When I learned that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered was real, I hit the buy button the moment it showed up in the PlayStation Store. The Elder Scrolls series has meant so much to me over the years, and I knew I’d sink as many hours into Oblivion Remastered as I have in Skyrim. But reviewing a remaster as massive as this one is quite a task. What can you say about a game that you go into knowing, expecting, and craving those iconic bugs that make Elder Scrolls what it is?Still, many want to know if this one is worth their time, so I’m going to do my best.
Oblivion Remastered feels, in many ways, like a new skin on an old game. This is somehow both a plus and a minus, as it means that it feels like an iconic Elder Scrolls game without much else added. Jumping into the game, you’ll immediately get hit with a wave of nostalgia from the absolute fire that is the soundtrack. Keeping those original vibes is a huge plus and makes the game feel epic from the moment you boot it up. As the opening scene plays, you immediately notice the updated graphics, which render Cyrodill in stunning clarity on Unreal Engine 5.
Character creation also gets a glow-up, but creating monstrosities as gamers did with the original Oblivion is still very much an option. It’s nice to have a little more creativity than what Skyrim offers, taking advantage of the updated graphics to let players design their own nondescript hero of Cyrodiil, however they like.
The class system and additional customization options along the way are a nice touch, giving users the chance to control how their character plays as well as how they look. The astrology options you choose when speaking with the Emperor? No notes. Once you’ve made your character and launch out into the world of Cyrodiil, the true journey begins. And what a journey it is.
When Bethesda and Virtuos said they’d merged Skyrim and Oblivion features for the leveling up system, they weren’t kidding. This system takes some getting used to, as individual skills level up as they do in Skyrim, but you’ll need to sleep on it to fully level up and choose which attributes to update. Although having to sleep to level up can be a bit of a pain, I like this choice. It makes the game feel more immersive, forcing you to actually get a bed at the local inn or take your chances in a bedroll at a random camp.
That said, the level-up system can take some getting used to. It’s a bit more opaque old-school RPG, and the attributes screen doesn’t do you many favors in reminding you what the different attributes do or which your specific character class build should prioritize. It’s nice having a class system here, giving Oblivion Remastered an increased RPG vibe that Skryim left behind, but it can be a bit difficult to navigate at times.
Speaking of difficult to navigate, I feel the game’s older mechanics creeping up in the UI at times. The menus and shortcut options feel a bit clunky still, and even many hours into the game, I find I’m still fumbling to switch weapons and spells during combat with the PS5 controls. In this way, the blend of retaining the original with some minor updates holds back playability a smidge.
For all that, Oblivion Remastered is just plain fun. The open world is immersive and filled with exciting enemies and characters to meet. Collecting side quests by talking to random characters (my personal favorite Elder Scrolls activity) is alive and well, and some of those characters have hilarious quirks that bring them to life even if those remastered character models are occasionally a bit uncanny. The main story is compelling, and as someone who’s coming to Oblivion for the first time, it’s exciting to watch the story unfold… even if I keep getting distracted by those DLC side quests that are included from the get-go in the remaster.
Combat can be tough, as my go-to stealth/archer build isn’t quite as easily overpowered. Frustrating though it is, I do actually like that Oblivion Remastered forces me to get good at melee or die (a lot) trying. The battles are actually challenging, and enemies scale up with you, ensuring that you never get bored. That said, I do wish enemies weren’t quite so invested in killing my horse before me, and that companion characters in the early game weren’t quite so beefy. Brother Martin and friends kept killing enemies before I could switch from bow to melee, and my horse budget is frankly alarming at this point. In spite of it all, though, the new combat animations are exciting, and it’s certainly keeping me engaged, if occasionally enraged.
What does it all mean about Oblivion Remastered as a whole? For the most part, I love that the developers chose to leave in many of the original glitches and quirks, from test characters voiced by Todd Howard himself to actual dialogue mistakes. For the most part, these smaller bugs are a charming reminder of the hilarity that ensues from an Elder Scrolls title.
However, a few bigger bugs remaining in the code are more frustrating than fun, such as the Kvatch quest bug that leaves you confused and quest markers that don’t update when they should. I would’ve liked to see that smoothed over along with those beautiful graphical updates. Keep the bugs that are fun while losing the ones that make it tricky to progress the main story.
In all, Oblivion Remastered is exactly what I hoped and wanted it to be. It feels like an authentic representation of what OG fans love about the game, with the graphics of a more modern entry. It balances between being a remake and a remaster, and for the most part, keeping the original heart of Oblivion, bugs and all, was the right choice. Though some UI elements and those bigger quest bugs certainly show the age of the original game, Oblivion Remastered is a game I know I’ll be playing for weeks, months, and years to come.
Rating: 4 out of 5
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is out now for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. This review was written based on the PS5 version of the game.
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