In
2006,

Oblivion
dropped
like
a
magical
bomb,
changing
RPGs
forever
and
teaching
a
generation
that
you
can’t
just
walk
into
Kvatch
unprepared.
Fast
forward
nearly
two
decades,
and
Bethesda
has
decided
to
give
Cyrodiil
the
spa
treatment
with

Oblivion
Remastered.
But
what
exactly
has
changed?
Here’s
your
guide
to
all
the
shiny
new
(and
hilarious)
differences.
Do
keep
in
mind
that
the
game
is
huge,
so
these
may
be
other
changes
I
haven’t
noticed
yet.
Feel
free
to
shout
out
anything
you’ve
noticed
in
the
comments
section
at
the
end
of
the
article.

Graphics
&
Visuals:
From
Potato
to
Picasso

• 
  Engine
  Upgrade:
  Powered
  by
  Unreal
  Engine
  5,
  the
  world
  now
  looks
  less
  like
  a
  fever
  dream
  and
  more
  like
  an
  actual
  fantasy
  paradise.
  Sadly,
  the
  game
  has
  lost
  some
  of
  its
  vibrancy,
  as
  well
  as
  the
  insane
  bloom
  effect,
  but
  the
  trade-off
  is
  worth
  it.
  Oblivion
  now
  looks
  like
  what
  you
  remember
  it
  looking
  like.
• 
  Character
  Models:
  NPCs
  have
  finally
  learned
  to
  emote
  properly.
  Goodbye,
  dead
  stares;
  hello,
  expressive
  faces
  that
  don’t
  haunt
  your
  dreams.
  Well,
  kind
  of.
  Facial
  models
  are
  still
  stiff
  compared
  to
  other
  games,
  but
  compared
  to
  the
  original
  Oblivion
  it’s
  a
  massive
  improvement.
  Characters
  clothes,
  armour
  and
  weapons
  look
  superb,
  though.
• 
  Dynamic
  Environments:
  Water
  reflects
  properly,
  weather
  feels
  alive,
  and
  sunsets
  might
  just
  make
  you
  stop
  and
  cry
  in
  the
  middle
  of
  a
  goblin
  cave.
  The
  new
  lighting
  system
  is
  gorgeous,
  especially
  when
  you
  encounter
  an
  Oblivion
  gate.

Gameplay
&
Mechanics:
Less
Jank,
More
Joy

• 
  Combat
  System:
  Sword
  swings
  feel
  meatier,
  bows
  have
  actual
  weight,
  and
  enemies
  react
  to
  being
  hit
  like
  they’ve
  just
  been
  personally
  offended.
• 
  Stealth
  Mechanics:
  Sneaking
  is
  less
  “maybe
  they’ll
  see
  me,
  maybe
  they
  won’t”
  and
  more
  “I
  am
  a
  shadow.”
• 
  Stamina
  Management:
  You
  aren’t
  a
  wheezing
  mess
  after
  10
  seconds
  anymore.
  And
  you
  can
  sprint
  now,
  making
  getting
  around
  much
  quicker.
• 
  Third-Person
  Camera:
  It’s
  smooth,
  responsive,
  and
  finally
  worth
  using
  outside
  of
  “Look
  at
  my
  sweet
  Daedric
  armor”
  screenshots.
  Squeeze
  your
  eyes
  and
  you
  could
  almost
  think
  you
  were
  playing
  a
  third-person
  action
  game.
  Almost.

UI
&
Menus:
Streamlined
for
the
Modern
Adventurer

• 
  User
  Interface:
  Sleeker,
  cleaner,
  and
  about
  75%
  less
  “where
  the
  hell
  is
  that
  quest
  marker?”
  Handy
  improvements
  include
  zooming
  in
  to
  see
  the
  local
  map
  rather
  than
  it
  being
  on
  a
  separate
  tab,
  and
  just
  a
  lot
  more
  information
  in
  general.
• 
  Control
  Schemes:
  Redesigned
  to
  feel
  natural
  whether
  you’re
  keyboard-mashing
  or
  chilling
  with
  a
  controller.
  Now,
  the
  d-pad
  acts
  as
  shortcuts
  for
  opening
  up
  the
  map,
  magic,
  stats
  and
  inventory.

