[STEAM] 13 Games to Play If You Loved Skyrim

[Steam 0]

There's nothing quite like the first time you explored Skyrim. From the moment you narrowly escape your grisly ********** in Helgen and emerge into the legendary RPG's vast wilderness, it's an adventure that allows you to go anywhere and everywhere with no limitations, and it's this sense of sheer freedom that's had millions of players returning to its cold, untamed landscape for over a decade.

But after spending years exploring the many

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

that have been released, it's safe to say we're all looking for some new games to scratch that fantasy adventuring *****. So, to ease the wait until we get an official follow-up in the long-anticipated

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, we've compiled a list of some of the best games in the same vein as Skyrim that you can play right now.

1. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

An obvious one to kick us off, but one of the best places you can go to get an experience similar in style and scope to Skyrim is

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

. The fourth game in Bethesda's landmark RPG series, Oblivion may be Skyrim's predecessor, but it still has all the components that made its younger sibling such a hit.

Casting you as a prisoner who finds themselves in the center of a conflict involving demonic gods, fiery doors to a hellish plain and the ******* of Tamriel's emperor, you set forth across the land of Cyrodil on a daring adventure. Along the way, you're free to explore this realm however you see fit, completing quests, allying with factions and building your character with new skills, weapons, armor sets, spells and more.

Simply put, it's

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, and a great way to continue your journey through Tamriel while you wait for Elder Scrolls 6. As for where and how you can play it, it's available on PC and can be played through the Xbox Series X | S and Xbox One's backwards compatibility feature.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

The poster child of the Nintendo Switch and one of the best fantasy RPGs ever made, you really can't go wrong with

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

. Nintendo's acclaimed reinvention of its seminal series really has it all: a secret-filled open world to explore, a range of physics-based systems that you can toy with to battle enemies and navigate precarious terrain, phenomenal quests, a stunning art style, and much, much more.

Breath of the Wild is a game that never holds your hand. It lets you loose into a fully explorable Hyrule, sets you up with some essential tools and, from there, you're free to do what you please. Whether you want to scour the land for lore tidbits, climb to the peak of the tallest mountain or even

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, everything is available to you from the moment you make your descent from the Great Plateau.

It gives you the reins and lets you do whatever you see fit. If you're looking for a game that has the same freedom and unguided exploration that makes Skyrim so compelling, Breath of the Wild is a perfect substitute. It's available exclusively on Nintendo Switch. You can also jump straight the sequel,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, but you'll get a similar experience.

3. Dragon's Dogma 2

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

One of the more recent releases on our list, if you're looking for a big, sprawling RPG that puts exploration at the forefront,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

could be a great pick. Spread across two realms, Vermund and Battahl, Dragon's Dogma 2 drops players into the boots of The Arisen: a player-created warrior whose heart has been stolen by an ancient dragon.

Tasked with finding and ******** this dragon, they embark on a quest across a vast, untamed world. Much like Skyrim, the true draw of Dragon's Dogma 2 is its heavy focus on exploration. Its world is full of secrets to uncover, and with monsters patrolling every inch of its map, you'll quickly amass organic stories as you clash with colossal foes and survive dangerous encounters by the skin of your teeth.

It's also a deep RPG with various classes to master, a wide range of ******* types and armor sets, and a

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

where you can recruit allies created by other players. All in all, it's sure to satiate those hungry for a massive fantasy RPG on the scale of Skyrim. It's available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and PC.

4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

In the pantheon of 100-plus hour RPGs, Geralt's quest to stop the Wild Hunt in

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

is a top-shelf pick. Set in a morbid, Slavic-mythology-inspired world of monsters, magic and shady politics, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is often lorded as one of the best RPGs ever made and for good reason. It boasts a giant open world filled with difficult battles, morally gray choices that affect the outcome of quests and an engrossing story to follow.

You play as

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

: a gruff, white-haired, yellow-eyed mercenary searching for his surrogate daughter, Ciri. His quest will take him on a perilous journey, where he'll face mythical monsters and evade the ever-present threat of the spectral warriors known as the Wild Hunt.

