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This 5-year-old game looks better than anything that's come out this year

This 5-year-old game looks better than anything that's come out this year

Let's start with what "Skyrim" looked like back in 2011. It's not a bad looking game by any means, but it's not exactly the belle of the ball.

The game was released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC originally. It's the PC version that's gotten the major update seen here.

So, how does this one version of a five-year-old game look so much better? Through game modifications ("mods").

Games are made up of many moving parts of code. Mods allow players to alter foundational aspects of a game, like the entire lighting system.

Or the look of the water in the world of "Skyrim":

Or even the details of the game's moon:

Another crucial change: focus.

This effect is called "bokeh," and it's basically just the concept of focusing on a specific aspect of an image.

The most impressive stuff, visually, may just be these sweeping landscape shots:

This 5-year-old game looks better than anything that's come out this year

So, how do you do all this? A lot of work.

Reddit user "pingopete" said he's got "over 50 graphics mods running," alongside some custom work they did to fit those mods as best as possible to the five-year-old game. "Skyrim" remains one of the most popular games to mod. Interested in getting "Skryim" looking this good? There's a long set of instructions right here, care of "pingopete."

Want a better looking "Skyrim" but don't want to spend all this time making it look good? Good news: an updated version of "Skyrim" launches later this year on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Jump to 3:15 in the video below to see it in action!

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