Watch these amazing Skyrim Sopranos mashups ya goombas

Tony Soprano reading the morning paper in Skyrim.
(Image credit: Bethesda / HBO)

The Sopranos isn't just one of the best TV shows ever made; it turns out that it's a pretty funny lens through which to see the world of Skyrim. Youtuber Pertinax had the inspired idea of mashing together scenes from the show and various elements of Skyrim: what happens when you encounter a dragon at level 1, for example, or as in the above clip Paulie Walnuts giving a khajiit a hard time.

Pertinax's full Skyrim mashup playlist consists of twelve short videos, some of which veer into other shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm. Your mileage may vary, but Pertinax's sense of humour lands almost every time for me. Another favourite is Christopher trying to persuade Hesh that Skyrim's tavern bards are writing hits.

Ah it makes one nostalgic for when shows were shows. You can watch the Sopranos these days on HBO Max (or pick up a box set dirt cheap) and, if you've never come across it, you should. A major part of the reason the show's so great is the way the mobsters are constantly bickering with one another, living a dangerous and illegal lifestyle while simultaneously breaking each others' balls about not eating enough salads.

Skyrim continues to run and run: we've only just had the news that an upcoming anniversary edition will make 500 mods official additions, as well as adding fishing. The game keeps on unveiling new secrets, too, like the recent reveal of how 'treasure foxes' work. It's awesome, though, to see two older properties serve up these most vital of memes, and creator Pertinax's attention to detail (like Tony being exhausted when he discovers Markarth, which takes days to walk to). One thing's for sure: these mashups have the makings of a varsity athlete.

Rich Stanton

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."