Modders have put a lot of effort into making sure Skyrim has continually evolved and expanded in the eleven years since it was first released into the world.
Some of these efforts have focused on revolutionising the game by adding massive new quests, huge mechanic overhauls or surreal door-based trickery to it, while others enact less showy changes simply designed to make things more immersive by allowing you to become a full-time treasure hunter or watch a hunter’s campfire be put out by the rain.
On the other hand, a lot of the most popular Skyrim mods simply endeavour to make the game look as beautiful as possible, with a new one having turned the entire population of Riften into models.
Get ready for your Dragonborn to become the ugliest person in town
The mod that does this is called ‘NITHI NPC ENHANCEMENT - Riften’, and is the work of modder nightmarezone. A lot of their previous work has also focused on making Skyrim’s citizens look slightly less rugged, having previously given a makeover to Whiterun’s residents and factions like the Dark Brotherhood.
This time, they’ve decided to turn the people of Skyrim’s crime capital into actors from perfume and makeup adverts, ensuring that everyone from the richest nobles to the poorest beggars look like they belong on the catwalk.
That said, nightmarezone does emphasise that their changes also provide “a detailed, considerate interpretation of the NPCs which is designed to enhance their individual characteristics through their appearance.”
You can see this in the adjustments made to characters like Grelod the Kind and Maven Black-Briar, whose appearance overhauls don’t look to detract from their roles as despicable villains.
The mod also affects some NPCs from other locations throughout the hold of The Rift, with the main example being the town of Ivarstead, a number of whose residents have also been transformed into the kind of beautiful sight you need after walking all the way back down the seven thousand steps.
The mod is designed to work with whichever body and skin mods you might already have installed via patches, though nightmarezone does include some recommendations of skin mods for men and women that’ll work well with their changes.
Regardless of whether your Dragonborn is now trying to find an outfit snazzy enough to help them stay relevant in the Skyrim dating scene, make sure to follow us for more updates on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the interesting world of Skyrim modding. You can also check out our mods of the month for November.