Much like Skyrim, The Witcher 3 sets you up with the basics and then releases you into a lore-rich fantasy world untethered. Whether you want to live the bounty hunter lifestyle, taking on contracts to ***** monsters while ignoring the main quest, or face the Wild Hunt head-on by following its supremely well-written story, it puts the control in your hands. The base game and its

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

are well worth a playthrough once you've conquered everything Skyrim has to offer. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC.

5. Kingdom Come: Deliverance

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Moving away from high-concept fantasy and into the more grounded world of a realistic medieval epic, another game that manages to capture the sense of unbridled freedom Skyrim offers is

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

. Quickly becoming a cult hit when it launched in 2018, Kingdom Come: Deliverance tells the tale of a blacksmith's son on a quest for revenge.

Set in Bohemia in the 15th Century, the story follows an apprentice named Henry living in a small village. After his parents are brutally murdered during a Cuman invasion, Henry is forced to flee, entering the service of Lord Hanush of Leipa and pursuing the men who ******* his parents. From here, the game lets you loose on a giant open world complete with authentic medieval locations to explore, a range of open-ended quests which react to your decisions and an intricate battle system to master.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an experience that focuses on immersion, from its high-stakes battles to its range of survival mechanics, which task you with managing everything from food and sleep to your hygiene and armor degradation. If you're looking for something a little more involved than Skyrim or an RPG with a more grounded setting, Kingdom Come: Deliverance is definitely worth a look. It's currently available on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC.

6. Elden Ring

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

One for fans of a challenge,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

is a punishing game, but one that's more than worth the blood, sweat and tears it takes to roll credits. FromSoftware's latest serving of bleak RPG goodness is simply one of the most gratifying RPGs ever made, and that's not just because beating some of its most challenging bosses makes you feel like you've just gone 12 rounds with Mike Tyson.

Elden Ring just fundamentally masters the art of exploration, from hiding routes to brand new areas off the beaten path to burying useful rewards for those who choose to search every ***** and cranny. No area is meaningless; no detour is fruitless. It makes you feel like you're charting your path across a living, breathing world. A dying world that takes pleasure in crushing you beneath its boot, definitely, but one that rewards your curiosity all the same.

With the game's

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

now available, there's never been a better time to play. So if you've finished Skyrim, are looking for a new world to explore and don't mind getting eviscerated by a giant lobster or two, The Lands Between could be worth a visit. Elden Ring is available on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.

7. Fallout 4

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Granted, it's the furthest thing from a fantasy RPG, but if you're done with Skyrim and want something that shares its design philosophies, Bethesda's work on

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

naturally has a lot in common with The Elder Scrolls series. It's a massive open-world RPG that focuses on letting you build a unique character, explore sprawling environments and complete quests. The major difference is that you'll be ********* big green mutant abominations while listening to alternate-history corporate *********** instead of casting spells at mud ******.

Taking the series to Boston, Fallout 4 sees a new vault dweller, known as the Sole Survivor, embark on a mission to save their kidnapped son from a mysterious faction known as The Institute. Much like Skyrim, that mission is just one of the many objectives scattered throughout the Wasteland, and you'll be able to explore freely without an invisible hand guiding you down any single path. It's a great way to get an experience that shares the same DNA as Skyrim with a post-apocalyptic twist. Fallout 4 is playable on PlayStation, Xbox and PC and ******** one of the best

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.

8. Dragon Age: Inquisition

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Bioware's most recent take on the sprawling fantasy RPG,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

is another big ol' fantasy RPG that offers over 80 hours of gameplay to sink your teeth into. Tasking you with saving the realm of Thedas from mysterious rifts opening in the sky, you'll lead a faction known as The Inquisition as you explore a series of massive open-world maps, defeat monsters and uncover a new Dragon Age story.

Much like Skyrim, Inquisition allows you to build a character, pick their class and race, and then set forth on your adventure. As you journey through the game's various worlds, you'll add new party members to the Inquisition while completing a range of quests and making choices that affect the story, your keep and Thedas as a whole.

In essence, it's another meaty fantasy RPG to play after you've wrapped up Skyrim, and there's never been a better time to get stuck in, with

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

slate to launch later this year. Dragon Age: Inquisition is available on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.

9. Baldur's Gate 3

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

On a gameplay front,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

and Skyrim don't share much in common. Baldur's Gate is a top-down CRPG that focuses on strategic fights, carefully constructing a party of characters with complementary abilities, and completing quests by using your chosen party's list of stats and skills.

