If you’re looking to play the finest games like Skyrim, we’ve got you covered right here.
While the critically-acclaimed open-world action RPG continues to live on through modding and remasters, there are also a ton of great Skyrim alternatives.
In this list, we’ll showcase the best games like Skyrim on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch platforms.
So, if you’re ready to abandon the title of Dragonborn and don a new mantle, keep reading on to see the finest games similar to Skyrim!
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Demon’s Souls
Platform: PS5
Whether you’re a Dark Souls enthusiast or looking for the best games like Skyrim, you’ll likely enjoy the updated remake of one of FromSoftware’s most crucial titles.
Originally released for the PS3, Demon’s Souls sees you on a heroic quest to save the kingdom of Boletaria from an evil being known as the Old One.
Developed by Bluepoint Games, the remake adds a host of quality-of-life enhancements that benefit performance and visual clarity.
However, at its core, Demon Souls feels nearly identical to the original in regard to environment layout and the challenge posed by its combat.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Similar to Skyrim, the Assassin’s Creed games place a significant emphasis on open-world exploration and rapid combat with elements of stealth and RPG progression.
A great execution of this tried and true formula is Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which casts you as a Viking raider searching for a new home in 9th-century Britain.
However, in the backdrop, a war is brewing between the Templars and the Brotherhood that causes your character to take action.
Throughout the game, you’ll go around completing missions while exploring an extensive map, collecting gear, and establishing a network of settlements.
Valheim
Platforms: Windows, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Linux
Valheim is an immense survival RPG that casts you as one of Odin’s fallen Viking warriors whose soul ends up in the tenth Norse world.
Much like the region of Skyrim, this sprawling ancient pool is teeming with untapped resources, immeasurable threats, and countless adventures.
You’ll keep your character fed, rested, and secure from enemy raids by constructing tools, weapons, and fortified camps to defend from trolls, sea monsters, and more.
Although the game is a bit light on story compared to games like Skyrim, it features an abundance of bosses to tackle, RPG progression, and comprehensive crafting mechanics.
Tribes of Midgard
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4
Next up on our list of the best games like Skyrim is Tribes of Midgard, another vast open-world survival RPG that supports up to 10-player cooperative gameplay.
While it showcases a unique cel-shaded art design and isometric POV, from a gameplay standpoint, the two share many similarities.
In it, you play as a Viking tasked with exploring a vast fantasy world teeming with distinctive biomes, natural resources, and powerful gods and monsters.
As you create fresh tools and enhance equipment, you’ll defend your town against Giants who strive to destroy the Seed of Yggdrasil.
The Outer Worlds
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Like Skyrim and numerous other RPGs, The Outer Worlds puts a lot of stock into player agency, with every action having its own set of repercussions.
The story sees you taking on the role of a blank slate character and improbable hero entrusted with determining the fate of a space colony and its famished citizens.
Making your way around a solar system, you’ll encounter characters, factions, and alien creatures with unique motivations that shape the narrative.
Every challenge can be approached in a variety of ways, allowing you to talk yourself out of a jam using words or bend enemies to your will using brute strength.
The Forgotten City
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch
The Forgotten City was initially conceived as a mod for Skyrim before becoming a standalone game led by developer/writer Nick Pearce.
In it, you’re transported to an antique city bound by the Golden Rule: a spiritual mandate that punishes sinful acts by turning citizens into gold statues.
The game presents plentiful opportunities to affect the outcome of the story during NPC interactions and open-ended quests with multiple ways to achieve completion.
While it goes to great lengths to introduce its own cast of characters, environments, and even new game mechanics, the visual similarities with Skyrim persist.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
If you’ve ever wanted to play a more lifelike game like Skyrim, then Kingdom Come: Deliverance checks that box while still being an excellent medieval RPG.
Set in an expansive-world depiction of the Holy Roman Empire, it casts you as a blacksmith’s son who joins with rebels after his friends and family are massacred.
By relying on simulated systems, the game creates a unique survival experience where players maintain their character’s hunger, thirst, slumber, and sanitation.
While you won’t find any of Skyrim’s dragons or spells, there’s an unexpected amount of depth to Deliverance’s first-person combat that can be a lot of fun to conquer.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4
Horizon Zero Dawn’s primitive post-apocalyptic setting may not be as populated as Skyrim but offers just enough lore to satisfy any Elder Scrolls fan’s appetite.
It also happens to serve as the perfect backdrop for taut stealth and action sequences that pit the player against enormous enemies.
To close the gap, you’ll explore every tool at your disposal and seek out innumerable strategies for defeating a host of mechanical horrors.
Although Aloy is limited to a bow and arrow, she makes up for it with an abundance of ammo types, traps, and gadgets.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
If you’re looking for a gratifying fantasy RPG that shares plenty of similarities with the Elder Scrolls franchise, look no further than Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.
In it, you take on the role of the Fateless One after they’re resurrected and thrust into a ravaged world on the brink of collapse.
