The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Nintendo Switch Edition Reviews

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Nintendo Switch Edition is ranked in the 93rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9.5 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2017

Any additional time you can spend sneaking in dungeon crawls while at work, carrying out Dark Brotherhood assassinations at family dinners, and crafting new equipment when you probably should be sleeping is the best addition to enhance the experience. I'm overjoyed that Bethesda has been able to bring Skyrim to the Switch without any compromises to the quality of the original game. After playing Skyrim on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, I can easily say that the Switch provides the best experience possible. Bethesda is more than welcome to bring all their games over to Switch now, especially if each game is brought over with the same winning effort of Skyrim.

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9.5 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2017

As with my review of DOOM before it you’ll notice that to this point I haven’t brought up the Switch itself in regards to the game and that’s for good reason. Aside from some unique features it brings to the game in the form of some Amiibo support (which awaits you roughly mid-game in a prominent area), motion controls that you may enjoy or not care for, and the ability to take the game anywhere there’s not a lot to say. The reason for that is in this equation the Switch only seems to have pluses and no discernable minuses. The conversion of Skyrim is, for all practical purposes, a flawless one from the time I’ve spent in the game. The details are crisp, the performance has no signs of hiccups or slowdown, and despite being run on a tablet-sized device with much more modest memory capacity than larger consoles or PCs there seem to be no compromises in sight. The only edge would go to the PC version for its readily-available mod support that can help you alter the game in some substantial ways, but in the case of the Switch the ability to play it anywhere in style more than offsets that sacrifice and even arguably makes it a superior version to the other consoles. Despite its age Skyrim is just as rich and robust a game experience as it ever was, and the fact that it can be played on a portable device is a technical achievement worthy of some praise. Congratulations to the team at Nintendo for making versatile hardware capable of this feat and to Bethesda for having both the vision and expertise to pull this off and to set the bar so high for the other major publishers.

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Sirus Gaming
Raff Abenoja
9.5 / 10.0
Nov 23, 2017

When you’re done with the main quest, you can still go out and explore the map. You never know what you might find. Or, you can even choose to live like an NPC, walking around town for days on end, doing nothing but sleeping, drinking, and then work on a farm or things NPCs do. You can buy a house, fill the shelves with books, adopt a kid, be a good dad. Or you can be a tyrant, killing everyone on town. But who would do that, really? He-he. Excuse me while I load a save.

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Nov 16, 2017

Motion controls add a breath of fresh air to a familiar game, with astounding results. A must-have for anyone with a Switch and a love of open world games.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2017

The Switch version of Skyrim is a well-executed version of a modern classic that you can play on the go, offering the same delights (and minor frustrations) of the original

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90 / 100
Nov 16, 2017

Seeing one of the most celebrated open worlds brought to Nintendo's portable flagship is a welcome surprise. Being able to take a game this expansive on the go is an amazing feat, and seeing it come in this feature complete is Bethesda at its best. While the motion controls have a bit of wonk, come for the HD rumble, and stay for the chance to explain why you are yelling “Fus Ro Dah!” on the bus.

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GameMAG
ACE
Top Critic
9 / 10
Nov 16, 2017

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for Nintendo Switch is a great occasion to replay the cult role-playing game from Bethesda wherever you are. A successful adaptation for the hybrid console allows you to run a large-scale RPG even on the road, which seemed impossible a year ago. If you are a fan of the series and you have a Switch, then it's definitely worth a try, and new players simply have to get acquainted with one of the brightest projects in the modern history of the genre.

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90 / 100
Nov 16, 2017

Skyrim is still a beautiful game to behold six years after its original launch, only now I can play it wherever I wish.

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Justin Celani
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Nov 17, 2017

If Skyrim has grown stale or doesn't hold interest to certain players anymore, the Switch version most likely won't do anything to win players back. Though for newcomers and fans that want to return, Skyrim is here, as a great as remembered, and grand scale adventure now in the palm of your hands.

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9 / 10
Nov 16, 2017

The Switch isn't short of games that have already taken a bow, or several, on other hardware, but Skyrim might be the one that most deserves another look from both hardy Elder Scrolls adventurers and absolute beginners alike. Despite its age showing, the countless little cracks in its already fractured façade, it still delivers a palpable sense of space, and the player's niche-carving progress through it, that few games before or since have managed. May its dancing northern lights never dim.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2017

Skyrim may be aging, but it's still easily one of the best RPGs ever made, and a pure joy to play on the Switch. Add-on support would be nice, and the PC version is still definitely the most "complete" version because of the modding, but if you've ever wished you could have Skyrim on the go - Bethesda and Nintendo just granted that wish.

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4.5 / 5.0
Nov 16, 2017

Despite that, I've found myself completely drawn into Tamriel over the past week. Being able to play such a massive RPG like Skyrim wherever you want is truly a technical marvel, and I'm thoroughly impressed with what Bethesda's been able to pull off here.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2017

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is praised because it offers a wonderfully realized world, memorable moments, and near-endless things to do. While in some aspects the Switch version shows its age with dated graphics and stiff animations, it's so easy to look past when there's a vast world in your view with the sense of discovery around every corner. Bethesda succeeded at what most of us would have thought impossible just a few years ago, a full-fledged version of Skyrim that you can take with you anywhere you want; doesn't get much better than that.

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Alan Bell
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Nov 21, 2017

Skyrim now fits in your pocket. It runs shockingly well on Switch, and there are even motion controls if you want 'em. What's not to like?

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9 / 10
Nov 15, 2017

Skyrim is exactly the kind of game that demonstrates the power of the Switch and what it wants to be. It’s a huge open-world, console-quality adventure you can with you anywhere. The port is fantastic, too, and the Switch-specific additions appreciated. Newcomer or not, Skyrim is a classic deserving of a revisit on Nintendo Switch.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2017

Despite being a slightly pared down re-release of Skyrim, the portability aspect really makes this work.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2017

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on the Nintendo Switch might just be the best way to play this modern classic.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2017

It's Skyrim. It's been around for years and if you love it you'll love it on the Switch. If you don't like it, you probably won't like it on the switch. To me, this might very well be the way I play Skyrim from now on because it's so easy to put down when my daughter or wife need me and pick it right back up once my free time starts rolling in again.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 30, 2017

What it lacks in visual fidelity against last year's Special Edition, the Nintendo Switch's port more than makes up for in portability. Couple that with arguably one of the best games of all time and you've got one compelling reason to Fus Ro Dah all over again.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 21, 2017

It’s 2017 and I find myself obsessed with Skyrim once more. Now that it’s portable on the Switch, I can take it anywhere, only restricted by battery life.

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