Skyrim is a great game. Since its release in late 2011, RPG enthusiasts everywhere have created their own elves, orcs, and lizard-people and ventured off into the open and immersive world of Tamriel. I have completed the main questline twice, once with a magic-slinging elf named Calliope who lugged around a giant flaming great sword, and then with a Nordic axe-woman very originally named Hannah. Calliope was my favorite, but that play-through didn't save to the cloud and I lost it when I got a new computer.

I have accomplished a lot in Skyrim. I have joined a band of thieves, assassinated a bride, slain a vampire lord, and started a family (for some reason, my two children don't really mind that I'm constantly away slaying dragons. I'm sure I'll have to put down a few thousand gold in therapy later).

I even have a room dedicated specifically to cabbage storage in my home in Skyrim's capital city, Solitude.

Every time I open the game, I discover new quests and characters. My wonder hasn't stopped with the breadth of the original game, however. With Skyrim, I discovered the wonderful world of mods.

Modding a game adds to its immersive-ness, whether by adding new questlines, expanding the soundtrack, or improving the graphics. I have a mod installed that is specifically dedicated to improving how all the water looks in the game, and while that may seem trivial, it is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.

Skyrim is a big, beautiful game and I am so happy it exists. I have wasted many a day completing quests and exploring from the comfort of my own home and my own sweatpants.

There is one thing about Skyrim that I can't always handle...

The dungeons.

I allow myself to get really, really immersed in games. Sometimes that's a good thing, and it allows me to enjoy the game more. But when I have to go into some far off cave to retrieve a "magic stone" or "elven bow of frost", things get gnarly. I take ten steps, I pause the game, I breathe. No, draugur (basically a spooky skeleton zombie). Unpause. Take one more step and - "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD DIE DIE DIE DIE."

I am a huge nerd. I am also a wimp.

Obviously I was not going to let a small fear like cave zombies stop me from playing such an awesome game. I had to come up with a viable solution to keep me from shrieking every time some monster took me by surprise. It's not good for my blood pressure, and it's not good for anyone else's eardrums. What could keep me pulled slightly out of the game world and rooted in reality?

The answer, dear reader, is ABBA.

Yes, ABBA. The 70s Swedish pop sensation, disco-y, glamorous group whose music later gave us "Mamma Mia!"

As it turns out, ABBA is exactly the right way for me to face any of my fears. Need to go into a Skyrim cave and kill some zombies? Better crank up "Dancing Queen". Need to squish a spider? "Take A Chance On Me" may be the song for you. For walking across campus in the dark, I always choose "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)".

Maybe ABBA is the band for you to conquer your fears. Maybe you have another type of music that allows you to play video games in the dark without screaming - if so, certainly let me know in the comments. In the meantime, I will be off in Skyrim, swinging my greatsword - a dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen.

Join me - my Steam name is "ladynerdsavage". Good gaming!