The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is not a bad game. Bethesda Game Studios created a wonderful open-world game focused on exploration and imagination. Skyrim embodies some of the greatest qualities of video games: without cutscenes and initial boundaries, Skyrim is one of the most interactive games in the world.

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Four years after Skyrim’s release, CD Projekt released their third Witcher game. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is great in so many ways — both small and big — that it’s a better overall game than Skyrim. Of course, this doesn’t apply to all gamers. Though similar, Skyrim and The Witcher 3 are very different experiences, and players will feel differently about the games depending on their preferences and playstyles. However, The Witcher 3 has enough superior mechanics that the game is a smoother and more rewarding experience for most players.

Updated May 31, 2022, by Gabrielle Huston: Despite the fact that it's been years since both of these games came out, die-hard fans are still debating which is better. These are our best arguments for why The Witcher 3 should come out on top.

15 You Don't See The Dragonborn During Conversations

Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher 3 screenshot and Jarl Balgruuf from Skyrim

Skyrim is well-known as one of the most open-ended games in the world, but Witcher 3 actually offers a similar number of choices. Players can choose to be good, evil, or anywhere in between in both games. Every conversation includes multiple dialogue branches, allowing players to shape their character’s personality through words and actions.

The big difference between Skyrim and Witcher 3 is that gamers see their character’s reactions in Witcher 3. This produces much more dynamic, authentic interactions in which two characters react to each other. The player character never moves in Skyrim, and NPCs act like they’re talking to a wall that expresses itself through emojis. In Witcher 3, characters build conversations together, creating realistic scenarios and powerful relationships.

14 Skyrim's Torches Are Basically Useless

A comparison of night time lighting between The Witcher 3 and Skyrim

Companions often use torches in Skyrim, but there’s no reason for players to use any sort of light. Even on cloud-covered nights and in dark dungeons, Skyrim is always bright enough for players to see where they’re going.

Since Skyrim has torches and bright spells, Bethesda should have included areas of complete darkness. Beautiful areas would have been harder to see, but darkness would have made exploration and combat much more exciting. Plus, torches wouldn’t look as ridiculous and useless as they currently do.

Witcher 3, on the other hand, fully incorporates darkness. Players can’t see far in dark landscapes, and they can’t see anything in unlit buildings. The lighting is not only realistic but immersive, making creepy places like haunted houses and deep caves even creepier.

13 Your Health Always Regenerates

A comparison of the Health Bars and systems for health in The Witcher 3 and Skyrim

While health always regenerates in Skyrim, players have options in Witcher 3.

  • If gamers play the game on Easy or Normal mode, their health regenerates over time.
  • If played on Hard or Very Hard, players can only regain health through food and potions.

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Hard and Very Hard provides a great challenge for players who want it. It’s also realistic: after all, one wouldn’t expect someone to regenerate health after taking a sword to the face. If you want to play on Easy or Normal, though, we won't judge - the Witcher 3's advantage over Skyrim is simply that it gives you the choice.

12 The Ending Doesn't Reflect Who Your Character Is

Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher 3 screenshot and Alduin from Skyrim

Skyrim’s ending is fine, but the endings in Witcher 3 are so much better. A player's actions throughout Witcher 3 affect the game’s conclusion. Three major endings determine what happens to Geralt and Ciri, while multiple epilogues are available that reveal the fate of characters and nations.

Gamers can affect characters and nations in Skyrim too, but few of these relationships reach true conclusions, and none are present in the game’s ending. Players save the world from Alduin — that’s it. None of their friends are present at the game’s end, and almost nobody recognizes the Dragonborn's heroic deeds.

The Witcher 3 concludes a personal story in a battle to protect the people players come to love. Skyrim ends with an impersonal battle that feels like a chore.

11 Its “Realistic” Graphics Just Don't Hold Up

Geralt attacking dragon in Witcher 3 and the character creator in Skyrim

Skyrim’s graphics look great in many ways, but they are quickly becoming outdated. The game tries to look realistic, particularly with the playable races. The humanoid characters looked spectacular when the game first came out in 2011; since then, the characters have looked less and less realistic. While the fantastical monsters and settings still look amazing, the more realistic aspects of the game suffer from outdated character models. Modders have done the hard work of keeping up for Bethesda.

