This is a good question, and long standing source of debate across different forums on the internet. Having played, and finished both games at around their respective launch times I personally prefer Skyrim. Both games are different in their approach and at what they are trying to ultimately accomplish. One is a First Person Adventure/RPG that wants to get the player to lose him/herself in its epic world and lore. The other is a third person action/RPG that wants the player to experience an incredible story set in an wondrous world with strong emphasis on its Characters. Both are equally great at what they do, and the Witcher 3 has visually aged much better as it is a newer game developed for much more powerful hardware as its baseline.
All that being said. I have bought 4 different versions of Skyrim and have played over 400 hours of it. The Witcher 3 for me was an 80 hour experience that once finished, I never felt the need to get back into it. It was a great ride while the story lasted, Skyrim keeps being an interesting game even after 400 hours because I Keep running into random situations that set me on different quest paths. While the Witcher 3 had the bigger real state, it was only on a surface level, by contrast there is so much more verticality to Skyrim. Go into a recently discovered cave and it can lead you to an hour long journey through a maze or ancient elven ruins. The Witcher didn't have that exploration element to it, and Frankly no other open world has approached that level of immersion (BotW did come closer than most IMO). The Witcher 3, is prettier, has the more polished combat system and tells the better more engaging plot. Skyrim is more immersive, the better playground, and it is the gift that keeps on giving even after hundreds of hours. Both can coexist together, I would recommend both games to any one seeking an adventure.
At their respective launches while I found Witcher 3 a mind-blowing experience (Visually speaking), I was actually more impressed with Skyrim in 2011. The sense of scale was unparalleled, and fighting your first dragon in an open field was one of the more iconic, and unforgettable experiences of the last decade. If I had to pick only one game to play it would be Skyrim, but the Witcher 3 is equally great at what it does and some people will prefer its style of play and presentation. By the way these are the Metacritic scores for these two titles: Skyrim- 94, Witcher 3- 93.
Last edited by SammyGiireal - on 09 February 2020
