Laying the groundwork for the open-world adventure genre all the way back in 1986,The Legend of Zelda’s DNA can be spotted in just about every open-world game even to this day. A sprawling map filled with hidden areas and secrets, upgradable weapons and abilities, boss fights, dungeons, and a non-linear approach to the story are all just a few ofThe Legend of Zelda’s defining features. It has passed those features on to future open-world games likeSkyrim, and one of the biggestZeldainfluences inSkyrimcan be seen in its approach to puzzles.
Much like the vast majority of the open-world adventure genre,Skyrimhas its fair share of environmental puzzles. From riddles that guide players to certain treasures, to a series of locked doors only accessible through a combination of rotating pillars,Skyrimhas an abundance of puzzles, but there are only a few of them that really stand out after all these years, and only one that’s become the game’s most iconic puzzle.
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The Golden Claw Is Still Skyrim’s Most Iconic Puzzle
Skyrimis home to many memorable puzzles, both good and bad. One of the memorable puzzles in the entire game can be found during theWinterhold College questline, in the mission “Under Saarthal.” Players will eventually come to a room in the dungeon that has six pillars that can be rotated. What sets this puzzle apart from the many like it acrossSkyrimis that it forces players to use either a spell or torch to light up the symbols hidden behind each pillar, indicating the correct order. Another iconicSkyrimpuzzle is the Destruction Ritual Spell riddle that tasks players with placing the book at several different locations across the map, only giving them vague hints.
Skyrim’s most iconic puzzle is also one of its very first. First learned about from Lucan in Riverwood, the Golden Claw questline sees players venture out to Bleak Falls Barrow, likely the very first dungeon that players will come across inSkyrim.Bleak Falls Barrow acts as the perfect tutorial dungeonfor newcomers, providing a handful of combat encounters, presenting some interesting player choices, and most importantly, delivering the most iconic puzzle in the entire game.
When players get their hands on the questline’s titular Golden Claw, they’ll soon be presented with a large circular door blocking their path forward. The door has three rings around it, each one depicting images of animals. In premise,Skyrim’s Golden Claw puzzleis exceptionally simple. All players need to do is inspect the Golden Claw item in their inventory, find the three animal symbols etched into the artifact, correlate those to the three rings on the door, and put the Golden Claw into its spot on the door. But for complete newcomers toSkyrim, that might not be as much of a straightforward solution as it seems.
The Golden Claw’s masterful level and puzzle design come from its ability to teach players a core mechanic of the game that they might otherwise have never thought about. By getting players to solve the puzzle by inspecting the key item,Skyrim’s Golden Claw puzzle teaches players that they should be paying close attention to every item they pick up throughout their adventure. By making the solution so inherently simple, this puzzle manages to avoid putting off newcomers to the game, and instead encourages them to utilize all ofSkyrim’s mechanics to solve a problem. Pairing this simple yet innovative solution with its place as the first real puzzle in the game, andSkyrim’s Golden Claw puzzle remains its most iconic over a decade later.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim - Anniversary Editionis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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