Witcher 3 looks amazing and has high system requirements because of it (the game is still unplayable for many computer players), but it, fortunately, avoids absolute realism. Landscapes look fairly realistic but not entirely, using oversaturated colors to create an artistic aesthetic. Characters share these colors and possess a few other unrealistic qualities, such as perfectly smooth skin.

While Skyrim’s visuals are declining, Witcher 3’s graphics won’t become outdated anytime soon.

10 It's Hard To Distinguish Friend From Foe

Geralt attacking an enemy in Witcher 3 and a Draugr in Skyrim

Enemies and friendly NPCs are clearly distinct in Witcher 3. Red dots on the mini-map show player exactly where hostile monsters and characters are located. Enemies’ names and health bars —both of which are red— hover above NPCs, allowing players to instantly identify enemies.

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Skyrim’s enemy system is much more confusing. The game only labels NPCs as enemies when they target the Dragonborn. Red dots appear on the compass but only show the general direction of foes. Since the red dots don’t hover over specific NPCs, players can easily mistake an ally for an enemy. If gamers accidentally strike a non-hostile NPC, the NPC will turn into an enemy.

Skyrim’s enemy system may be more realistic, but it’s infuriating when players accidentally lose quests because they mistook a friendly NPC for an enemy. Since Skyrim already includes red dots on the compass, Bethesda should have expanded its enemy system and made enemies instantly recognizable.

9 Players Can Hurt Invincible Characters

The Witcher 3 face me if you dare quest and opening quest from Skyrim

An unclear enemy system supports Skyrim’s realism, since players can’t distinguish enemies and allies based on appearances. If gamers accidentally attack a friendly NPC, they must battle that NPC. This would be a great mechanic if there weren’t invincible NPCs.

Most NPCs can be killed, but a large number of characters are invincible because they are central to certain quests. If players battle that NPC, they’ll only find out they’re invincible right before they would normally die. The only way to “win” such a battle is by running away; if players stay near the NPC, they will continuously attack them. Multiple hours can be wasted trying to fight characters that players don’t realize are invincible.

Witcher 3 lacks this problem because players can’t harm invincible characters. If they do hit an invincible NPC, they, fortunately, won’t fight back.

8 Undeveloped, Unfeeling Romances

Romance in The Witcher 3 and Romance in Skyrim

Any successful, mutual romance feels rewarding, but affection in Skyrim is an uncomfortable reward. In order to marry certain NPCs, players have to complete quests connected to those NPCs. After a single quest, players are rewarded with an NPC’s love — but only if they have an amulet equipped that shows they're looking for love. The system feels clunky and objectifying: characters marry because of mechanical requirements instead of chemistry and genuine romance. Players can imagine romantic relationships, but it’s hard to imagine romance when NPCs can only say a few lines.

Witcher 3 uses cutscenes and dialogue trees to develop more authentic romances. If players want to live happily with an NPC, they have to act faithfully (for the major characters, at least) and say the right things — just like relationships in real life. Although romance is more difficult to obtain in Witcher 3, the resulting relationships are much more rewarding and believable.

7 Long-Lasting Projectiles

The Witcher 3 Geralt using sign on enemy a skyrim character with arrow in head

Archery is thrilling in Skyrim until players are close enough to see the results. Arrows stick in characters for quite a while, which would be perfectly alright if Skyrim’s combat wasn’t so clunky and unrealistic. Arrow-filled corpses look fine, but a living NPC with three arrows in their head is ridiculous and somewhat terrifying. The same thing happens with magical projectiles like ice shards.

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Witcher 3, on the other hand, rarely keeps arrows in sight. When arrows do stick in NPCs, they almost immediately disappear. Geralt walks away from fights without arrows dotting his body, which is much more immersive than the long-lasting projectiles in Skyrim.

6 Overpowered Stealth

Geralt using a sign towards the camera in The Witcher 3 and  a character using a stealth kill in Skyrim

While stealth is realistic and tense at the start of Skyrim, players with a high Sneak level are unrealistically overpowered. Enemies walk into the Dragonborn without seeing them, and players can “disappear” by crouching in front of enemies — even if they’re staring right at them.

One ridiculous aspect of stealth is how it interrupts battles. When players attack an NPC, they initially search for their attacker. If gamers wait long enough while sneaking, the enemy will forget they ever existed. Most players will cringe as NPCs walk away with arrows in their head saying “I must have just been hearing things” or “Is someone there?”

