The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Remastered Review – Rebirth of a Masterpiece

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As a long-time gaming enthusiast, I can’t help but reminisce about my cherished memories with The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion from Bethesda Game Studios – an RPG that has left an indelible mark on the gaming world. Its quirky animations and eccentric character designs still bring a smile to my face, even after all these years. Believe it or not, this gem was first introduced back in 2006, but despite its age, it stands as the pinnacle of the Elder Scrolls series for me.

Fast-forward nearly two decades, and Bethesda has surprised us all with an exceptional Remaster of Oblivion. The official unveiling of Oblivion Remastered just last week has rekindled the excitement of both seasoned players and newcomers alike. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the chance to reclaim my powers once more, this time immersed in a revamped Cyrodiil, powered by Unreal Engine with significantly improved visuals, landscapes, and character models. This is my review of Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Remastered, developed by Virtuos and published by Bethesda Softworks.

NOTE: The Review Code was provided by the publisher. This review was done on a PC.

Story and World

In The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Remastered, you’ll encounter a narrative identical to the original game. As players, you assume the role of a Hero of Kvatch tasked with warding off the approaching Daedric Realm of Oblivion. The story unfolds as Emperor Uriel Septim VII experiences mysterious dreams featuring the hero of Kvatch. In his dying moments before being assassinated, he encounters the hero and alerts him about the looming perils ahead.

Much like the initial version, gamers commence their adventure within the Imperial Prison, encountering the Emperor for the first time. Throughout the instructional phase, you’re empowered to make crucial decisions about your character, such as selecting a Race, Birthsign, and Class. Additionally, you have the option to create a Custom Class and choose your primary attributes. Upon completing the tutorial, witnessing Cyrodiil reborn in Unreal Engine left me awestruck. The entire terrain seems otherworldly thanks to Unreal Engine, leading newcomers to believe it’s an entirely fresh game. Main cities and locations have been revamped, characters have been redesigned, and most interactive characters now have new voice lines. This enhances the enjoyment of exploration in Oblivion for players.

Gameplay

Oblivion Remastered” is a video game that falls under the category of open-world action-adventure role-playing games. Just like its original version, it allows you to roam freely at your leisure. You can opt to embark on the main quests to unfold the main storyline, or simply wander around discovering treasures, encountering characters, and completing side missions. One of the initial differences you’ll notice from the original game is the user interface (UI). The UI has been overhauled and now bears a resemblance to “Skyrim”. This revised design aims to make it easier for new players to navigate menus, manage their inventory, map navigation, switch between quests, and more.

Beyond that, you won’t find persistent Health, Fatigue, and Magicka bars situated at the bottom left of your screen. Instead, these bars appear only when triggered from the bottom region of the screen. Aside from UI modifications, there are also system adjustments. The most significant among these is a revamp of the method skills are leveled up. Unlike the original game, there’s no more min-maxing. Now, all skills contribute to your overall XP, which in turn elevates your main level. Once you reach this main level, sleep allows you to inherit 12 virtue points into any three primary attributes. Therefore, if you favor stealth, not only will it boost the Sneak skill, but also grant you XP for the main level, which can then be used for further advancement in the main level.

For the remainder of the game, the rules largely stay consistent. Feel free to take on quests whenever suits you and pick any alliance that appeals to you. Additionally, you’ll encounter numerous mentors who can assist you in improving specific skills, teach you fresh techniques, and grant you new abilities.

Combat

In simpler terms, the revamped Oblivion fight scenes are an enjoyable throwback to classic gaming. It’s a fan favorite just as it was, and the developers have wisely chosen to preserve its original mechanics rather than starting from scratch. However, they’ve also added some fresh elements to keep things interesting. For instance, enemies now react realistically when struck, adding a layer of realism. Additionally, there are new animations for sword swings, shield blocks, and arrow shots that make the combat feel more dynamic. The precision of bow aiming and spell casting in ranged combat has also been enhanced, and the enemy movement speed has been adjusted to provide a fair fight.

In Oblivion Remastered, all modifications aim to bring the fight system up-to-date, keeping the original essence intact. This makes combat much more engaging for players, allowing them to feel more involved in battles, as opposed to simply moving the sword back and forth without any response from enemies.

Sound and Visuals

In creating Oblivion Remastered, developers likely placed significant emphasis on improving the game’s sound and visuals. Since this is a remaster, not a remake, this focus is understandable. The remaster of Oblivion features a complete graphical upgrade using modern rendering methods. This update includes ray tracing, updated world and character textures and models, and more. For the first time, I found Cyrodiil on the Unreal Engine to be strikingly different from the original. Everything seemed incredibly polished, with lush forests, expansive meadows, snowy mountains – it all looked like a completely new realm to me at first glance.

The developers not only updated the behavior of NPCs by enhancing their artificial intelligence, making them seem more lifelike to players, but also introduced fresh voice lines and synchronized mouth animations with spoken words. Additionally, you’ll encounter new environmental sounds as well. In summary, the developers have done an exceptional job in refurbishing Cyrodiil and its characters.

Verdict – Score 9/10

The refreshed version of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, now known as Oblivion Remastered, offers an updated visual and interactive experience compared to its original release. You’ll find yourself immersed in the captivating narrative and exploration once more, but with enhanced world design and improved details that may be lacking in today’s RPG offerings.

It’s essential to note that while Oblivion Remastered has been updated, it still contains a fair share of bugs – some of which can provide amusing moments during gameplay. However, these issues are generally harmless and won’t ruin your experience. During my playthrough, I didn’t encounter any game-breaking or annoying bugs.

It’s worth mentioning that Bethesda games have a reputation for humorous bugs, so don’t be surprised if you come across some during your adventure. On the downside, Oblivion Remastered’s performance can sometimes fall short. You might need to disable Ray Tracing to achieve a smoother gaming experience.

All in all, I wholeheartedly recommend both veteran and new RPG enthusiasts to give Oblivion Remastered a try.

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Remastered is now available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

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2025-04-29 19:05