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Essential Skyrim mod unites you with a Dragonborn’s best friend

Skyrim mods don't get any better than this, as we can finally adopt, play with, give little backpacks to, and pet dogs in Bethesda's Elder Scrolls game.

Skyrim mods have officially peaked. You can now pet, play fetch with, and adopt a number of dogs in the Bethesda RPG game. No, I’m not joking, this new Skyrim mod adds a slew of features relating to a Dragonborn’s best friend, making Skyrim the perfect version of itself after a measly 12 years of trying. These features better be in the next game when the Elder Scrolls 6 release date finally comes around.

Fans of PS2 classic Dog’s Life rejoice, because this Skyrim mod has finally embraced a universal truth: dogs are great and we want to pet them. Modder DarkFox127 has released “A Dog’s Life,” and it turns the Tamriel terriers into worthwhile companions.

For starters, a number of breeders and strays have been placed around the world of Skyrim, so you can either buy one or feed it and give it pets until it decides to follow you. Like with regular companions in Skyrim you can trade items with your pooch or send it home, but you can also give them a unique name if you want to bring your own best friend into the Bethesda game.

Essential Skyrim mod unites you with a Dragonborn's best friend

All of these good boys and girls look absolutely adorable, and I’ve never struggled to choose between feature images for an article so much in my life.

Now we get to the most essential features of the Skyrim mod though, and the reason you need to download DarkFox’s creation instantly: you can pet and play fetch with your dog. If this is all A Dog’s Life was, it’d still be an essential download and I‘d probably still be telling you about it, but there’s even more to it.

Essential Skyrim mod unites you with a Dragonborn's best friend

You can craft a number of items for your dog to show how much you care, including a ball, a harness, and an adorable little backpack they can wear while accompanying you out on adventures too. There’s even a little bed you can make for your canine to sleep in, and my heart just can’t take it.

It’s not all sunshine and roses though, as you have the extra option to enable the needs feature, which requires you to feed and keep your dog happy, otherwise risking them running away or even dying. Time to throw out the hardcore Skyrim run, and instead attempt to keep your dog alive throughout the entire story. Just be prepared to lose them in devastating circumstances, and I’d wager it’ll feel worse than losing a squadmate in XCOM.

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“A Dog’s Life improves upon and adds to the base functionality of dogs in Skyrim in an immersive and intuitive way,” DarkFox127 says, and I couldn’t agree more. You can find the Skyrim dog mod here.

We’ve got a whole lot more too, with a collection of games like Skyrim to really get your fantasy experience going, and a collection of essential fantasy games too.