Back on his feet after a health scare that saw countless fans chip in over $140,000 to help cover medical costs, Elder Scrolls veteran voice actor Wes Johnson showed up at the post-show for today's Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered reveal to drill down into the origins and modernization of the classic RPG. He also brought his puppy Finn. I'm not sure why, but I'm glad he did.
Slipping in character voices wherever he could, Johnson discussed his history with Oblivion and his response to the remaster from Virtuos studios, which previously nailed Dark Souls Remastered.
"Oblivion, to me, was where I came out to play," he said of his voice acting career.
"I loved that game," he added.
Looking further ahead, Johnson points to Skyrim's 10th anniversary edition. "When I first put that on the Xbox Series X, oh my god, the visuals to me, I was blown away," he said.
"To make Oblivion now have that kind of feel, that kind of look, the gameplay, the graphics. I mean, if I walk up to a lady in the middle of one of the towns and tap her on the shoulder, and she turns around and does not look like Terry Jones in drag from Monty Python, I don't know what I'm going to do, but I love the game.
"Now people are gonna get a chance to see it with brand new eyes," he added. "And for people who've only ever played Skyrim, this is gonna be kind of a revelation."
Even after the series-defining success of Skyrim, Oblivion, like Morrowind, still has devotees who uphold it as Bethesda's crowning RPG.
Tonally and systemically, Oblivion stands out from Skyrim as well as other fantasy RPGs of its era, with many people praising its worldbuilding and NPCs in particular. That, and its ineffable janky charm.
If you are coming into Oblivion from Skyrim, even through this modernized remaster, expect to see a different side of the same Bethesda cube.
Johnson said that the post-show stream with host and Bethesda Softwork senior community director Jessica Finster was the first time he'd seen the remaster like this. He singled out the detail in environments, clothes and armor, and NPC faces and expressions, praising the jump in quality and attention to realism. He also affirmed that "all the voices in this are the same," assuaging fears that Oblivion's quirkiness might be lost in the jump to current-gen.
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered costs $50 and is out now on PC, Xbox Series X (included in Game Pass), and PS5. Per our Oblivion remaster live coverage, the reveal included a nod to The Elder Scrolls 6 from Todd Howard, who said, "obviously we're working on the sixth chapter here."
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