Summary

  • Modder Unorthodogg restores cut content in Skyrim with their "Skyrim Re-Cut" mod series.
  • The mod adds NPCs, housing items, objects, and areas removed by Bethesda during development.
  • The modder claims that the project's scale is larger than other cut content restoration mods, enhancing the game's world and immersion.

A modder has created a series of mods that restores a huge amount of cut content to The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. The Skyrim mods bring back NPCs, housing items, objects, and areas that were, for whatever reason, removed from the base game before release.

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is one of the most heavily modded games around. The best Skyrim mods do everything from fixing some of the game's notorious bugs and technical faults to adding new quests, NPCs, items, and gameplay mechanics. Even without mods, the game remains a massive open-world RPG, with hundreds of hours of content keeping players engaged even years after its original release.

If the latest efforts of modder Unorthodogg are anything to go by, there could have been even more content in the base release of Skyrim. In July 2024, Unorthodogg released the first nine parts of their "Skyrim Re-Cut" mod series to Nexus Mods. With 13 planned installments in total, the mods restore many items, NPCs , and even locations that were removed by Bethesda during the game's development.

Skyrim Mod Series Restores Content Cut

Unorthodogg's mod series is organized by region, such as the areas of Skyrim's game world that contain Whiterun, Solitude, Morthal, Markarth, and more. The series is also mainly focused on restoring items, locations, NPCs, and structures that were determined to have been removed by Bethesda during development, rather than adding entirely new things. Quest lines and occurrences like a Skyrim mission involving Jarl Balgruuf that was cut from the game appear to be out of the mod series' scope for now.

The restoration significantly expands the scale and scope of the Skyrim base game, often adding structures and NPCs to areas of Skyrim that make the world feel more lived-in. For example, Nazeem, one of the least popular characters in Skyrim, originally did not have his own house, despite carrying the key to it and bragging constantly about his status. The mod restores the house, called Wintersand Manor, to Whiterun.

In an FAQ on the mod description page, Unorthodogg acknowledged that other "cut content" Skyrim mods exist that restore items removed from the game, including the aforementioned Wintersand Manor. However, they said that to their knowledge, no other cut content restoration quite matches the scale of the Skyrim Re-Cut project. Unorthodogg claims to have added "almost everything" they could find that wasn't broken outright or heavily reliant on a removed quest. That includes the cut town of Granite Hill, which connects Whiterun to the scenic Falkreath Hold. On that merit, the project's centralization of a large variety of content restorations is worth considering for the busy Skyrim player.

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
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9 /10
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Released
November 11, 2011
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Winner of more than 200 Game of the Year Awards, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim celebrates 10 years of adventuring in stunning detail. The Anniversary Edition includes a decade worth of content: the critically acclaimed core game and add-ons of Skyrim Special Edition, plus Creation Club content released on or prior to November 11, 2021.

EPIC FANTASY REBORN
Skyrim reimagines and revolutionizes the open-world fantasy epic, bringing to life a complete virtual world open for you to explore any way you choose.

LIVE ANOTHER LIFE, IN ANOTHER WORLD
Play any type of character you can imagine, and do whatever you want; the legendary freedom of choice, storytelling, and adventure of The Elder Scrolls is realized like never before.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU PLAY
Choose from hundreds of weapons, spells, and abilities. The new character system allows you to play any way you want and define yourself through your actions.

BATTLE DRAGONS
Battle ancient dragons like you’ve never seen. As Dragonborn, learn their secrets and harness their power for yourself.

ESRB
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
Developer(s)
Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher(s)
Bethesda Softworks
Franchise
The Elder Scrolls
Genre(s)
RPG, Action, Adventure
Oblivion Remastered Players Return to Skyrim
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