Games like Skyrim

So, you’ve started a new game in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the 150th time, and you think to yourself, “surely there are other games like Skyrim that I can play?”

And the answer is no, there aren’t any games exactly like Skyrim, but here’s a list of some of the best new games that are similar and just as good in their own right. 

Fallout 4
When talking about games similar to Bethesda’s Skyrim, you can’t look past the developer’s other flagship series, Fallout. Affectionately known to fans as “Skyrim with radiation”, the game shares the same open-world, action role-playing conventions.

While there’s a bit of a difference between the magic and swords of Skyrim and the guns and atom bombs of Fallout, there’s one key part of the game that links them above all else: the character customisation options (and the giant, scary bugs). You can travel freely wherever your Vault-Tec clad feet take you, engaging in whatever quests you feel like as you level up and take on the post-apocalyptic world.

Fallout 4 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
One of the top picks on this list is Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Aside from the fact that the game is absolutely stunning with amazing gameplay, Breath of the Wild has fantastic similarities to everything we know and love about Skyrim. Open-world? Check. Magic? Double check. Cool swords? Triforce check.

Many, many side quests to lose yourself in while you stubbornly ignore the looming main quest? You know it.

Run, ride horses, and glide across Hyrule as you take down monsters and complete quests at your leisure – as long as you can ignore Zelda’s frequent distress signals. Save civilians, dress up in funky little outfits to protect yourself from the extreme climates, and ignore everything bad in the world as you try to figure out how to cook something that won’t just turn out as more Dubious Food.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available for the Nintendo Switch and Wii U.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is stacked Skyrim-worthy moments. While there isn’t as much flexibility in character customisation and there are many, many more cutscenes, The Witcher still fits in this list very well. Rather than the wide, open-world sandbox of Skyrim, this game is story-driven in a way Bethesda’s title isn’t.

Players traverse the map between plot points, able to hunt wildlife and gather ingredients for alchemy and health restoration. The playable magic is also more limited than in Skyrim, but if you’re a fan of more heavy hitting characters with big swords, the melee combat is definitely for you. The Witcher 3 really matches Skyrim’s aesthetics, above all else. Beautiful views, horrifying monsters, heaps of leather armour and shiny weapons… the list goes on.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows.

Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dragon Age: Inquisition is a semi-open world action RPG, coming third in BioWare’s Dragon Age franchise. The game’s open world isn’t quite as free range as Skyrim, but the map is made up of extremely large regions, each with their own purpose.

Inquisition allows for a lot of character customisation, from race to appearance, character class, combat style, and attributes. You can even customise your followers. Just like Skyrim, players have the ability to craft their own weapons and armour, and while there is a core plot with a linear timeline, players have a lot of options as to how they get there.

Inquisition is also a very popular game due to its lore aspects, characters and the possible relationships. To top it all off, as you might guess from the title, it’s got dragons!

Dragon Age: Inquisition is available on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.