Games That Are Like Skyrim: 13 Open-World RPGs on Steam

Games that are like Skyrim have to get one thing right: the main quest can wait while you follow a mountain path just to see what’s at the top. In Skyrim you can be a thief, a mage or an archer who never touches a sword, and the game keeps offering caves, ruins and side quests until a quick session runs all evening. Every pick below shares some of that freedom, and the table shows which part each one does best.

What makes Skyrim feel like Skyrim?

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition

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Skyrim is a fantasy action RPG from Bethesda Game Studios. An action RPG is a role-playing game where you fight in real time instead of taking turns. The version on Steam today is the Special Edition, which Steam lists as released Oct 27, 2016. It bundles the add-ons with remastered art and effects and holds a Very Positive rating from more than 381,000 user reviews.

You play the Dragonborn in the cold northern province of Skyrim, where dragons have returned. You can also ignore that story for as long as you like. You can play in first or third person, and your character improves at whatever you actually do: use a bow and your archery gets better, forge daggers and your smithing rises. You can fast travel to any place you’ve already found, so the map keeps filling up with reasons to come back. On top of that, Bethesda’s Creations add new quests, characters, armor and weapons. It’s a single-player game.

That gives four things worth looking for in games that are like Skyrim:

• An open world you can take in any order. No locked chapters, no “come back later” walls everywhere.
• A character shaped by how you play, rather than one fixed class chosen in the first five minutes.
• Side quests and dungeons that pull you off the road, often more memorable than the main story.
• A solo journey at your own pace, with nobody waiting on you.

Few games do all four. The sections below are grouped by which parts each game does best, strongest fits first.

Elder Scrolls games that are like Skyrim

If you simply want more of the same, start here. These three are set in Tamriel, the same continent Skyrim belongs to, so the races, gods and politics will feel familiar.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

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This is the closest match on the list. Oblivion came out before Skyrim, and this remaster from Bethesda Game Studios and Virtuos rebuilds it with new visuals and refined gameplay. You explore the province of Cyrodiil and try to stop the forces of Oblivion, a demonic realm, from pouring through gates into the world. Like Skyrim, the main story is optional for long stretches. You can be a noble warrior, an assassin, a sorcerer or a blacksmith and spend your time on guild questlines instead.

The Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine expansions are included, so there’s a lot of game here. Steam lists it as single-player, with a Mostly Positive review summary. It suits anyone who wants games that are like Skyrim in structure and tone, with greener scenery and a slightly older-fashioned feel.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition

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Morrowind is two steps back in the series and the most unusual of the three: giant mushrooms, strange creatures and an island that feels nothing like Skyrim’s Nordic north. You can follow the story of the blight spreading across the land, or set off alone and build a character around what you do. The Tribunal and Bloodmoon expansions are included. The original Mod Construction Set isn’t.

It has the highest review summary on this list, Overwhelmingly Positive. Expect older visuals and less hand-holding, so you’ll read directions rather than follow a marker. It’s single-player and best for patient explorers who loved finding things on their own in Skyrim.

The Elder Scrolls Online

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The Elder Scrolls Online is an MMO, short for massively multiplayer online game: a persistent world shared with many other players. It’s set nearly 1,000 years before Skyrim, and you can visit regions like Morrowind or battle Daedra in Oblivion. The version on Steam includes several adventures, such as Morrowind, Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood. New seasons of content arrive every three months.

Steam lists online co-op, online PvP and in-app purchases, and it runs on Windows and macOS. It holds a Very Positive rating. Pick it if you love Tamriel and want to explore it with friends. Skip it if Skyrim’s appeal for you was a quiet, single-player world that revolves around you.

First-person RPGs with Skyrim’s freedom

These games share Skyrim’s sense of being dropped into a big world and trusted to find your own way, mostly seen through your character’s own eyes.

Fallout 4

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Fallout 4 comes from the same studio as Skyrim, and you can feel it: the same freedom to ignore the main path, join factions or go it alone, and stumble into quests just by walking somewhere new. You’re the sole survivor of Vault 111, coming out into a Boston area wrecked by nuclear war. The S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system and hundreds of Perks let you play as a smooth talker, a stealthy sniper or a walking tank in Power Armor.