Audio
&
Voice
Acting:
More
Voices,
Less
Cloning

• 
  Voice
  Acting:
  They
  finally
  hired
  more
  than
  four
  people!
  Expect
  a
  lot
  more
  vocal
  variety
  across
  the
  land.
  There’s
  even
  some
  completely
  new
  lines
  of
  dialogue,
  too!
  But
  best
  of
  all,
  they’ve
  kept
  an
  old
  mistake
  in
  which
  you
  can
  hear
  an
  actor
  asking
  to
  do
  a
  line
  again
  before
  laughing.
• 
  Sound
  Design:
  Forests
  whisper,
  caves
  groan,
  and
  cities
  feel
  alive
  with
  actual
  ambiance.
  There’s
  a
  lot
  of
  new
  background
  and
  ambient
  sound,
  making
  for
  a
  more
  immersive
  experience.
  Right
  up
  until
  you
  hear
  one
  of
  Oblivion’s
  famously
  weird
  NPC
  conversations.

Leveling
&
Progression:
A
Full
Makeover

Leveling
in
the
original

Oblivion
was…
an
experience.
You
chose
seven
Major
Skills,
and
the
only
way
to
level
up
was
by
improving
them.
Worse,
you
had
to

micromanage
every
skill
increase
to
squeeze
out
the
maximum
+5
bonuses
to
Strength,
Endurance,
and
other
attributes
at
each
level.
If
you
didn’t?
Congrats:
the
bandits
now
have
adamantium
armour,
and
you
still
hit
like
a
wet
noodle.

Remastered
throws
that
nightmare
into
the
nearest
Oblivion
gate
and
shuts
it
behind
you:

• 
  Major
  Skills
  Still
  Matter,
  But
  More
  Flexibly:
  You
  still
  choose
  Major
  Skills,
  but
  now
  
  any
  skill
  increases
  contribute
  to
  leveling.
  Major
  Skills
  just
  give
  a
  little
  extra
  XP.
• 
  No
  More
  Attribute
  Multipliers:
  Gone
  is
  the
  awkward
  “train
  Acrobatics
  10
  times
  to
  get
  +5
  Agility”
  nonsense.
  Now,
  when
  you
  level
  up,
  you
  automatically
  receive
  twelve
  attribute
  points
  to
  freely
  assign
  wherever
  you
  want
  —
  Strength,
  Intelligence,
  Endurance,
  and
  so
  on.
  Build
  your
  hero
  your
  way,
  without
  a
  calculator.
• 
  Skill-Based
  Progression:
  Using
  a
  skill
  naturally
  levels
  it
  up,
  and
  leveling
  skills
  feeds
  into
  your
  character
  level
  without
  weird
  backflips.
  Want
  to
  be
  a
  better
  sneaky
  archer?
  Just
  sneak
  and
  shoot.
  No
  spreadsheets
  required.
• 
  Dynamic
  Difficulty
  Scaling
  2.0:
  Enemies
  still
  scale
  (this
  
  is
  Oblivion)
  to
  your
  level,
  but
  it’s
  much
  smarter.
  You
  won’t
  get
  obliterated
  by
  a
  highwayman
  in
  full
  Daedric
  armor
  just
  because
  you
  spent
  a
  sunny
  afternoon
  picking
  Nirnroot.
  It
  still
  isn’t
  perfect,
  but
  it’s
  a
  hell
  of
  a
  lot
  better
  than
  it
  was.

In
short:
you
get
to
play
the
game

how
you
want,
level
up

when
you
want,
and
become

who
you
want
without
feeling
like
you
accidentally
doomed
your
entire
save
file
by
picking
Speechcraft
as
a
Major
Skill.
(We’ve
all
been
there.)

Because
saving
the
world
can
wait
until
you’e
solved
a
murder
mystery
or
gotten
trapped
in
a
crazy
magical
painting.

Content
&
Expansions:
All
the
Goodies,
No
Extra
Payment

• 
  DLC
  Integration:
  
  Knights
  of
  the
  Nine,
  
  Shivering
  Isles,
  and
  all
  the
  other
  DLC
  goodies
  are
  baked
  right
  in.
  The
  result
  is
  an
  expansive
  game
  with
  hundreds
  of
  hours
  of
  content.

Bonus:
Yes,
Horse
Armor
is
Back

Horse
Armor:
The
internet’s
favorite
microtransaction
is
back—shiner,
sassier,
and
still
utterly
useless.
Yup,
the
Deluxe
Edition
even
gives
you
some
new
four-legged
armour.
10/10,
would
buy
again.