Skyrim Special Edition (SSE) vs Skyrim Modded

So Skyrim Special Edition has been out for just long enough. I guess it’s safe to write my own comparison as well. First things first however, I don’t own Skyrim Special Edition. Why? Because my computer is a 4GB RAM toaster, and my modded Skyrim runs on 35 FPS as it is. That said, all I’m doing for this discussion is comparing what I have with what I could have if my machine could actually handle it.

For those of you who don’t know what Skyrim is (you’re probably not a gamer in the first place), it is the fifth installment in a high-fantasy franchise known as the Elder Scrolls. In Skyrim, you play as a legendary hero called the “Dragonborn,” with the body of a man and the soul of a dragon. It is your destiny to defeat the Alduin the World Eater, and save the world from destruction.

SSE vs Skyrim 2011 Round 1: Graphics Comparison

Let’s start with a visual comparison. Obviously, Skyrim Special Edition was bound to get a touch up in this category.

SSE comes with enhanced lighting and weather effects, such as realistic light rays through trees and clouds (also called God rays). The new lighting overhaul also improves the way shadows are cast. The most welcome change however, is the addition of rain occlusion. Rain realistically stops upon contact with roofing and other solid surfaces. This is in contrast to unmodded 2011 Skyrim. Weather effects were simply overlaid on the screen, resulting in rain “falling” through roofs.

Environments have been made much more immersive, with better movement of grass in the wind, and realistic flowing water. Again, this is in contrast to vanilla Skyrim, where water always flowed in the same direction, no matter what. Depth of field has also been added, blurring parts of the screen the player isn’t focusing on for added realism.

Watch: Skyrim Special Edition vs Modded Skyrim (MxR Mods YouTube Channel)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWXfYzQqzDc

Modded Skyrim achieves similar visuals to SSE, thanks to ENB projects. For those who don’t know, an ENB is a graphics overhaul that separates Skyrim’s VRAM usage into its own process, allowing the player abuse the extra memory. Some ENB presets are arguably more attractive than SSE, in fact. This is especially true because SSE does not use actual 4k resolution textures; rather, it uses 2k textures upscaled to 4k. ENB-modded Skyrim tends to look more vivid and vibrant than SSE at the moment, and unless ENB is ported over to be compatible with Special Edition, I have to give this round to 2011 Skyrim.

SSE vs Skyrim 2011 Round 2: Audio Comparison

Interestingly, Bethesda Softworks made the mistake of compressing audio files to the point that audio fidelity was sacrificed in favor of file size. This means at release, Skyrim 2011 actually had better sound quality than SSE. Here is a comparison by LasurArkinshade:

Bethesda has since released patches to fix the audio quality downgrade however, meaning this is no longer so great a problem. In the event that the patches might not be up to the player’s par, there is also the option of zipping and extracting the original game’s audio files. This round is a draw.

SSE vs Skyrim 2011 Round 3: Stability Comparison

Special Edition supports DirectX 11, and is built on a 64-bit engine. This means faster processing of larger amounts of information. SSE can run more than 2011 Skyrim’s 4 GB of RAM. This means a massive boost in stability. SSE is less likely to crash, and experiences much fewer FPS drops in comparison to its predecessor.

Skyrim 2011 has no way to combat this advantage, as any mods are more likely to put a heavier load on the game engine rather than relieve it. This round goes to SSE.

Tiebreaker Round: Gameplay and Content Comparison

For the most part, SSE is the exact same story as 2011 Skyrim. However, the fact that SSE is newer and more stable has led most modders to port their content over. While vanilla Skyrim currently has more available add-ons, creation of new content is slowing to a crawl. Most of the “essential” mods have already been redone for SSE.

Every modification can be redone to work with SSE. However because of engine limitations, not all content made for SSE can be remade for compatibility with vanilla Skyrim. As a result, this round’s winner is SSE.

Final Thoughts: Is Skyrim Special Edition worth your money?

Well… SSE is free for anyone who already owns Skyrim. If you can afford the original game, good for you. You get a free upgrade. But honestly, it’s only half an edge over 2011 Skyrim. Do I want it? Sure. Will I upgrade? If I get a better machine, yes. It’s not really a priority for me at the moment, though. It’s really something I can live without.

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