However, Baldur's Gate 3 is arguably one of the best introductions to CDRPGs out there, and a must-play for those who enjoy a big, expansive fantasy RPG like Skyrim. Its world is a carefully curated expanse of tactical combat, engrossing storylines and outstanding quests, the latter of which react and evolve to your choices, leading to a playthrough that feels distinctly tailored to you. But the biggest boon of all is how it freely allows you to play your way.

From giving you the option to mix and match a mind-boggling number of classes, races, backstories and more in the character creation screen to giving you free rein with how you approach and complete quests, Baldur's Gate 3 encourages you to experiment and tinker with its systems to your heart's content. If you liked how Skyrim never pointed you in a direction or forced you down a set path, Baldur's Gate 3 is going to be a game you get along with. It's available on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.

10. Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

A cult classic brought back to life through its 2020 remaster,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

is a great pick for those who've wrapped up their time with Skyrim and are looking for a new fantasy RPG with fun combat, a huge world and plenty of quests to complete. The story takes place in the world of Amalur, with the player taking on the role of the Fateless One: a corpse brought back to life by the Well of Souls, severing them from fate.

After waking in a pile of bodies, they embark across a realm known as the Faelands in hopes of stopping a destructive force fated to eradicate Amalur's people. Along the way, you'll be able to build your character, pick a class and freely explore the Faelands, completing quests, delving into dungeons and bringing down formidable threats. It's available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.

11. The Forgotten City

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

is a unique entry on this list because it actually

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

. However, it doesn't take long to see why it was given the full game treatment. The Forgotten City's story starts in modern-day Italy, as you wake on an island and discover you were brought to shore by a mysterious woman. After a brief conversation, you search a strange ruin in the center of the island and, somehow, are transported back in time to Ancient Rome.

It's a ******* set-up, but it only becomes more compelling when you realize this city is stuck in an eternal time loop, and whenever a mysterious law known as the "Golden Rule" is broken, the loop resets. From here, the Forgotten City takes the base fundamentals of Skyrim and uses them to craft a completely different type of experience. The Forgotten City is, at its core, a detective game; one that tasks you with talking to citizens, learning more about the Golden Rule and uncovering clues to solve its underlying mystery. It's almost entirely devoid of combat, and that makes for a game that somehow doesn't feel like Skyrim at all while retaining the game's inherent DNA.

If you're looking for something akin to Skyrim that plays with the formula and tries something wholly different, The Forgotten City is more than worth a look. It's available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.

12. Outward

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Another one for the fans of a ********* adventure,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

is an RPG that casts players as a regular, everyday person instead of some prophecised warrior fated to save the world. Their initial task is simple. Pay off a debt hanging above their head within five days. However, it quickly spins into a large-scale open-world epic, as the player crosses the land of Aurai, faces tough threats and contends with the elements to survive.

What sets

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

. It includes various survival systems, which force the player to contend with hunger, sleep and the harsh environment around them, while quests and other objectives can fail if they aren't attended to in time. There's no fast travel in Outward and, in the place of a standard respawn system, you cannot ****, instead triggering random events that move you around the map.

In short, it's a game with a ton of interesting systems, and one that's well worth a look if you're searching for Skyrim's sense of open-world exploration with a few twists to keep things interesting. Outward is available on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC.

13. The Elder Scrolls Online

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Another obvious one, but if you're ready to move on from Skyrim, why not continue your Elder Scrolls experience with a few friends? As the name suggests,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

is an MMO take on the series, allowing you to visit various realms across Tamriel while completing a laundry list of new quests.

From Skyrim and Cyrodil to Morrowind and Highrock, there are a lot of returning locations for longtime fans of the series, as well as some brand new locales to explore, including the Khajit homeland of Elsweyr and the High Elves' home of Summerset. Along the way you can tag along with other players, bringing down enemies, completing missions and building your own unique characters.

If you've exhausted everything Skyrim has to offer and want more Elder Scrolls, The Elder Scrolls Online is a surefire bet, especially as the game has been updated with a

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

over the years. The Elder Scrolls Online is available on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.

Callum Williams is a freelance media writer with years of experience as a game critic, news reporter, guides writer and features writer.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up