An Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim player has shown off footage from a mod that allows players to see the game's iconic intro from a new perspective. Every Skyrim player remembers the game's opening, and this mod is the perfect way to breathe new life into it.
Skyrim has one of the most active modding community of any game in the world. Even Bethesda's later release, Fallout 4, hasn't managed to maintain as active a modding scene over the years. It speaks to Bethesda's brilliant design over a decade ago, that the game allows players to make Skyrim whatever they want it to be. While this particular Skyrim mod is only a small addition to the game, the scale varies massively across the modding scene. For example, the Skyblivion mod aims to recreate Oblivion in Skyrim, which is no small task and has been in development for years now. A lot of these bigger projects never see the light of day, which is why many players stick to smaller mods.
The clip was posted to Reddit by user Tezzinatoe, showing Skyrim's Dragonborn watching from a distance as Ulfric Stormcloak is wheeled into Helgen for execution. It's interesting to see the intro from a different perspective, and according to the comments in the thread, it's all possible due to Skyrim's Alternate Start mod. This mod offers plenty of options to change how Skyrim begins, with one of the choices being in Helgen while the intro takes place. Interestingly, it even places a Khajiit in the place of the Dragonborn, so their seat isn't completely empty in the player's absence.
Some players in the thread took the chance to make jokes about the intro, with one player claiming this was "if the Dragonborn crossed the border legally." Others lamented Helgen's wasted potential in Skyrim, with some wishing that the game offered an opportunity to rebuild the town after it's destroyed in the opening. However, there are Skyrim mods for this, just as there seems to be for everything in the game. That doesn't mean that players can't wish it was a part of the base game, however.
Skyrim's intro has become synonymous with the game itself, with plenty of memes over the years about it. With the upcoming Elder Scrolls 6, Bethesda will be hoping lightning will strike twice, and it'll be able to create another intro that stands the test of time. That's still a very long time away, however, with the company currently occupied with new IP Starfield. Every player has their own opinion of how the new intro should go. One gamer even thinks that The Elder Scrolls 6 should look to Fallout: New Vegas for intro inspiration. It will be interesting to see the path Bethesda eventually takes.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.