Developer: Bethesda Game Studios, Virtuos
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered – Review
If you ask fans of The Elder Scrolls what their favourite entry in the series is, you’ll often hear three titles being spoken of, namely Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim. That last one has been released on every conceivable platform and has been somewhat milked dry for all its worth. While this may sound negative, Skyrim was very much a great game that deserved its lengthy time in the spotlight. Now, however, it’s Oblivion’s turn with a proper remaster that still has quite a few quirks of the original. We somewhat underestimated the length of the game (and how easily distracted we got with all the side content), and so our review took a bit longer than expected.
It’s a bit pointless to approach this review as we would other new titles, as this is, in essence, still the same experience as the 2006 game. You’ll play through the same story, meet the same characters, and can pull off the same shenanigans. It had been a while since we last delved into the adventure that is Oblivion, and we were perhaps distracted a bit too often with side content or scoring some better items before we delved into the main content. You can choose how you want to tackle big parts of the game, and that’s still what makes this game rather charming. Luckily, the Remastered version does come with some minor gameplay updates that are more in line with modern gaming standards. Combat has become more fluid, the leveling system is a bit smoother and allows for easier progress, being overencumbered doesn’t force you to a complete standstill, stamina is now better linked to being staggered, your overall run speed has increased, and so on. Many minor changes make the game feel a bit more accessible and perhaps even simplified. This is not a bad thing, as having these additional comfort features in place does allow you to focus more on the adventure, without having to micromanage everything.
Most importantly, the graphics have been updated to look like the game is a modern-day release. We were quite impressed with the visual quality, and everything ran as smoothly as butter on our PlayStation 5, most of the time. We did notice minor stutters during hectic battles. We were impressed by the high-quality textures and the overall graphical update this large-scale adventure went through. Items looked great, attack animations looked a lot more fluid than they used to, and we were truly enamored with the world that slowly opened before us. Enemies also looked impressive, but they somewhat felt like they weren’t fully part of the updated world. The contrast seemed a bit off, and this might have been due to the fact that the original 2006 release had warmer and brighter color tones for the environments, while Oblivion Remastered follows the somewhat drab color scheme of recent Fallout titles. We presume this is why the modding community has already created mods for the overworld colors on PC. We wouldn’t mind a PS5 update for this as well. Oblivion used to have a lot of unique NPC designs as well, ranging from very likable and good-looking characters to those who were not that shy of being abominations. All of these characters have been updated as well. Our feelings remain exactly the same, as some look rather good and others kept their ‘unique’ appearances intact. Last but not least, the UI has vastly improved, and even the menus are a lot easier to work with. While perhaps a minor change for some, the clear outline around an item when picking it up was a game-changer for us. We didn’t grab onto wrong items, and we didn’t accidentally commit theft when NPCs were watching us.
While still highly entertaining, Oblivion Remastered does come with its own set of issues. As this is a remaster, and not a remake, it still runs on the 2006 foundation of the original. Even though the game was impressive for its time, it did come with quite a few bugs, exploits, and seemingly unfinished segments that can put a damper on the experience. We certainly did take a bit of advantage of some ways to score better gear earlier on (shame on us), but we also did get stuck behind NPCs who seemingly got stuck in narrow paths or doorways. Even though most issues were minor in nature, they were noticeable enough to become annoying at times.
Conclusion
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is a great remaster of a classic and beloved RPG. We enjoyed every minute of it, bugs and wonky physics included. We’re not going to lie here and state that the game is meeting the same standards as some other modern-day releases, but it held up surprisingly well, even with its 2006 foundation sometimes clearly noticeable. Even with that 2006 engine running under the shiny new hood, we were quickly enamored once again by what Oblivion had to offer. If you’re a fan of more recent entries in the series, such as Skyrim, we can wholeheartedly recommend taking the plunge to pick this one up. If you simply love a good old-fashioned RPG with a new lick of paint, then you will also not be disappointed with this one. And most importantly, if you played the original and want to give it another go, then this is the definitive way to play Oblivion. All in all, this is a remaster done right, and we hope other titles in the series will also get the same treatment.
No Comments