Witcher 3 has no sneaking mechanic. Sneaking could have been fun, but we’re grateful CD Projekt avoided the overpowered stealth found in Skyrim.

5 Illogical Ending

Geralt and Ciri from The Witcher 3 and Alduin from Skyrim

Skyrim tries to justify its impersonal ending by separating the main questline from the rest of the game. After defeating Alduin, players return to Skyrim and continue adventuring. The story and relationships end when players say they do. Bethesda tried to create an interactive ending where the battle against Alduin is a small part of a larger world.

Unfortunately, this open-ended conclusion makes no sense. Alduin was responsible for reviving the dragons, so dragons should slowly disappear from the world. Instead, dragons continue to appear throughout the game.

An interactive ending could have been brilliant, but the main questline gets in the way. Since Skyrim could only logically end with Alduin’s defeat, Bethesda should have ended the game there and made a cinematic ending like Witcher 3.

4 The World Is Less Colorful

A Color Comparison between the witcher 3 and Skyrim

Witcher 3’s colors prevent the game from looking too realistic, but they also create one of the most beautiful worlds in gaming history. Thanks to its heavily saturated color palette, Witcher 3’s world feels vibrant and alive. Characters are far more interesting to look at than the playable races of Skyrim; Geralt’s and Ciri’s scars burn across their faces, and Triss’s red hair lights up the screen.

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Skyrim’s world is beautiful, but its settings and colors are so monotonous that it’s easy to get bored. The creatures and plants blend into their surroundings; even the flowers are almost as colorless as the gray and brown landscapes around them. Witcher 3’s colors may not be particularly realistic, but even the real world has more color than Skyrim.

3 Boring, Repetitive Environment

Geralt looking out towards forest in The Witcher 3 and Khajit looking at forest in Skyrim

Skyrim’s visuals are less interesting than Witcher 3’s not only because of a lack of color but also because of an unchanging environment. It isn’t bad that Skyrim commits to a single environmental theme; Witcher 3 simply offers more variety and thus is more likely to please players. Whether players prefer the luscious vineyards of Toussaint, the icy North, or the mountainous Skellige islands, Witcher 3 gives several environments so gamers can pick and choose which settings to explore.

Fortunately, Witcher 3 doesn’t sacrifice realism through multiple settings. Thanks to its massive map, the game can realistically present a variety of environments. The game’s placement further justifies the environment: players can explore islands, the coast, or the mainland, all with their own environmental themes.

2 The Protagonist Has No Backstory

Geralt from The Witcher 3 and The Dragonborn From Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls franchise generally avoids introducing a backstory for the protagonist so players may imagine their own backstories. However, the games force gamers into storylines and scenarios that might defy their imagination, requiring players to rethink their characters consistently.

Witcher 3 allows players the same amount of freedom without pretending it offers unlimited freedom. Players choose how Geralt reacts in certain scenarios, but they can’t change Geralt’s backstory or his central motivations. By creating a character with clear, unchanging motives, Witcher 3 justifies its storyline. Skyrim, on the other hand, uses a storyline that can easily contradict players’ roleplaying.

Geralt’s backstory also connects players to his world and the characters he knows, which is much more interesting and logical than Skyrim. Skyrim pretends its protagonist is an adult crossing into Skyrim, yet the protagonist knows nothing about Skyrim or the surrounding nations.

1 The Combat Is Clunky And Awkward

Geralt fighting a troll in witcher 3 and the character fighting a dragon in Skyrim

Apart from the occasional cinematic kill, Skyrim has awkward combat. Players simply hit enemies until their health is gone. Characters swing weapons as if attacking a wall. Players might as well be a wall: they barely budge even when massive monsters slam into them.

In Witcher 3, combat is fluid, realistic, and endlessly fun to watch. Geralt’s entire body moves when he attacks or takes damage, giving battles the dance-like movement they deserve. Players can dodge and parry attacks, rip enemies apart with explosive spells, and knock characters back with a series of well-timed hits. Monsters can hit Geralt aside like a doll, giving larger, tougher enemies the strength they deserve.

Skyrim’s combat is fun, but the battles in Witcher 3 are absolutely thrilling.

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