Guns replace swords, and the mood is more wasteland than fantasy. You can also rebuild settlements as part of reclaiming the Commonwealth. Steam lists it as single-player with full controller support and a Very Positive rating. It’s a strong pick if you loved Bethesda’s style of world but want a different setting.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

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Its store page calls it a love letter to first-person open-world RPGs, and of all the newer games that are like Skyrim, this is the one built most openly in that style. It’s a darker take on Arthurian legend, set 600 years after King Arthur’s fall in a land stuck in endless autumn. You explore three large zones, take on hundreds of voiced side quests, and mix melee, shields, bows, magic and throwables into your own build, with dodging, parrying and blocking to stay alive.

The store page estimates 50 to 70 hours. It’s single-player with full controller support and a Very Positive rating from more than 36,000 reviews. Choose it if you want something that feels close to Skyrim but with a grimmer, more story-heavy world.

Avowed

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Avowed is a first-person fantasy RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, set in Eora, the world of the Pillars of Eternity games. You’re an envoy sent to the Living Lands, an island hit by a mysterious plague, and the job soon becomes personal. You fight with magic and steel, and your choices change the fates of the island’s people and creatures.

Where Skyrim leans toward wandering, Avowed leans toward decisions and their consequences. It’s single-player with full controller support and a Mostly Positive rating. It suits players who liked Skyrim’s first-person combat but wished the story reacted more to their choices.

ELEX II

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ELEX II comes from Piranha Bytes, the studio behind Gothic and Risen. It’s an open-world RPG set in Magalan, a post-apocalyptic world that mixes science fiction and fantasy. You play Jax, who has to persuade rival factions to unite against invaders from the sky while searching for his son. The standout feature is a jetpack, which changes how you explore: cliffs and ruins that would block you in Skyrim become shortcuts.

It’s single-player with a Mostly Positive rating. Expect a rougher, old-school style of RPG. It’s for players who enjoy faction politics and don’t mind a game that takes time to win them over.

Skyrim-like games with tougher combat

Skyrim’s melee combat is simple: swing, block, drink a potion. If you wished fights asked more of you, these four give you open worlds with combat you have to learn.

ELDEN RING

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FromSoftware’s action RPG puts you in the Lands Between, where wide open fields lead seamlessly into large, multi-level dungeons. Like Skyrim, it lets you go almost anywhere and rewards curiosity. Unlike Skyrim, enemies punish careless play. You learn timing, when to attack and when to dodge, and you build a character from a wide mix of weapons, spells and summons.

Steam lists single-player, online co-op and online PvP, along with full controller support. It has a Very Positive rating from more than a million reviews, the most on this list. Of all the games that are like Skyrim here, it’s the one to pick if exploring a fantasy world is the part you love and you’re ready for a real challenge.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

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No dragons, no spells. Warhorse Studios sets this story-driven action RPG in 15th-century Europe, and you play young Henry in a large open world. Sword fights are deliberate and demanding, and the game is about living in a historical world as much as fighting in it. If you used to roleplay a normal traveller in Skyrim, with no Dragonborn powers, this is that idea taken seriously.

It’s single-player with full controller support and a Very Positive rating from nearly 200,000 reviews. It’s a great choice among games that are like Skyrim if what you loved was the medieval atmosphere rather than the magic.

Dragon’s Dogma 2

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CAPCOM’s single-player action RPG lets you shape your Arisen’s look, vocation (its word for class) and party. You travel with Pawns: AI companions you customise, plus up to two more created by other players and borrowed through the network. Combat is physical and showy, with swords, bows and magick, and big monsters you can climb.

The Steam review summary is Mixed, so read recent reviews before you buy. It’s for players who loved Skyrim’s journeys across wild country and want fights that feel more like action games.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning

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A remaster of an RPG whose team included Ken Rolston, lead designer of Oblivion, so the link to the Elder Scrolls series is real. You’re the first warrior ever brought back from death, and you explore a large world of cities, forests and caverns. Its Destiny system lets you keep reshaping your class as you go, and combat is faster and more combo-driven than Skyrim’s, with finishers called Fateshift kills.

It’s single-player with full controller support and a Mostly Positive rating. Pick it if you wanted Skyrim’s freedom to mix magic and melee, with snappier fights.

Bigger stories, companions and armies

These two move away from the lone wanderer. One puts a party and its choices at the centre, the other hands you a whole medieval world to fight over.

Dragon Age Inquisition

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BioWare’s RPG makes you the Inquisitor, leading a band of champions in a land at war with itself while a demonic invasion begins. It covers large open areas, with keeps to take, but the heart of it is choice: decisions that shape Thedas and the people around you. This Game of the Year Edition includes the Jaws of Hakkon, The Descent and Trespasser add-ons.

