The Elder Scrolls series has been innovative for gaming with each new title, but none have caught as much attention like Skyrim. From the minute players are put in a prison wagon as the Dragonborn, Skyrim made a lasting impression. It's been such a hit that Bethesda has released Skyrim on seven different platforms, including Amazon's Alexa, and has made upwards of $600 million dollars over the game's run. It has formed a large following to say the least, and fans have gone on to cosplay, meme, and recreate their favorite Skyrim artifacts with whatever they have on hand.
While the content might be based in a video game, the real-life creations by fans' hard work are anything but a game. Whether it be life-size replicas of giant swords, heavy pieces of armor, or adaptations of classic foods, the fans have managed some truly impressive creations. Considering some of these resources are hard to get and even harder to craft with than in the game, these fans had to love the game that much more to put in the effort required to bring their favorite Skyrim items to life.
Weapons
Despite how easy the game makes it seem, some of the weapons in Skyrim are fairly complex and would take days (if not weeks) before a blacksmith could even begin working on them. These pieces take planning, acquiring the right resources, and then flawless execution on the various machinery to make sure that the axe or blade comes out just as envisioned. Any slight hiccup means loss of resources and beginning that piece again. Real-life blacksmiths have to be much more careful with the resources and weapons they craft, yet fans have managed to create some amazing pieces anyway.
The YouTube show Man at Arms: Reforged saw a group of experienced blacksmiths take on a Daedric Axe from Skyrim. Starting with steel for the jacket and axe edge, it's immediately apparent that this is a serious undertaking. Not only do they have to do some manual beating on the weapon, they have the advantage of a giant mechanical hammer and other power tools that can do part of the work for them. Even still, it takes a while to finish and the team looks tired at a few points throughout. The end result is an axe that slashes through everything in front of it.
Another example shows a much more humble craftsman that goes by Garrin Bufo, creating Mehrunes' Razor, another Daedric weapon from Skyrim. Bufo starts by shaping the metal blade to make sure it has that iconic look before adding light engravings and sharpening it to a deadly edge. He carves the hilt and handle with a knife before melting it together with flame. A few coats of paint and one black orb later, and Garrin had himself an ancient Daedric artifact.
Armor
When fans are left to their devices, it is amazing what they can do with just an in-game model. Whether it be to cosplay or just for bragging rights, gamers have been recreating in-game armor for as long as games have existed. Skyrim's armor is no different, albeit a little more flashy and complex than some other games. In response to this, players have jumped to their workbenches to recreate their favorite light, medium, and heavy armor from Skyrim in the real world. Just like with the weapons, collecting the materials needed for these projects is an impressive accomplishment by itself, so a full set of armor is even cooler.
Skyrim had no problem upping the design complexity for some of its armor pieces. While it makes them look really cool, this translates into hours spent making sure that every spike is perfect in the real world. While they likely didn't have to raise their smithy skill and collect Daedra hearts, this fan-made Daedric armor is just as impressive at it is in the game. Everything from the colors, shapes, and weapons looks like it was plucked right out of Skyrim, and this fan would be a fierce fighter against any enemy.
Food
There are few iconic moments in Skyrim than pausing the game to scarf down six wheels of cheese, a Horker loaf, and two bowls of tomato soup in order to replenish health in the moment of an intense battle. While they don't have the instantaneous digestion of the Dragonborn, these two fans were more than happy to make their favorite Skyrim foods. The YouTube channel MxR Plays sees fans Henry and Jeannie in the kitchen crafting a variety of famous foods from games, and Skyrim takes no small place.
Their playlist "MxR Kitchen" sees them making a variety of Skyrim foods with the ingredients at hand. The video above shows them cook a three course meal from the game featuring leeks, sweetrolls, and a modified version of the boiled creme treat. Another video sees them making a Snowberry Tart from the Hearthfire expansion, and Potage le Magnifique from an in-game book by the Gourmet. They also make a version of Skooma, but everyone in Skyrim knows Skooma is highly addictive and illegal.
After a comprehensive tutorial on how they did it, and maybe a few slight hiccups along the way, they created a delicious meal of vegetables and sugar. The finished products, as seen in the thumbnail above, resemble the Skyrim recipe counterparts. The pair do a great job, and they assure the audience that the finished product tastes as good as it looks, with Jeannie scarfing down the leeks en masse.
This article doesn't even scratch the surface on what fans have been able to accomplish via their love for Skyrim. They have managed some really amazing recreations of armor and weapons, inspired by the fun they had in the game. With The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim coming up on its 10th year anniversary, it is likely to inspire many more recreations faithful to the game that gave the open-world RPG genre a new life.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One.