Mamoru Oshii, the legendary director behind the Ghost in the Shell anime movies, has revealed his favorite game. Oshii dropped this unexpected detail in an interview with The Film Stage. There, he talked about the first official stateside release of his 1985 original anime movie Angel’s Egg.
Asked about how video games influenced his work and what games he’s currently into, Oshii didn’t hesitate. He said that Bethesda Softworks‘ Fallout 4 has been his go-to for the last couple of years.
“I’ve been playing the game Fallout 4 for eight years. It’s my ideal game,” revealed the 72-year-old director. “Almost as if it were made specifically for me.”
From Ghost in the Shell to Avalon and Angel’s Egg, his popular works often dwell in desolate worlds and what remains of humanity after everything collapses. With that in mind, Fallout 4 feels like an almost too-perfect match for Oshii. The game’s lonely ruins and philosophical undertones are exactly the kind of spaces his films love to linger in.
Oshii also gave a shoutout to another gaming figure, adding that he holds ‘deep respect’ for the man behind Metal Gear Solid. “I also have deep respect for all of Hideo Kojima’s works,” he added. Given how often Kojima has cited Ghost in the Shell as an influence, the mutual admiration between the Japanese creator shouldn’t come as a surprise.
For Fallout 4, the endorsement is a nice reminder of just how far the franchise’s reach extends, even after a decade since its launch date. And for fans of Oshii, it’s a rare peek into the tastes of one of sci-fi anime’s most influential directors. Especially one who clearly enjoys losing himself in a digital wasteland as much as the rest of us.
