Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is the 5th episode of the comedy web series Honest Game Trailers. It was written by Joshua Ovenshire, Michael Adams Davis, Michael Schroeder and Spencer Gilbert. It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It parodies the action role-playing video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It was published on May 3, 2014. Elder Scrolls: Skyrim was originally published on Smosh Games, but is currently available on Fandom Games. It has been viewed over 11 million times, and is one of the highest-viewed episode of the series.
Watch Honest Game Trailers - Elder Scrolls: Skyrim on YouTube
"A game so immersive, you forget to eat, sleep, and make friends because you're too busy eating, sleeping and making friends." ~ Honest Game Trailers - Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Script
From the developers [Bethesda Game Studios] of the Elder Scrolls [Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind], Elder Scrolls HD [Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion], and Elder Scrolls with Guns [Fallout 3] comes a game so immersive, you forget to eat, sleep and make friends because you're too busy eating, sleeping and making friends.
Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Journey to the world of Skyrim, a frigid northern realm full of monsters, strongholds, and a political strife. It's basically Winterfell from Game of Thrones. Become the dragonborn, a hero who speaks the language of dragons, uses the ancient magic of dragons, and has the soul of a dragon, but spends all of his time murdering dragons. Sorry, bra. Travel alone or with a nearly immortal unmoveable, teleporting companion which really makes you wonder why you're the hero everyone keeps talking about. Out of the way, Lydia!
Save the land of Skyrim from Alduin, an evil dragon who threatens to destroy all of Tamriel -- but not before you deliver some letters, kill some butterflies, open every box, yell stuff off of things, carefully place buckets over shopkeepers' heads, make a bunch of potions you'll never use, immediately sell those potions, read books, get married, pick flowers, pick locks, and pick your nose. There we go. Wait, what was I supposed to be doing again? Something about a dragon or something?
Experience the epic replay value as you conquer your enemies with three distinct play styles: a warrior who swings their sword left and right while running around like a crazy person; a mage who unlocks dozens of spells that they'll only end up using once; or a thief who upgrades their sneak-skill to make the game 100 hours longer than it should be. [Thief sneaks through an empty forest]. Soak in every detail of the vast new continent as the initial lack of fast-travel makes you explore it by walking, jogging, hiking, running, strolling, tip-toeing, roaming, marching, and more hiking. Or you could use a horse to speed things up by riding, trotting, galloping, prancing, trekking, cantering, and more galloping. Is this fun? I honestly can't tell. Then, after you're tired of the main game, expand on 300 hours of built-in gameplay with awesome DLC that adds building epic houses, playing as a face-melting vampire lord, and riding a motherf***ing dragon! Worth it!
Starring: Lion-o [Dro'marash]; Reptile [Neetrenaza]; Peon [Prisoner]; Triple H; Baggage Holding Baggage [Lydia]; How to Train Your Dragon; Astrology; Hoarders; and Played Out Meme...
Whiterun Guard: "I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the kn-"
[Solider beats up guard]
Or if you use mods, starring: Thomas the Tank Engine; Zoidberg; Boobs, Bronies, and Macho Man Randy Savage. Oh, yeah!
Elder Scrolls: Skurrim
Alright, just need to talk to this merchant [Steals a bowl]
Belethor: "You won't get away with that!"
Wait, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to steal your crappy bowl! Aw, great, now I need to kill everyone. Sheesh!
Reception
Honest Game Trailers - Elder Scrolls: Skyrim has a 98.7% approval rating from YouTube viewers. Mary Yeager of Game Skinny said this video was one of her favorite honest trailers of all time. Caleb Reading of Uproxx appreciate the video's "references to many of the things we love about Skyrim, including dragons, riding on said dragons, looking for more dragons, and stealing things by putting a bucket on a shopkeeper’s head." Matt Heywood of Entertainment Buddha said "The best part may be the segment where the narrator compares Skyrim to various movies and TV shows such as How to Train Your Dragon and Hoarders, as well as comparing some of the characters to pop culture icons."
Pete Haas of CinemBlend wrote that "The video levels some fair criticisms at the game. For example, they note that playing as a thief takes about a hundred times as long as playing as a warrior or mage. The ludicrous plot of Skyrim is pointed out as well. Alduin's about to return to save the world and you have to race to stop him...but you can spend dozens of hours wandering the world and picking herbs. There's zero urgency to the mission." However, Haas also criticized the video, writing "Not all of the jokes hit their mark. At one point, the narrator says that the province of Skyrim is "basically Winterfell from Game of Thrones." Y'see, because they're both medieval fantasy worlds with snow on the ground. Get it?! The crack about Fallout 3 being "Elder Scrolls with Guns" made me groan, too. Whether or not it's true, it's a joke that people have been saying since 2008."
Production credits
Video thumbnail for Honest Game Trailers - Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.
Executive Producers: Andy Signore and Smosh
Directed by Spencer Gilbert
Episode Written by Joshua Ovenshire, Michael Adams Davis, Michael Schroeder, and Spencer Gilbert
Edited by Ryan Tellez
Gameplay Captured by Jirard Khalil
Voiceover Narration byJon Bailey
External links
- Skyrim Honest Trailer Sums Up Everything Great, Terrible About The Game - CinemaBlend article
- Everything We Love About Skyrim In One Honest Game Trailer - Kotaku article
- How Game Trailers Should Be - Game Skinny article
- Honest Game Trailers Skewers "Skyrim" (Video) - Complex article
- Skyrim Gets An Honest Video Game Trailer - Entertainment Buddha article
- The Honest Trailer For ‘Skyrim’ Reminds Us To Play A Lot More ‘Skyrim’ - Uproxx article