The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It launched on November 11, 2011, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, following The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Set in the northern province of Skyrim on the continent of Tamriel, its central crisis begins when the dragon Alduin returns after an ancient absence. The player creates the Last Dragonborn, a mortal able to absorb dragons' souls and use their language as magical Shouts.

After escaping the execution at Helgen, where Alduin attacks, the Dragonborn can follow the main quest through Whiterun, High Hrothgar, and the civil war-torn holds of Skyrim. The Greybeards identify the hero and teach the first Shout, Unrelenting Force, whose words are Fus, Ro, and Dah. The plot eventually sends the player to recover the Elder Scroll used at the Throat of the World, learn Dragonrend from a vision of the ancient Nord heroes, and confront Alduin in Sovngarde. There, with the spirits of Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, Hakon One-Eye, and Felldir the Old, the Dragonborn defeats the World-Eater.

Skyrim's open world permits choices beyond the main story. Players may join the Companions of Whiterun, the College of Winterhold, the Thieves Guild in Riften, or the Dark Brotherhood. The Imperial Legion and Stormcloak rebellion form opposing sides in Skyrim's civil war, led respectively by General Tullius and Ulfric Stormcloak. The quest "Season Unending" can assemble leaders at High Hrothgar to negotiate a temporary truce while the player pursues Alduin.

The game uses Bethesda's Creation Engine and offers first-person and third-person play. Its skill system improves abilities through use, while leveling grants choices of health, magicka, or stamina and access to perk trees. Crafting includes smithing, alchemy, enchanting, and cooking. The player can buy homes, marry eligible non-player characters, adopt children in Hearthfire, and ride horses. The game's soundtrack was composed by Jeremy Soule, including its main theme "Dragonborn."

Bethesda released three official downloadable expansions in 2012: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn. Dawnguard centers on a conflict involving the vampire lord Harkon and the Dawnguard, and it allows the player to become a Vampire Lord. Hearthfire adds land purchases and house construction. Dragonborn takes the player to Solstheim and pits them against Miraak, an earlier Dragonborn who seeks to dominate the Last Dragonborn using the knowledge he gained from the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora and apocryphal Black Books in Apocrypha.