When it comes to massive open-world games, Skyrim tends to make the top of the list. With a massive snowy world to discover and over 300 different areas and dungeons to explore, it's unlikely anyone will get bored quickly during their adventures in the northern province of Tamriel. In the event this does happen, Skyrim also has three excellent DLCs that beautifully expand its world just enough to keep it fresh.
For those who have completed everything there is to finish concerning the fifth The Elder Scrolls title, the only hope might just be the myriad of mods available out there. If Skyrim is beginning to turn stale and predictable, there are hundreds of mods to choose from that significantly improve the game. Here are 10 mods that make Skyrim look like a brand new and different game altogether.
10 Skyrim HD - 2K Textures
It's been almost a decade since Skyrim was released, and at this point it's definitely starting to show. With so many new games entering the market, Skyrim's flaws and age are becoming more apparent. Its textures look weathered and repetitive, but thankfully mods like this one remedy the issue.
The HD - 2K textures mod completely overhauls how the game looks and feels like. For players who just want a brand new layer of paint on their favorite Elder Scrolls game, this is a great mod to add. It even offers a Lite version for those with slower PCs who still want to enjoy new, detailed textures.
9 Immersive Armors
One of the most fun parts of Skyrim is the amount of customization that players have. The character creation has seen a lot of mods to increase the amount of depth and detail, and with how great the skill tree system is in Skyrim, it's become easier than ever to create precisely the character we want.
That being said, the clothing in Skyrim hasn't exactly aged well. Armor especially gets incredibly old and repetitive after a while. This is why the Immersive Armors mods is so amazing, because the characters actually look good in their outfits with this installed. Sometimes just cosmetics alone can totally change how a game feels.
8 Climates Of Tamriel
Back when Skyrim first came out it was a magical experience to walk across the province and experience different temperatures, biomes and weather conditions. Unfortunately, many games have improved since and Skyrim's beautiful weather has become a bit dated.
The Climates Of Tamriel mod introduces completely new weather conditions, with realistic light, fog and new sounds added into the game. Weather might seem like a trivial aspect, but in an open-world adventure where so much depends on the environment, it can make or break the experience.
7 Skyrim Flora Overhaul
On especially low-end computers, Skyrim's environment is but a ghost of what it used to be when the game first came out. Now, the textures and plants look repetitive, especially when being observed from afar. Thankfully, there's a fix for this problem.
The Skyrim Flora Overhaul mod gives the forests and hills of Skyrim a much better variety of plants, trees and grass. No longer will everything just look a dirty, grey-tinted green. The environment will have color and diversity, just like a real, natural forest.
6 Immersive Weapons
Skyrim has a pretty narrow selection of weapons. Aside from a few special Daedric weapons that have a very unique aesthetic, most of the swords, maces and bows look extremely generic. What the game really needs at this point is more variety.
With Immersive Weapons, brand new weapons are introduced into the game. There's a great selection of different types of swords and spears, which are all very high quality and made to look and fit into the world and lore of Skyrim.
5 Apocalypse - Magic Of Skyrim
Skyrim has a pretty nice variety of different schools of magic. Whether one has a knack for Illusion or just wants to add a bit of Restoration to their kit to save up on healing potions, there's something for any magic user out there. However, after a while, it gets a bit restrictive.
The Apocalypse - Magic Of Skyrim mod adds a whopping 155 new spells into the game, ready for the player to learn. Some of these spells are very inventive and include things like fabricating objects from nothing, imprisoning enemies by summoning a cage around them or even creating a tornado.
4 Interesting NPCs
One aspect of Skyrim which has been criticized quite a bit has been the lack of depth in its NPCs. After a while of playing the game, it can get extremely repetitive to hear the same voice lines and see the exact same faces — not to mention it tends to be the same voice actors over and over again.
Thankfully, the Interesting NPCs mod adds some serious spice into Skyrim, with more than 250 new NPCs with their own original voices. Not to mention, some of them are available as followers or marriage candidates. The mod also comes with some new quests as well.
3 Frostfall - Hypothermia Camping Survival
It's quite strange how the Dragonborn can simply jog through freezing winds and snow without being affected by the weather. Worse yet, characters can even walk around without any clothing and not suffer the damaging consequences of being exposed to cold temperatures.
The Frostfall mod remedies this issue. With this mod, characters will now risk dealing with hypothermia when faced with inhumanely freezing weather. By taking into account the Dragonborn's clothing, health and location, the mod will introduce realistic effects and consequences.
2 Skyrim Immersive Creatures
There are dozens of frightening creatures in Skyrim to beat, but after experiencing it all, the game just introduces the same old enemies with bigger health pools. While DLCs will help bring in some variation with brand new enemies and boss fights, nothing massive is changed.
The Immersive Creatures mod drops some pretty impressive looking beasts into the game to both terrify and fascinate players. From sea creatures to elemental beings to glowing skeletons, it'll take a while before the player gets bored of these deadly and mysterious beasts.
1 Falskaar
Skyrim's DLCs are generally pretty good. Dawnguard introduced the Forgotten Vale for new exploration and Dragonborn brought in the island of Solstheim. Even then, these additions can only provide so much entertainment due to their limitations in size.
There's actually a fan-made DLC-sized mod out there called Falskaar, which introduces a new area altogether into the game. With new quests, areas and dungeons to explore, it's almost impossible to think that a fan and not a developer made something as great as this.