Thus, any saves you have that used gameplay-altering mods won’t work with the new version. This is a bummer in of itself, but the jump to 64-bit also means many of the mountains of old mods won't work without an update from the modders themselves, thus crushing any dreams of switching immediately to this version with all the old mods blazing. This boost, unfortunately, also appears to mean it doesn't work as well on older graphics cards that could confidently handle the 2011 version. It also incorporates many of the other features made to Bethesda’s engine for Fallout 4, such as improved lighting and depth-of-field effects, plus some general beautification of the environments.
It's 64-bit now instead of the old 32-bit version, which means it technically should better handle stuffing Breezehome with thousands of sweet rolls than it could in the past. There are, in fact, some key differences. There's some good stuff under the hood here and it's great that Bethesda has made it free for anybody who owns the original and all its expansions, but it comes off as barely better than what we've already had on PC for years and temporarily turns back the clock on the available mods. And unfortunately, with Skyrim Special Edition on PC, that expectation hasn’t been fully met. When I play a remastered version of a game I love, I expect it to be at least as good as the old one in every way.