I was recently asked a question and it bothered me because I had no real answer to give to the person.

"What is Skyrim?"

I was surprised that I couldn't come up with an answer that satisfied me. How do you successfully describe "what skyrim is"?

I feel like I'm severely undercutting the game if I just say "it's an open-world fantasy type game" because there is so much more character and substance in an Elder Scrolls game that it's like being thrust into a novel.

At the same time i don't want to go into some 35-minute rant about how much stuff there is to do because you'll probably end up losing their interest and possibly over hyping it to the point where they don't even want to give it a chance when your finished.

So, is it possible to clearly describe Skyrim to somebody who has little to no RPG experience without talking until your blue in the face?

Skyrim is between love and hate. It has got its flaws, and you will get annoyed by them, but you will not stop playing it, ever.

Edit: grammar.

I don't think so.

For most people that would ask, "What is Skyrim?" the simple answer of "A video game,'" would suffice.

tell them it is an open world RPG, and one of the best selling and famous games ever released. kill their curiosity by showing them the trailer.
then watch them create a steam account.

edit:

also this

I dont care that Skyrim has its flaws, for me It's a masterpiece, same as all the previous TES games.

I'd just say its a fantasy adventure RPG.

It should be enough to make them interested, the nuances and the freedom must be experienced before they realize there's no other game like this.

Don't overcomplicate it. Especially if they're not gamers.
"What is Skyrim?"
"Oh it's a video game. You kill dragons and stuff."
That's all an uninitiated needs to know.

I explain it like this:

It's a high-end single player video role playing game, set in a feudal fantasy world, where the player writes his or her own story, up to a certain point.

I couldn't agree with this more. It's 90% of the reason I felt I was not able to describe what the game really is.

Or after a certain point. I'd say that the player gets to write his/her storyline after the completion of the main questline. Because until you finish the main questline you're trying to fulfill a prophecy.

That's almost word for word how I usually describe skyrim. "There's dragons and stuff. It's huge, you can do anything."