RELATED: 'The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim' Is Getting an Anniversary Re-Release - and Now, You Can Actually Fish As soon as a console generation ends, gamers are left with a wishlist of potential remasters, hoping to relive their favorite experiences in a way that isn’t marred by their increased graphical standards. Adding to this nostalgia, console manufacturers have made increasingly large steps away from backward compatibility, meaning there’s no easy way to replay your favorite games without holding onto a growing pile of aging hardware and accessories.

Combined with how quickly hardware progresses and is often left in the dust after only a few years, this ends up leaving many gamers with a warped sense of nostalgia. Graphics and game mechanics that were revolutionary only 5-10 years ago often seem shoddy and underdeveloped when compared to modern titles. Gaming is a much more disposable medium when compared to other entertainment media. Whether you were young or old, hardcore veteran or casual hobbyist, you could find something to love about Skyrim. A massive open-world combined with an ingeniously approachable level of playability, in retrospect its success seems almost inevitable. Taking the world by storm after its 2011 release, it was difficult to turn anywhere online without bumping into a Skyrim reference, discussion, or even passing mention of how great it was. There are few games that one could truly describe as ‘beloved’ to the gaming community as a whole, but Skyrim is indisputably one of them. This begs the question, why does Bethesda see fit to keep releasing Skyrim over and over again?

But just like any good joke, there does come a point where it becomes less and less funny with each repetition. The remasters and re-releases of this singular title have been so prolific that they’ve become a running joke for much of the gaming community. With the recent announcement of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition, Bethesda has once again seen fit to re-release the much-beloved RPG for the 7th time (including the original 2011 release). Few things are certain in life besides death, taxes, and Skyrim being remastered yet again.

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