3. Landscapes and architecture

Skyrim had some great locations like the city of Markarth.

Skyrim was no doubt one of the prettiest games released back in 2011, and it is clear that the lands of the game’s northern province of Skyrim are some of the most beautiful seen in a game, with its bustling waterfalls, huge mountains and fields of green. The game’s graphic designers also put in some truly great architecture in the game, like the stunning city of Solitude perched on a cliff, and the imposing statues of the daedric gods that dot the landscape.

Fallout 4’s Commonwealth, meanwhile, although superbly realised, is a darker, more depressive place. Despite the game’s superb atmosphere, the sight of a ruined world with its crumbling buildings and dead vegetation is not as attractive as Skyrim’s verdant world and rocky mountains, aesthetically speaking. And despite having some great locations like the high-tech Institute and Minutemen castle, Fallout 4’s decaying world is overall less appealing than Skyrim’s.

WINNER: SKYRIM