Steam lists single-player and online co-op, with full controller support and a Mostly Positive rating. It suits players whose favourite Skyrim moments were the questlines and characters rather than the wandering.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

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TaleWorlds’ strategy and action RPG drops you into Calradia, a medieval sandbox (a game with open-ended systems instead of a set path) where an empire is torn by civil war. You create a character, trade, craft weapons, recruit companions, take part in politics and raise armies. Then you fight in huge real-time battles in first or third person, using directional combat where the angle of your swing matters.

Steam lists single-player, online PvP, Steam Workshop and a level editor, so mods are easy to find and install. It has a Very Positive rating. Among games that are like Skyrim it’s the odd one out: the right pick if your favourite part was the civil war and you wanted to actually lead it.

How to choose your next Skyrim-like game

The easiest way to choose between games that are like Skyrim is to work out which part of Skyrim kept you playing. Then match it:

• Exploring and finding things: Oblivion Remastered, Morrowind, Elden Ring.
• Building a character your way: Fallout 4, Kingdoms of Amalur, Tainted Grail.
• Story and choices: Avowed, Dragon Age Inquisition.
• Medieval atmosphere without magic: Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, Bannerlord.
• Playing with other people: The Elder Scrolls Online, Elden Ring.

A worked example

Say you played Skyrim as a stealth archer, spent hours clearing Nordic ruins, and lost interest whenever the dragon fights started. Your favourite part is exploring with a light, clever build. Oblivion Remastered gives you the same loop in a new province. If you’ve played it before, Tainted Grail is a fresh first-person world with bows and stealthy options. Elden Ring would also suit the exploring, but only if you’re happy to trade relaxed sneaking for tense, demanding fights. On the other hand, if you mostly joined the Stormcloaks or the Imperials to see how the war ended, go straight to Bannerlord.

Trade-offs to know about

• Older games ask more of you. Morrowind and ELEX II reward patience, but their interfaces and directions feel dated next to Skyrim.
• Harder combat changes the mood. Elden Ring and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II can make the evening wander Skyrim is known for feel more like a test.
• Online means sharing the world. The Elder Scrolls Online has other players everywhere and in-app purchases, which is a very different feel from a private save file.

Common mistakes

• Picking by setting alone. A fantasy world with dragons isn’t enough. Skyrim’s appeal is freedom, and some fantasy games are much more linear.
• Ignoring the review summary. Most picks here sit at Mostly or Very Positive, but Dragon’s Dogma 2 is Mixed, so check recent reviews first.
• Expecting Skyrim’s modding scene everywhere. Skyrim has Creations, and Bannerlord supports the Steam Workshop. Don’t assume every game on this list has the same depth of mods.

Want more? Our original list of 14 games like Skyrim takes a broader look at open-world RPGs, and the best RPG games on Steam covers turn-based picks too. For what’s coming next, see new and upcoming RPG games. If you’d like to explore a world with friends, try survival games like Valheim or browse all our games-like lists.

Questions and answers

What Skyrim game should I play on PC?

On Steam, the version to get is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition. It includes the original game and its add-ons, plus remastered art, lighting and effects, and support for Bethesda's Creations, which add new quests, armor, weapons and more. It's single-player and has a Very Positive user review summary on Steam. If you've finished it, Oblivion Remastered is the closest next step.

What is the best open world game like Skyrim?

It depends on which part of Skyrim you loved. For the same way of playing, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is the closest match. For a huge world with much harder fights, Elden Ring is the most reviewed game on this list and holds a Very Positive rating on Steam. If you want a grounded medieval setting with no magic at all, try Kingdom Come: Deliverance II.

Is Skyrim 6 coming out?

The next main game, The Elder Scrolls VI, has been announced as in development, but there is no release date to report. While you wait, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is the newest single-player Elder Scrolls release on Steam (Apr 22, 2025). The Elder Scrolls Online also keeps adding new content, delivered in seasons every three months according to its store page.

Are there games like Skyrim that you can play with friends?

Skyrim itself is single-player only. If you want company, The Elder Scrolls Online is an MMO (a massively multiplayer online game) set in Tamriel that you can play solo or with friends. Steam also lists online co-op for Elden Ring and Dragon Age Inquisition. Dragon's Dogma 2 stays single-player, but you can bring along AI companions that other players created.

Is Skyrim a good game to relax with?

Many players find Skyrim easy to unwind with because nothing forces a pace on you. You can pick herbs, cook, wander between towns or clear one small cave and stop for the night. You choose the difficulty and how much of the story to follow. If you want a similarly unhurried world with different scenery, Oblivion Remastered and Morrowind work the same way.