For any Skyrim players that find towns and cities to be overcrowded, the answer may lie in a recent mod which gets rid of civilization entirely, giving the province a rather haunting vibe. Although it's more than 11 years old at this point and many are now eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series, The Elder Scrolls 5 is still selling incredibly well. This is probably helped by the fact that Bethesda continues to re-release newer versions of its epic RPG, which means fans can keep playing as the Dragonborn.
Although it does have some fairly intense moments, such as that first encounter with a Frost Troll, it's not considered a horror game by any stretch of the imagination. However, there are some pretty creepy mods for Skyrim that do make it a bit more of a hair-raising experience. One thing that can be sure of, though, is that no matter what happens when the player is out and about, they can always find comfort in the many crowds that inhabit the game's world, until now.
As spotted by The Gamer, a recent mod for Skyrim adds a creep factor to the fantasy title. Created by Nexus Mods user Scrabbulor, "Alternative Skyrim" is described as a "mostly broken" modification, which not only opens up the cities, but also removes all human characters from these settlements. A video on the mod page shows just how eerie this is, as the player moves through Riverwood, Whiterun, and other places, only to find that civilization has completely vanished. On top of that, all the buildings have become derelict, suggesting some awful apocalyptic tragedy. Scrabbulor says this mod was originally the beginnings of an alternative timeline but has now been split into a standalone mod.
Skyrim is known for its roster of NPCs and followers, so to see no signs of them is rather unsettling. Sure, some characters such as Nazeem may be the bane of the Dragonborn's existence, but to have the townsfolk from the major cities and towns of the game suddenly vanish is quite a sobering image.
It also shows that after well over a decade, people are still contributing to Skyrim in unique and interesting ways. While the world waits for The Elder Scrolls 6, the 2011 entry in the long-running fantasy series is still getting some love. It may have its faults, but at least there are plenty of ways to enhance the experience across this cold region of Tamriel.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is available for PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: The Gamer, Nexus Mods