Not ones to sit on their laurels, the PC modding community is already rolling out its first visual mods for Skyrim-Special Edition. For those keeping score at home, "vanilla" Skyrim-Special Edition came out only one week ago.
And yet, here we are, seven days later, with graphical improvements made on Bethesda's finest work. The fine folks at Candyland spliced together a comparison video. And, well, I'll admit, some of the improvements made on the mods seem more like a lateral pass than a run down the field. Some of these are the equivalent of just throwing in a synonym rather than coming up with a new way to say something.
For instance, I like the mod's sprinkling in of dead evergreen trees here and there; but then it's done a little too often. I like the mod's thicker grasses; until it's carpeting everything from the window to the wall, then it makes the plains look and feel a bit samey. I like some of the crisper details brought to light in the mod; until it flattens depth perception, making, in this instance, Markarth look like the rock wall behind it is a two-dimensional aspect of the city's depth.
So anyway, there are some interesting choices made here. It proves that the PC modding community can't be beaten at its own game when it comes to mods. I mean, to a degree. Like I said, some of these modded visual upgrades make distinctively forward-thinking and far-reaching decisions (like, did you see that rope wrapped around the log pole?), but other choices provide a different light on the subject without necessarily improving upon it. Still! This is the work of people that've had, what, five workdays and one weekend to come up with this stuff? The PC mod community's work ethic is stunning. This coming from a console plebe.
Keep up the good work, everyone. Can't wait to see what you come up with next week. And the next. I can't even imagine what Skyrim-Special Edition Year Two will look like on PC.
Our full review is on the way, but with developer Bethesda's new policy of not sending out review copies until launch day, we'll spend many more hours with it before rushing out an opinion. (And, P.S., I bought my copy; Bethesda didn't provide us review code.) You can read my first impressions of returning to the land of Skyrim here.
