上古卷轴 5：天际 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim p.459

上古卷轴 5：

The Elder Scrolls V:

天际

Skyrim

童年某个阶段，孩子拥有一种特别的能力，这也是儿童的天赋——心灵剧场^[1] （the theatre of the mind）。在这个阶段，一件物品无论多么平平无奇，都能在孩童的眼里绽放出不一样的光彩：会飞的扫帚，当盾牌用的垃圾桶盖，被当做宝剑的树枝，就连池塘边一小撮灌木丛，也成了遮天蔽日的原始丛林，孩子们在那里探寻宝藏，降妖除魔。

神奇的是，随着孩子长大成人，这种能力也烟消云散。这个过程来得悄无声息、潜移默化，大多数人对此浑然不觉，甚至完全忘却了自己曾拥有这种能力。然而，《上古卷轴 5：天际（The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim）》却能唤起我们那段尘封的记忆。

恐怖谷理论^[2] 在这宏伟壮丽的史诗巨作里体现地淋漓尽致：广袤无垠的开放世界与恰到好处的植被让世界显得栩栩如生，游戏人物的脸型却因此显得格外诡异；如果主角技能熟练度够高，所处环境较暗，那么一个调皮捣蛋的玩家可以在不引起对方注意的情况下，以偷窃的手法“扒光”对方的衣服。

但是，Bethesda 善于挖掘游戏的趣味性，能将蛰伏在玩家大脑深处、压抑已久的想象力释放出来，让恐怖谷理论的负面影响消弭一空。

There is a time early in a child's life upon which they discover a special power that children have: the theatre of the mind. It is during this time that common objects acquire the most delightful properties. A broomstick flies. A trashcan is a shield, a twig becomes a sword, and that shrubbery over yonder is a forest begging to be explored in search of treasure to gather and fiends to banish.

Yet it is the oddest thing, that as children grow into adults they lose this special power. This happens in such a quiet, demure way, that most of us never realise it's gone, or even that we ever had it in the first place. Skyrim is the kind of game that makes us remember.

The uncanny valley is in full effect in this grandiose epic: the vastness of its open world and the density of its vegetation brings into full focus the fact that there's something off about that guy's face. Or that, given enough skill and darkness, a mischievous player may very well steal the clothes a character is wearing – without her noticing.

But Bethesda's grand epic shrugs the uncanny valley away with an eye for playfulness and a knack for re-awakening that repressed power of imagination dwelling somewhere within its players' skulls.

*2016 年，Bethesda 发售《天际特别版》，是 Xbox One 和 PS4 的重置版，后来还推出任天堂 Switch 版与 VR 版。

*In 2016 Bethesda released Skyrim Special Edition, a remaster for Xbox One and PS4. Later the game also received a Nintendo Switch port, a VR version and a 10 year anniversary edition.

如果用游戏评测的口吻来介绍这款第一人称动作 RPG 游戏，那就是——左键攻击，右键格挡；按住右键同时轻点左键，触发盾击；长按左键，触发蓄力重击。远程战斗更是易如反掌；每一个快捷键都可以对应一个指定法术；兵刃（或怪物的爪牙）击打在盾牌上有明显的音效反馈，拉弓时也能听出弓弦绷紧的声音。但是，就战斗而言，除了把握合适的攻防时机（游戏的时机判定很宽泛）外，操作毫无技术含量可言。

角色的升级系统，也让人稍有失望。一方面，《天际》秉持“技能用多了，自然就升级了”的原则，在具体落实上也颇有成效，但升级后的效果在屏幕上得不到直观反馈。另一方面，随着主角不断探索世界，自己会收集到各种龙语，还可以在技能树上点上几个天赋，来强化自己的龙吼技能^[3] 。这个设定有亮点，也有不足。这些龙吼有的不可或缺，有的趣味十足，但有的却平平无奇。

这些问题比比皆是，可以说，游戏的各个环节都遭人诟病：打击感飘忽不定；攻击性魔法的操作与传统的射击游戏没啥区别；铁匠系统重复性高，让人兴致索然；怪物毫无特色，打怪过程枯燥乏味；古老的地下城千篇一律，让人审美疲劳。

This is first-person action role-playing by the numbers, then. Press left to strike, right to block, both for a shield bash, or hold for a charge attack. Ranged combat is simpler even, while magic simply lets you assign a spell to each button. There is a nice heft to the clash of sword (or fang!) on shield, and an audible tautness to the bowstring, but there is little more to combat than sloppy timing.

Character development, too, feels slightly underwhelming. Skyrim uses classic “skill up by using” system, and it is well-implemented, but in many areas improvement doesn't seem to translate to the screen well enough. On the other hand, there are the powerful Dragon Shout spells to acquire by exploring the world, and even several talent trees on which to invest points. These are hit-and-miss, with some very worthwhile and fun abilities to be found, and several underwhelming ones.

It's all about the world, really. Criticism can fairly be levelled at nearly every other aspect of the game – the swordplay feels floaty, magic is different flavours of projectile combat, crafting is grindy and uninspired, the enemies are mostly damage sponges rushing you, and those ancient ruins all look strangely alike.

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¹ 译者注：心灵剧场，the theatre of the mind，一种传统桌游的游玩方式。即玩家不用任何地图、道具等辅助工具，全靠自己的想象与表述来跑团。
² 译者注：恐怖谷理论，uncanny valley，本来指某样实体如果不像人，那它的类人特征就会凸显出来，让人心生好感；而如果某样实体与人十分相似，那么它与人不一样的地方就会凸显出来，让人恐惧、排斥。本文指的是，《上古卷轴5》打造出的世界栩栩如生，但正因为如此，游戏里与真实世界不一样的地方就显得愈发突兀，可能会让人不适。如NPC僵硬的面相，如当街把路人衣服“扒光”的离奇设定。
³ 译者注：龙吼，Dragon Shout, 一种特殊的魔法，通过发出吼声来释放能量，达到理想的效果。想施展龙吼，首先要学会龙语（或收集，或由人传授），再通过长期的冥想与感悟去揣摩蕴藏在龙语里的力量。这些感悟虽然可以分享，但领悟的快慢与效果由个人天赋决定。其中，龙裔（Dragonborn）的学习速度最快。