I’m posting this because I’m wondering whether anyone else feels the same way about Skyrim as me. I think atmosphere is a really important part of a game, and, for me at least, Skyrim’s atmosphere is awesome in the true sense of the word.

Weltschmerz is difficult to translate, but roughly means ‘world sorrow’ or ‘sadness for the world’. For me, it pervades Skyrim, and is one of the defining themes of the game.

Beauty and sadness seem to co-exist everywhere. The landscape is filled with a kind of gloomy beauty: the mist on the mountains, the looming ruins. The people of Skyrim are almost universally depicted as struggling, many merely to scraqe a living from the frozen land. They sound and look weary and hard-pressed.

Then there’s the music, which is gorgeously melancholy. Its use of previous themes adds to the feeling of nostalgia for other times. I don’t want to exaggerate, but for me, the music at its best is comparable to Barber’s Agnus Dei.

The overarching political themes fit into this world weariness. The great and glorious battles have already been fought, and lost. What’s left is a world in decline, and this bitter, brutal struggle in a cold northern province. There’s no clear right and wrong side – you get the impression that whoever wins, there’s going to be misery and pain. Each of the guilds is similarly found to be in decline in Skyrim. Their former, simplistic, glory is long gone. The fight is ultimately to recover past glories, in an atmosphere of decline and dilapidation.

I don’t want to include spoilers in this topic, but I think I can get away with saying that the main quest is consistent with this theme. For any game to even hint that maybe the world should not be saved is in my view an incredibly complex and mature development.

And then there's the dragons: beautiful, intelligent and dignified, and somehow purer than the human races. They signify something, and are not simplistic monsters to be hunted without a thought. I felt real regret (as well as triumph) every time I killed one, and did not want dragons to be absent from the world again, let alone be the cause of that absence.

Anyway, that’s what I think. I’m sorry if this all sounds like pretentious rambling - it isn’t meant to be.

This is the most insightful and revelatory post I have read yet. Awesome.

Excellent post. Kudos to you, sir.

Tons of these little things.
Not just werltschmertz I think, some of the more gloomy type of philosphers would have fit right at home in Skyrim.

I can tell you've had yet another night at the inn drinking Honningbrew mead while listening to that bard's gloomy songs, phishface.

:clap:

I enjoyed that.

Magnificent. Thanks for posting, I perfectly agree on every point.

The sorrow is akin to the northern European feeling about the human condition.

Bethesda got it right, frankly.

Weltschmerz= Verdensmerte/Verdenspine/ Verdsmerte/Verdspine in written Norwegian. I know exactly what you mean mr OP.

I totally agree with the OP. Bethesda really succeeded at infusing Skyrim with beauty while still making it a very harsh and bleak place.

That kind of all-pervasive heaviness sets in from the very first cutscene. The moment I heard Ralof wonder if Vilod was still making 'that mead with juniper berries mixed in', I realized that I'd stepped into a broken world. Everyone was just trudging along, barely scraping by. The Jarls looked tired, leaning against their thrones as if they could no longer hold themselves upright without support. The smallest acts of kindness seemed to astonish the people I did favours for. Even on the brightest mornings, everything seemed so grey. It's sad, really.

Hm no, I think it's just beautiful.

There's actually sort of a term for this in dragon tongue; Unslaad Krosis, which roughly translates to Eternal Sorrow. So if you heard that from a couple dragons or draugr, now you know what it means.

Yes! I totally agree and love how you've put this into words.

There really is a sense of longing for a glorious past that may never return, not so much with the hope for a vibrant future. Melancholy. The fact that nearly every faction has some pretty significant flaws in their philosophy or actions/requirements and all are far from the zenith of their power or prestige.

I also really like how you at least consider the question of whether or not you should save the world...and what about the next?

Interesting bit about the dragon words for this! Unslaad krosis. I imagine near immortal beings would know this well.

I can remember Paarthunax saying that. Mind blown.

Well said, Skyrim is indeed a soul enriched environment which fits into it's own setting and timeline.

I most enjoy the Aurora Borealis on clear nights

I just love how the actual atmosphere of the game seems to actually transfer directly to you.

During snowstorms, at first I didn't notice it, but I really WANT to get inside a house as fast as possible. I feel... endangered during those, ESPECIALLY at night

You happen along a city (Markath) that looks like the gods let their minds build the most beautiful structures they could think of, you expect to find people that are at least somehow happy, as they're literally living inside a wonder, and as soon as you enter the city, the truth jumps in your face: poverty, corruption and murder are what rule this city.

Then you walk towards a shop in Whiterun and hear a soldier talking to the blacksmith, telling her that whatever price she asks, he NEEDS those weapons ready, and then you hear her argue that she just CAN'T do an order that big... sounds like a real desperate place indeed. Add to that that mother arguing with two guys, yelling at them because she's SURE they have her son...



But yeah, I think the TRUE darkest moment of skyrim in the intro. The way Ralof talks... and then as you arrive, you hear a child wondering what's about to happen, with his father, fully knowing what's next, simply orders him to get inside... And then, for s few seconds you hear only the wind and the noises of the cart...

(also, try and go back to Helgen if you can. It's a pretty sad place after what happenned)


Truely, if there is ONE part that Skyrim does better than most games I know, it's the ambiance. Also, note the ABSENCE of music at some moments. makes it even more lonely and desperate

Yes, but is being sunk in an Eternal Sorrow of Weltschmertz combined with a large helping of dreary landscapes and unpleasant weather an enjoyable experience? Not for me.

Silmarillion by Tolkien is an exercise in sorrow over a declining world, but is quite enjoyable with many positive countercurrents. In comparison, Skyrim overdoes misery. "There has not been a merry man in Skyrim for 200 years", as someone might have said.

Hence I clearly prefer the atmosphere of Oblivion over Skyrim, modded or not. I feel that one playthrough of Skyrim will be quite enough for this reason alone.

I'm glad that someone else is able to appreciate the subtle beauties of Skyrim, OP.

Excellent thread.