The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR Review (Blik~)
I wish I could mark a review as mixed instead of one of two sides because I really want to recommend this game, I do, but this review is for the game, not my experience with it. There's a TL;DR at the bottom, but I encourage you to hear me out in full.
The Bad
The VR UX being better than FO4 doesn't justify the price in the slightest. If this was a $10-$20 add-on for Special Edition then it would be more than worth it and $25 to maybe $30 standalone would make the most sense if they really wanted your money, but no, you pay full AAA price for the bare minimum of a VR experience whether you own every single other version of the game or not. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's the bare minimum; there's motion sickness settings, gameplay supports 6DOF with touch controllers, and a new main menu where you can walk around and adjust settings. That's it. Everything else is identical to SE, the worst offender being the UI. It's insulting that they believe VR makes up for the blatant laziness/cash grab attempt.
The biggest issue is the lack of interactivity. The whole point of VR is to truly be in the world you've entered, but Skyrim VR does everything possible to go in the opposite direction. The Half-Life: Alyx floating hands aren't as charming when they serve as a deceptive illusion instead of a deliberate game design choice. "Grabbing" items still functions like the cursor in flat mode and the dated combat is made infinitely more apparent when you're physically swinging your giant warhammer into an unresponsive foe. The only thing they nailed was archery and magic (probably a happy accident from the 6DOF support), which leaves dedicated stamina or spellsword players (me) with the worst experience.
If all these glaring issues are so bad, why did I put as much time as I did into it, and why am I playing it immediately after posting this review?
The Good
Mods. You already know this. Why it should've just been an SE add-on is one of the reasons it's so good. Since it's literally just Special Edition in VR, 99% of the Special Edition mods work no problem. Download the Vortex mod managerif you're a casual like me, download VRIKso you can actually see the dragon armor you worked so hard for, then download HIGGSand PLANCKso the VR game you're playing plays like a VR game. This is what the bare minimum should be, but unfortunately you've got some mods to set up.
Whether it's vanilla or modded, you can't deny the atmosphere. The trees of the Rift, the sound of a calm stream with the harmony of crickets in Riverwood, the night sky cutting through the mountainous vistas of the entire region, all of it is gorgeous in VR and is the most enlightened you can become when playing a video game. I climbed the tower of Faldar's Tooth and just sat and listened to the ambient music as I looked upon a setting sun nestled in the valley of two mountains, its reflection on the nearby lake. I'm surprised I remained mortal.
The melee combat is laughable, but everything else is sublime. The archery is exactly as VR archery should be. Aiming your Destruction magic at multiple foes at once will activate every dopamine receptor you have. Physically crouching to pickpocket or sneak attack someone will put the dumbest smile on your toaster-head goblin face.
I'm going to dedicate a paragraph to the dragons. Nothing will prepare you for how big they are, and you're the one slaying them, not your avatar being controlled by some buttons. The music, the scale, even melee combat with a dragon makes you long for every chance you get to devour some souls. Peeking your head over cover only to see an enormous lizard incinerate your entire view with guttural noises will, dare I say, feel just as epic as it did in 2011.
TL;DR & Conclusion
Skyrim VR gives me my most conflicting opinions I've ever felt. The vanilla gameplay experience for this price tag is borderline malicious. According to Steam I'm leaving a negative review, but because my playthrough is getting hard carried by mods I'm being completely honest when I say this is some of the most fun I've had playing a video game.
Get the game on sale for $12 and it'll be your best 12 dollar purchase in any possible timeline.