Why is Skyrim called vanilla?

I still vividly remember booting up The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the first time back in 2011. As the iconic chanting and drums of "Dragonborn" kicked in, I was instantly transported to the snow-capped peaks of Tamriel – not yet realizing this was the untouched vanilla version that would leave such a lasting impression as a gamer.

In communities surrounding games with rich modding support like Skyrim, "vanilla" refers to the base game as it shipped – no mods, no additions, no enhancements. It‘s the original vision, free of alterations made by players and community creators.

Mods allow for endless changes

One of Skyrim‘sclaims to fame is its incredible modding scene. The core game in vanilla form provides hundreds of hours of expansive open-world adventuring – but mods allow you to tailor nearly every aspect to your liking in incredible ways.

The Nexus Mods website has over 84,400 Skyrim mods as of March 2023, letting you overhaul textures and graphics, remix combat mechanics, add entirely new storylines along with landscapes to explore, expand magic schools, introduce popular pop culture characters, and much more.

With some mod combination, you can essentially build your own vastly customized version of Skyrim. But this does come at the cost of stability, preservation of the original vision, and introduces complex mod conflicts.

The purity of vanilla endures

Despite the amazing extensions and overhauls provided by mods, I‘ve found myself continually returning to vanilla. Across 7 years and multiple platforms, my largely unmodded playthroughs still add up to over 600 hours – there‘s just something special about the base experience.

Many Skyrim gamers feel this way, as surveys indicate 60% prefer playing without mods at least some of the time. Vanilla offers that pure, unadulterated vision of the developers at Bethesda Game Studios. And there‘s an intangible nostalgic quality, preserving the early days of Skyrim not bogged down by instability from countless mod combinations.

There‘s also the satisfaction of overcoming challenges as originally designed by Bethesda, without tweaks made by mods that might throw game balance out of whack. The vanilla experience offers plenty for even the most seasoned adventurer – after 10 years and over 30 million sales, its enduring longevity speaks for itself.

So while mods provide endlessly customized versions of Skyrim for each player‘s fantasy, vanilla remains the carefully crafted original behind it all. And that‘s why for many of us, Skyrim will always be best served vanilla style.