How have I not seen this fabulous Doom-era Skyrim demake until now?

 Skyrim demake.
Skyrim demake.

This excellent Skyrim demake done in the style of a '90s boomer shooter deserves way more attention, even if it already has, *checks notes*, just about 500,000 views on YouTube.

Chalk it up to the unprecedented onslaught of high-profile games that released last year, not to mention the madness of the holidays - whatever the reason it slipped by my radar, I'm glad I know it exists now. Of course, it's worth distinguishing between a playable demake and a simple video demonstration, which is what this is, but it's darn fun watching regardless.

From Pertinax, the video starts from the very beginning of Skyrim when you're a prisoner tied up in a horse-drawn wagon and quickly shows a basic character select screen and then takes us through a sort-of sizzle reel of a few of the game's most memorable moments. We all remember the first time we underestimated a giant and got yeeted to death by a single swing of its club. That's there, as well as iconic moments like the stabbing of the lady in Markarth, and locations like Blackreach, Sovngarde, and Castle Volkihar.

I like that Pertinax went further than just slapping a highly pixelated filter over Skyrim footage and calling it a day, and I'm particularly fond of the Doom-like stat bar at the bottom of the screen with the Dragonborn in place of Doomguy. It looks exactly what you'd expect if Skyrim were made in the Daggerfall era and for some reason was influenced by Doom, and I'd unironically play the heck out of it.

And since we'll probably never get to play this demake, here are some games like Skyrim instead.