The Special Edition doesn't make sweeping character model and animation overhauls. It's also complete, in that it includes the substantial Dawnguard, Heathfire, and Dragonborn DLC expansions. I spent the vast majority of my time with the PS4 version of Skyrim Special Edition, because who could forget how the PS3’s 2011 version suffered from muddy graphics, load times so long I could write and shoot off important emails before the next map appeared, and major frame rate issues that became worse as the size of your save increased? For any other PS3 owner who lived through that, this version is special indeed: load times while fast-traveling now breeze by in about the time it takes to recite the infamous line about taking an arrow to the knee, and for all my sourness over Ralof's taffy hair, it's never looked better on consoles.

Skyrim's Special Edition recaptures and beautifies the original game, but leaves a lot of room for an even-more-special edition down the road. Much as the prophets over at Bethesda Game Studios foretold, the Dragonborn has returned to us, but it's certainly not the second coming. The Nordic homeland looks better here, no doubt, but never quite good enough to let it pass for a modern game, and it lacks any new content or behind-the-scenes features to make it feel fresh for a returning adventurer. But soon after I'd spy rich foliage carpeting the floors of dark fir forests and light bouncing off choppy waters on Lake Ilinalta, and these sights would kindle a homesickness for this made-up world I explored for months five years ago, but the inconsistency of the graphics upgrade leaves Skyrim in a strange place.

It's the first thing I saw in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition as we rode in the cart toward our execution, and it didn't leave the best first impression. Rigid and coarse, Ralof's hair looks like a piece of dust-caked banana Laffy Taffy I once found under my couch.

Skyrim special edition character models