Final Fantasy Vii Mods Steam Deck
Brayan Sedillo
A perfect storm of long transatlantic flights and being laid up in bed thanks to a bug has given me lots of time to spend with my Steam Deck recently. I have countless games that are perfect for Valve's handheld, but the cosy familiarity of Skyrim won out, and I'm once again gleefully skipping across the fantasy realm beating up dragons and picking flowers. It's bliss.
I haven't played Skyrim without mods since 2012, but there's a bit of extra faffing around modding a Steam Deck game, and I didn't really have time for that. I was a bit worried, then, that without the overhauled magic and combat systems, the texture packs, the multitude of fixes and the wonderful Alternate Start mod, I would no longer be able to enjoy my holiday in the homeland of the nords.
So many responses to criticism of Starfield claim that Bethesda games don't really get good until the modders get their hands on them, and it's one that's been repeated so often, with every Bethesda game, that I was starting to believe it myself. But that's not really been my experience at all. My first playthrough of Morrowind was on the original beefcake Xbox, and I spent hundreds of hours traipsing through Cyrodiil on my Xbox 360. So no mods at all! And I loved them both.
OK, it's not the true vanilla experience. I'm playing Skyrim Special Edition with the Anniversary DLC, which means it's prettier, less janky and meatier than the launch version. There are also a few user-created mods baked into it, adding stuff like fishing and backpacks. But that's nothing compared to what I'm used to having. Yet I'm still having a blast.
After Starfield, I was starting to think I was maybe just done with Bethesda's brand of sandbox RPGs. But returning to my old haunts has shown me that's not the case. After more than a decade, some of the shine has worn off, but Skyrim is still more than capable of entrancing me, whether I'm aimlessly exploring or embarking on a more scripted adventure.
It's the diversity of experiences that's been keeping me entertained. I've been battered by frost trolls in glacial caves up north, stopped necromancers from finishing a dark ritual, looted crypts full of the undead, joined the College of Winterhold to fulfil my ambition to become an archmage and transformed into a vampire. And this was just after a handful of hours. Starfield has some standout quests that I really enjoyed, but between them I was mostly just fighting the same pirates in the same buildings on planets lacking any bespoke elements. It's so much larger than Skyrim, but has none of its richness or that strong sense of place that makes Tamriel feel so tangible.
I don't want to keep laying into Starfield, but it really is noticeable how much of Skyrim's charm is missing from it. I was so looking forward to seeing space laid out before me and getting into all sorts of riveting adventures, but it just doesn't remotely replicate the sense of adventure that's present not just in Skyrim, but almost all of Bethesda's earlier games. I had wondered if it was just because I was wearing rose-tinted goggles, but no: Skyrim is just a better-designed RPG.
Playing it on my Steam Deck has been an additional revelation. I assumed I wouldn't have many issues given that it even works on Switch, but Skyrim is only listed as Playable, rather than Verified, so I wasn't sure how smooth the experience would be. So far I have no complaints. Turning the graphics settings from ultra to high is the only concession I've needed to make.
Skyrim's pacing just works so well on a handheld device. For all the epic prophecies and civil wars, it's actually an extremely leisurely game, letting you walk the length and breadth of the realm as lazily as you'd like, with few loading screens interrupting the adventure. You'd think after exploring this place as many times as I have I'd be bored of it, but it's just such a striking setting, and one where you never know who or what you'll meet down the road, that my rambling tour never stops being engaging.
The simplicity of the magic and combat systems, meanwhile, are actually a boon when playing on the Steam Deck. I don't want to deal with elaborate action when I'm stuck in an Economy seat for 14 hours or trying not to puke my guts up while lying in bed. Whacking some monsters and spitting fire out of my hands is exactly what I need. That said, Bethesda has gotten a lot better at designing systems like this since Skyrim, with the fights in both Fallout 4 and Starfield really benefiting from the extra attention. But I'm not really a fan of first person shooting on handhelds, so I'm perfectly content with simply hitting stuff with my enchanted sword.
It's the perfect autumnal game, too. It's starting to get cold outside, and living in Scotland means it's pissing down with rain constantly, but I don't really want to be stuck indoors. In Skyrim I can experience a chilly jaunt through forests and snow-capped mountains while still toasty, wrapped up in my duvet. And there's something very comforting about leaving a frozen, monster-infested cave and hitting up the closest inn, with the fire roaring in its centre and a helpful innkeeper spitting out rumours, nudging you towards your next adventure once you've finished warming up your toes.
Another benefit of not playing Skyrim with 100+ mods is that I'm not spending any time troubleshooting. I'm not hopping out of the game to fiddle with load orders or deactivating a bunch of mods to find out why smoke looks bizarre or why all the trees have gone wonky. As much as I love playing Skyrim with mods, by the time I've got everything working perfectly, I'm often too burned out to actually enjoy the fruits of my labour. There's something to be said for just firing up a game and getting stuck in, even if it's missing some neat features and doesn't look quite as sexy.
Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog. "}), " -0-10/js/authorBio.js"); } else console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); Fraser BrownSocial Links NavigationOnline EditorFraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.
Installing mods is quite simple for one of the best PC games and arguably the most popular RPG game there. This is due mainly to how Steam Workshop makes it easy to install and activate them, but also that you can add the more advanced ones to a special folder within your Skyrim files. You can also check out our guide to Skyrim console commands for more tips on changing up the open-world game or just making it utterly chaotic. The choice is yours.
This chonking great mod is the sum of 16 other mods that come together to make Skyrim a more hardcore and unforgiving experience. Ultimate Skyrim aims to do this by adding a greater focus on roleplaying, with additions of temperature, hunger mechanics, and an overhauled combat system.
The tool of choice for videogame photographer Dead End Thrills, FXAA Injector pumps a variety of anti-aliasing techniques into your Skyrim system to help create a much sharper and vibrant image. Post-processing effects like bloom, technicolor, sharpen, and tone map can be cranked up or down on a slider system to alter the visual quality to your own personal preference.
In certain areas of Skyrim, snow is dynamic and builds up over time. While technically impressive, these gradually growing snow piles are rendered in an ugly pure-white texture that makes it look like a bucket of paint was tipped over the landscape. Deeper Snow can turn these regions into blankets of crisp-looking fluffy snow.
Skyrim is a chilly place. There are so many opportunities to get wet-through or frosted by snow, yet the effect is never seen. Enter Wet and Cold, a mod that adds numerous weather effects to characters. Snow gets caught in hair and sticks to clothes, water drips from armor, breath steams on cold air, and NPCs run home during storms.
Real Vision ENB is a graphical mod that produces some absolutely tremendous photorealistic effects, especially when combined with a number of other mods available from the Steam Workshop. Take a look at the video above to see the mod in action. Just remember to draw breath every once in a while.
Warriors and rangers are ten-a-penny on the streets of Skyrim. Gain true respect by adopting an artful profession: being a bard. Sing your way from tavern to tavern and earn yourself a pretty penny from ale-guzzling patrons the world over. Use the Become a Bard mod to play any instrument in Skyrim, and a simple tap of the Z key will cause them to erupt into song. Your companions will even join in should harmonies be required. A skill tree will help you improve your vocals and bag you Christmas No. 1.
The MMO-favourite hobby of fishing finally makes it into Skyrim by way of this mod. Fishing adds rods, nets, and dwarven boomfishing to the game. Rods and nets can be set up by riversides, while bait must be attached to lure in your prey. Dwarven fishing methods prove a little more military-inspired, with explosives thrown into the water to kill fish en-masse and provide a haul to sell for profit.
c80f0f1006