 The art style of the game world drew acclaim from many reviewers , who welcomed the departure from Oblivion 's Cyrodiil . Jason Schreier of Wired described the land of Skyrim as a " Viking @-@ inspired treasure trove of flavor and charm " , noting its contrast to Cyrodiil which he considered generic by comparison . The Staff at Edge magazine described Cyrodiil as a " patchwork of varying terrains " , praising the more consistent design of Skyrim . Shibley praised " the lack of copy @-@ and @-@ paste level design that 's plagued Bethesda 's previous games , [ ... ] giving a lived @-@ in and handcrafted look to the world " . Bedford noted that the improved graphical fidelity over Oblivion allowed the game world to feel more lifelike , praising the " misty mountain setting , complete with swirling fog and high @-@ altitude snowstorms " . An editor for PC PowerPlay praised the diversity of the dungeon design . Andrew Reiner of Game Informer cited criticisms Oblivion faced for repetitive dungeons , noting that " the composition of each dungeon is largely unique and individualized " in Skyrim . He also favored the design choice to have a quick route out of a dungeon leading from its last room , eliminating the problem he identified Oblivion as having where the player would clear a dungeon and then have to go all the way back to the beginning to exit it . Many reviewers praised the large amount of things to do in the world away from the main story . Tom Francis of PC Gamer opined that it was difficult to explore the world without becoming distracted by things to do , explaining that " it 's hard to walk for a minute in any direction without encountering an intriguing cave , a lonely shack , some strange stones , a wandering traveller , a haunted fort " . 
