Remember your first open-world game? That feeling of reckless abandon, of stepping into a world full of possibilities? You probably didn’t think as much about ticking items off a list. You may have ignored the main story for far too long. Sometimes, that nagging feeling of what you’re doing with your life would emerge – only to quickly fade as you wondered, once more, “What’s over there?”
Everyone has a game that may or may not have first triggered that feeling, but for many, it all began with The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. Bizarre, beautiful, streamlined, annoyingly complicated, yet teeming with stories and interesting characters. Considered a unique in-between point for Morrowind and Skyrim, it exudes confidence in its strangeness, elegance in its world design, and, above all, that feeling of getting lost in a unique fantasy setting.
“There’s an endearing charm, a sense of wonder at exploring Cyrodiil and taking in its details, even if some of the more outdated aspects of Oblivion often emerge.”
With Oblivion Remastered, Bethesda and Virtuos set out to harness that nostalgia, addressing the biggest grievances, enhancing aspects limited by the technology of its time, and delivering a complete visual overhaul. The Bethesda Jank is still very much at its core, whether in the NPC interactions or several aspects of its gameplay. And yet, there’s an endearing charm, a sense of wonder at exploring Cyrodiil and taking in its details, even if some of the more outdated aspects of Oblivion often emerge.
The story starts with the player in prison, but it’s not long before the call of adventure comes knocking in the form of Emperor Uriel Septim VII and the Blades. Hounded by assassins, he escapes into underground passages beneath the prison, and it’s not long before you join in. After obtaining the Amulet of Kings and venturing into the world, crisis brews in the background, with the gates of Oblivion and the Daedra spewing forth to cause destruction.
Yes, your ultimate goal is to stop this and bring peace to the province (and Tamriel as a whole), but the overall plot goes in some interesting directions while maintaining a fantasy adventure feel. It may seem superfluous to mention, but I’m impressed by how much the narrative holds up after all these years.
The same goes for the exploration. You could deliver the Amulet to the grandmaster of Blades and follow the plot, becoming the Hero of Kvatch and whatnot. Or you can just get lost and explore. Venture out into the wider world and discover caves, abandoned forts and sanctums teaming with precious stones. Tussle with goblins, ogres, bandits, skeletons, mud crabs, and whatnot.
“The single “thunk” of an arrow, whether you’re playing stealth archer and assassinating everyone or backpedalling against aggressive monsters, is just so satisfying.”
Channel a rune stone for some armor and a dagger that can’t be removed until the duration runs out. Heck, stop a passing Imperial Guard on the road, try to persuade him to no end, get insulted, then attack him and steal his horse (with some help from a wolf). Murder all the bandits occupying some ruins, sleep and run into a Speaker for the Dark Brotherhood, who invites you to join their cause.
Every single bit looks better than ever thanks to assets created from scratch on Unreal Engine 5. The Emperor’s facial details are immaculate, with the new lip-syncing lending more realism and emotion to his soliloquy. Ogres and goblins look creepier; the various races are more detailed, whether it’s the Khajit’s fur or the scales of the Argonian. The real-time lighting and dynamic shadows lend a distinct atmosphere when exploring caves, torch in hand, as they do when roaming the countryside on horseback, appreciating the minute insects buzzing about and the revamped geometry.
Even the combat animations look much smoother, bolstered by the new hit reactions and sound effects. The single “thunk” of an arrow, whether you’re playing stealth archer and assassinating everyone or backpedalling against aggressive monsters, is just so satisfying. Even the slight movement on Power Attacks, with your character shifting forward or backwards depending on the direction, feels right. Even the third-person perspective feels more tenable, though I still default to first-person while aiming.
Don’t get me wrong, though – the combat hasn’t seen a massive overhaul as such. It certainly feels better, but it’s a far cry from the very best in the industry. We’ll come back to this, but suffice it to say that even if you’re a huge fan of Skyrim’s combat (despite the various elements it also stripped away), Oblivion will take some getting used to.
One thing that won’t take a long time to embrace is the new levelling system. You still have Major and Minor Skills, and as you perform certain actions relating to them (more Archery to increase the Marksman skill, the new sprinting for Athletics, etc.), they increase in points. Accrue enough and you can level up, receiving Virtues to assign to various stats.
“Outside the traditional jank, there are some notable bugs, like my shield appearing in one hand and the bow in another after equipping a torch, resulting in an obstructed view. Arrows have also been spotted jittering in the air on at least one occasion. “
Only three stats can be upgraded with each level, but the amount of Virtues is fixed, and the benefits (including Endurance) are immediate. It’s a simpler system compared to the nightmare of the original, and it works remarkably, allowing you to indulge in the character fantasy rather than worrying whether you’re progressing properly or how much stronger enemies are becoming for no fault of your own.
I’m not completely all in on the user interface rework – though it doesn’t feel as awful as some are making it out to be, there’s definitely room for improvement, especially in some filtering options. There have been several diverging opinions on performance, though. I stuck to 1440p, Vsync enabled, everything set to Medium and DLSS on Balanced (FOV for both perspectives set to 91) on a Core i5-11400 with 32 GB RAM and an RTX 4060 (8 GB).
The frame rate remained respectably consistent, though it did occasionally drop after setting viewing distance and texture quality to High. Dropping the resolution to 1080p allowed for a mix of Ultra and High settings and Quality DLSS with the overall performance remaining fairly steady, sans a severe drop when going from early morning to sunrise.
Your mileage will vary, so I advise looking into more configurations and tests before fully committing. Also, outside the traditional jank, there are some notable bugs, like my shield appearing in one hand and the bow in another after equipping a torch, resulting in an obstructed view. Arrows have also been spotted jittering in the air on at least one occasion.
And I don’t know if I can classify this as a bug, but enemy AI is a little mixed, occasionally facing into walls and allowing for easy kills when they’re not oblivious to their allies dying. Then again, they will sometimes react to the slightest of noise and investigate, which I found surprising.
“The passage of time may wear on Cyrodiil as its flaws become more apparent, but bringing back the joy of younger days more than warrants the price of admission.”
When spending more time with The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, several elements, like the dungeon design, are still obviously stuck in 2006. However, Virtuos has faithfully captured everything that made it so endearing. There could have probably been more extensive, earth-shattering changes, but it may not have felt like the classic that fans know and love.
As such, Oblivion Remastered is a worthwhile role-playing experience, and even with a few nitpicks – that will hopefully get ironed out with subsequent patches – it stands in a class of its own, especially compared to Bethesda’s modern efforts. The passage of time may wear on Cyrodiil as its flaws become more apparent, but bringing back the joy of younger days more than warrants the price of admission.
This game was reviewed on PC.