The game features comprehensive character customization, an expansive open world ripe for exploration, and immersive combat that emphasizes player choice at every turn.
While you’re more than welcome to check out the original, a remastered version titled Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning can be picked up for PC and modern consoles.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Platform: Switch
The sensation of being able to go anywhere at any time is hard to capture in most open-world games like Skyrim, with the exception of Breath of the Wild
Offering a novel take on the Zelda series, the game encourages you to explore environments using gratifying traversal mechanics that let you climb any object.
While the primary quest revolves around vanquishing Ganon and revitalizing Hyrule to its previous splendor, much like Skyrim, most of the enjoyment stems from spontaneous exploration.
Both games also do a superb job of rewarding you for your curiosity with hidden areas, powerful gear, and bits of lore.
Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One
Our next proposal for the finest open-world games like Skyrim is Shadow of War, an action-packed adventure RPG set in the fantasy world of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Continuing the story of Shadow of Mordor while expanding upon the Nemesis system, it sees you contesting with formidable enemies with distinct backgrounds.
Additionally, players are bound to encounter a wide range of characters throughout Middle Earth’s open world, ranging from elves to orcs and everything in between.
There are also countless side quests and opportunities to venture off the beaten path and delve deeper into LOTR lore.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch
Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning another fantasy RPG that’s considered a masterpiece by many, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
While more reliant on storytelling via cutscenes, The Witcher 3 is sure to scratch that Skyrim itch while telling its own original narrative.
In between vital parts of the story, players can freely explore the game’s expansive open world to hunt animals, collect ingredients, and enjoy the picturesque surroundings.
Even if magic works differently in both games, Skyrim enthusiasts will likely appreciate The Witcher 3’s emphasis on sword combat.
Conan Exiles
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
If you love games like Skyrim, then Conan Exiles is a superb alternative that will bring you hours of enjoyment.
Set in a medieval open world brimming with beasts, it sees you carving out your path by gathering resources, arming yourself, and constructing fortresses.
While the game is primarily multiplayer, there’s also a solo mode with Skyrim-like progression that lets you refine your skills in different areas.
This could mean exploring to your heart’s content, decking out your home with opulent furniture, or capturing NPCs to keep as slaves.
GreedFall
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
GreedFall is an indie action RPG set during a magical-infused 17th Century where players take on the role of a noble afflicted by a mysterious family illness.
Desperate for a remedy, they set off for a mysterious island only to be caught in a war between the island’s natives and encroaching colonists.
Like Skyrim, the game focuses heavily on player freedom, allowing you to side with either faction or even remain impartial through to the end of the story.
Although GreedFall’s indie open world may not be on the same scale as Skyrim, you’ll have no shortage of scenic vistas and spontaneous adventures.
Divinity: Original Sin II
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Mac, iOS
If you’re looking for games like Skyrim that draw inspiration from classics like Baldur’s Gather and Planescape: Torment, consider picking up Divinity: Original Sin II.
Much like Skyrim, it assigns distinct consequences for every action taken by the player, with some having small effects and others completely reshaping the world.
This design extends to OS2’s final-game states, which include seven main endings, five character-specific ones, and many more affecting specific regions or races.
It’s the ideal game for Skyrim fans who also enjoy the rest of the Elder Scrolls series as well as conventional RPGs packed with lore and world-building.
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is an action RPG developed and published by Capcom that takes place in a mythical setting reminiscent of Skyrim.
In it, you play as a customizable hero called the Arisen as they’re assigned the gigantic task of defeating a dragon, not unlike Elder Scrolls V.
However, before that, you’ll have to make it past a host of mythological monstrosities that occupy and roam the game’s open world.
The game is notable for featuring intense combat and party mechanics that let you latch onto monsters’ bodies and develop distinctive builds for each character.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One
Despite being part of one of the most beloved RPG franchises, Dragon Age: Inquisition is often overlooked and underrated by fans of the genre.
Admittedly, the game is a little rough around the edges, especially if you tried playing it back during its launch in 2014.
Similar to games like Skyrim, it begins with you selecting your race and class before investigating a mystery causing demons to invade the world.
All flaws considered, Inquisition is worth exploring for its exciting blend of tactical RPG and real-time combat with a ton of flexibility for devising unique builds.
Fallout: New Vegas
Platform: Windows
Our final suggestion for games like Skyrim is Fallout: New Vegas, a beloved RPG that transports you to a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas left-ravaged by nuclear war.
In it, you take on the role of the Courier, a mysterious stranger tasked with delivering a package across the Mojave Wasteland to the owner of New Vegas, Mr. House.
In the background, a war brews between the New California Republic and local tribes Caesar’s Legionnaires and the Great Khans, with the player caught in the middle.
Like Skyrim, gameplay centers on real-time combat, RPG leveling, and non-linear progression with countless opportunities to stray from the main path.