But I don’t think lore is the main strength of TES. I think it’s the absolute freedom to play how you want. Do you want to be a dread necromancer bringing terror to the land? Sure. Do you want to be a virtuous Paladin on a mission to complete the main quest? Go ahead. Do you want to be a thief who breaks into every dwelling and steals all of the spoons in the game world? Have at it..
I wouldn't say that Skyrim has "absolute freedom", merely a good illusion of it. There are no roleplaying choises since every quests bare the civil war and in a lesser extend dawnguard offer the same path for everybody. The gameplay is also very polarized, you are basically pushed by the game into two categories : sneaky rogue archer or two hands heavy armor tank. Spells are a joke so don't even count them as a play style.
When I’m talking about absolute freedom to play how you want I’m referring to player agency to approach the game as a sandbox. Nothing to do with storytelling and role playing, which are very bare bones.
I played as neither a sneaky archer nor a heavy tank. I played most of the game as an enchanter / illusionist thief with no direct damage spells or weapons before eventually becoming a necromancer who sat back and watched my minions take care of everything for me. It was awesome and completely valid as a play style.
