20 Essential Video Games You Must Play Before You Die

3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Considered by many to be the finest game released during the seventh generation of consoles, the fifth instalment of the venerable Elder Scrolls series took both open-world games and the fantasy genre to new heights.

Following the story of a Dragonborn, a prophesied warrior with the power to absorb the souls of dragons, Skyrim features around 250 separate quests for the player to complete as well as one of the most extensive item and weapon development systems seen in gaming. Removing the traditional ideas of character classes and replacing them with complete freedom to develop your skills how you saw fit. Become great with a sword, or deadly with a bow, or a powerful magic user, or some combination of all three.

A huge choice of races and appearances also added to the unique flavour that accompanies every play-through, as almost no two players of Skyrim will likely have had the same experience on their journey through the world. But what really blows the doors off for Skyrim is the look, with every possible sort of terrain rendered in almost impossibly beautiful detail.