The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is considered by many to be the best in the series, especially thanks to its deep magic system that is missing from Skyrim. A lot of people realized this with the launch of Oblivion Remastered last year, but it also gave us some of the best 'Bethesda jank' on the series.
Including erratic voice overs from random NPC movements, the developers decided to leave in the trademark junk that the original was known for. While this remaster was done to make it as close to the original as possible, Bethesda head Todd Howard said it was part of the game's character.
Owned by Jank
Of course, no one wants mistakes or bugs in their games, and I'm sure the devs were angry that they were missed in the original, but the community eventually came to embrace them in a way that many other games can only hope for. Over the years, this became part of what made Oblivion so beloved, and the devs wanted to honor it in the remaster.
“I think there are a lot of fuzzy judgment calls,” Howard explained at a roundtable attended by GamesRadar+. “Like, what players are going to try to do – take it where you can stand on things – fixing is very complicated.”
“So, you know, it's cool. I love the VO line flub,” he added. “Things like that? Yeah, drop it. It's cool. It's part of the character of the game.”
Random guard interactions and NPC behavior have become memes, but the most memorable of these mistakes was the voice over for Tandilwe, where the VO artist's conversations with the devs were also made into the game. After the line is delivered, the performer can be heard saying “Wait a minute, let me do that again” before doing the next take.
It's very rare that bugs and glitches actually become part of a game's charm, and Bethesda was, and still may be, in a unique position to take advantage of this.
- issued
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April 22, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and gore, sexual themes, violence
