Depths of Skyrim gives the sea a much-needed makeover

I've spent hundreds of hours exploring Skyrim across countless saves and multiple editions, and not surprisingly I've been on dry land for most of it. Skyrim's ocean is murky and full of unfriendly fish. Of my many downloaded mods, only a couple affect water, and then only the surface, but Depths of Skyrim, uploaded last week, changes a great deal more.

Depths of Skyrim is an underwater overhaul that gives the game's damp areas the same sort of attention that's been lavished upon its mountains and forests. No more diving off the coast just to discover some weeds and a slaughterfish waiting to snap at you until you flee back to shore.

Modder TheBlackpixel has introduced new types of grass and kelp, more than 1,000 new fish, none of which have a penchant for slaughter, hidden treasure, whole forests of coral and, most importantly, a bunch of new horkers merrily swimming across the sea. Horkers, of course, are Skyrim's greatest and most majestic creatures. Don't go killing them for their tusks.

If you've got any other mods that spruce up the ocean and rivers, like the popular Realistic Water 2, Depths of Skyrim is compatible and should even enhance bodies of water added by other mods, too, though don't expect new fish or giant kelp. TheBlackpixel recorded a frame rate drop of just 1 fps, but your performance could vary.

If you're playing with Skyrim Special Edition, you'll need this version of the mod instead. It's otherwise exactly the same. In both, you'll have to pop into your Skyrim.ini file and change iMaxGrassTypesPerTexure to 7 or above if it isn't already, or the mod won't work.

I recently confessed to a friend that I never finished the DLC, despite the ridiculous amount of time I've spent in Skyrim, so my shame is tempting me back once again. This time, though, I'll be spending a lot more time swimming. If you've also got a hankering to return to the eight-year-old RPG, here are the best Skyrim mods.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.