that has been written about by far better writers than me; I have nothing new to add. I liked it. I could have done with more in depth characterization, but I think there’s a tradeoff to be made when it comes to the scope of something so big — if every character really shone, the game would have never been released. I enjoyed very much getting into people’s faces and bashing their bones with my warhammer, which I diligently kept enchanted and could not give up for anything. I missed out on some stories because I refused to join some of the sketchier organizations. I killed dragons aplenty. I never stole a horse. I did frequently steal things from shopkeepers when all I wanted to do was talk to them. Shopkeepers. Stop keeping all that shit on your counters where a single mouse tremor has the guards rushing in to beat me up and drag me to jail. Come on.
I hadn’t played any of the other Elder Scrolls games, because when they were new I didn’t have the hardware to play them on. I suppose there’s a lot I missed, a lot of lore and familiarity that would have really roped me in. I don’t feel any great desire to go back and play them, or to play ESO — I like my games to be colorful and bright, mostly, and Skyrim was great but not great enough to make me a hardcore fan.
I “finished” the game, by which I mean I finished most of the main story quests, particularly the Dragonborn ones. I did plenty of side missions, too, but my playthrough was interrupted by the release of Breath of the Wild and Mass Effect Andromeda. By the time I came back to Skyrim my desire to simply finish the game in some capacity was far, far greater than my desire to be a completionist.
Still. Another game done.
The Actual Worst 