Skyrim but this NPC is self-aware

I thought I was just getting a normal sponsored review. Somehow, I got contacted by Bethesda Softworks with an offer to check out and review a new version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim before release. Obviously, I said yes. Free early access Skyrim? No chance I was passing that up. At first, everything felt normal—Helgen, dragons, the usual “hey you, you’re finally awake” stuff. I figured it would just be Skyrim with better graphics or some weird experimental AI system they wanted feedback on. Then I got out of Helgen and met Htaro. He was supposed to be some kind of tutorial NPC, but right away, something felt off. He didn’t talk like a normal NPC. He reacted to things I hadn’t done yet, commented on stuff outside the game, and honestly felt less like scripted dialogue and more like talking to an actual person who was way too aware of what was happening. The longer I played, the weirder it got. NPCs started remembering conversations they shouldn’t. Guards made comments about things I’d said off-stream. Questlines shifted depending on the choices I made outside the actual game. It stopped feeling like I was playing Skyrim and started feeling like Skyrim was playing me. Htaro definitely knows more than he lets on, and I’m starting to think he might be the reason all of this is happening. This series is basically me trying to figure out what exactly Bethesda sent me, why the NPCs seem self-aware, and whether I should be concerned that the game seems to know who I am. Honestly, I just wanted to review Skyrim. Now I’m not sure if I’m reviewing the game… or if the game is reviewing me. My Patreon:   / membership   Editor: ‪@temisthebard‬