Nearly
two
decades
after
Bethesda
unleashed
Oblivion
onto
the
world
and
tasked
millions
of
players
around
the
globe
with
shutting
the
gates,
The
Elder
Scrolls
IV:
Oblivion
Remastered
gives
the
massive
RPG
a
fresh
coat
of
paint
and
some
under-the-hood
changes.
Most
importantly,
this
impressive
remake
retains
the
original
game’s
charming
jankiness.
Absolutely
no
other
game
could
be
remade
in
2025
and
get
away
with
deliberately
failing
to
fix
problems,
and
yet
if
the
team
at
Virtous
had
tried,
the
Oblivion
fans
would
have
revolted.

First,
we
need
to
tackle
the
name.
Whatever
might
be
printed
on
the
box,
this
is
far
more
than
a
mere
remaster.
Sure,
the
visual
upgrade
is
not
to
be
ignored
–
this
is
one
hell
of
an
illusion
spell
that
has
been
cast
over
the
game
–
but
there
are
a
bunch
of
gameplay
tweaks
that
have
been
made
too.
The
end
result
is
something
that’s
halfway
between
a
remaster
and
a
remake,
but
definitely
sneaking
closer
to
the
latter.
There’s
been
enough
work
here
to
easily
justify
the
£50
asking
price.

Available
On:
PC,
Xbox,
PlayStation
Reviewed
On:
PS5
Developed
By:
Virtous,
Bethesda
Published
By:
Bethesda

Review
key
provided
by

#keymailer

Let’s
talk
about
the
most
obvious
change
first,
shall
we?
Even
in
2006,
Oblivion
was
not
the
best
looking
game
out
there,
although
it’s
bright
colours
and
insane
level
of
bloom
effect
gave
it
a
very
distinctive
look.
Now,
though,
Virtous
has
rebuilt
the
game’s
graphics
in
Unreal
Engine
5
and
the
results
are
impressive.
This
is
what
I

remember
Oblivion
looking
like
in
my
nostalgia-tinted
memories;
lush
countryside,
gorgeous
vistas,
and
sunlight
streaming
over
the
hills
as
I
battle
mud
crabs.
The
new
lighting
is
a
particular
highlight,
especially
when
you
encounter
Oblivion
gates
and
the
red
light
creeps
through
the
environment.
Character
models
also
look
terrific,
as
does
their
armour
and
weapons
which
I
could
spend
far
too
long
admiring,
although
their
faces
still
have
a
dopey,
potato
quality
to
them.

All
that
beauty
comes
at
a
price,
though,
because
performance
isn’t
as
good
as
it
should
be.
Back
in
2006,
Oblivion
was
in
rough
shape
on
consoles.
The
remaster
isn’t
as
bad,
but
I
really
wasn’t
expecting
a
remaster
of
a
20-year-old
game
to
be
so
inconsistent
with
its
framerate.
The
game
targets
60FPS
but
frequently
misses
that
on
PS5,
and
its
quite
variable
depending
on
where
you
are
in
the
game
world.
It
never
got
unplayable
in
my
experience,
but
I
still
expected
more.
Hopefully,
some
updates
will
help.

Now,
while
I
mentioned
that
the
game’s
graphics
are
being
handled
by
Unreal
Engine
5,
that
doesn’t
mean
the
Creation
Engine
is
absent
–
quite
the
opposite,
it’s
the
beating
heart.
This
black
magic
engine
layering
that
Bethesda
has
performed
means
that
underneath
all
the
beautifully
detailed
armour
and
enchanting
lighting
lies
classic
Oblivion
in
its
dopey,
janky
glory.
That
means
you
still
have
the
baffling
conversations
between
AI,
the
many
weird
glitches,
odd
behaviours,
wonky
combat
AI,
and
all
the
other
jank
that
has
somehow
over
the
years
become
not
only
part
of
the
game’s
charm,
but
central
to
its
identity.
Changes
have
been
made
in
a
few
places,
sure,
but
this
is
still
Oblivion
for
better
or
for
worse.
Often,
both.

The
list
of
changes
is
actually
quite
big
so
I’m
not
going
to
go
over
them
all.
Let’s
just
pick
a
few
and
go
from
there.
You
can
sprint
now,
a
massive
change
that
makes
getting
around
Cyrodil
easier
than
ever,
and
it
even
contributes
to
your
athletics
skill.
The
third-person
camera
has
been
repositioned
and
has
a
crosshair
now,
making
it
much
easier
to
play
Oblivion
as
a
third-person
action
game.
Sneaking
has
been
updated
so
it’s
now
clearer
when
you
are
hidden
from
sight.
There’s
a
bunch
of
new
voice
actors
and
lines
of
dialogue,
adding
some
much-needed
variety.

The
skill
system
and
levelling
up
have
been
given
a
substantial
overhaul
so
that
it
now
resembles
a
mixture
of
Oblivion
and
Skyrim.
Back
in
2006,
you
were
encouraged
to
level
up
slowly
by
avoiding
actually
using
your
main
skills,
and
if
you
approached
the
system
in
the
wrong
way
the
game
could
become
an
absolutely
pain
in
the
arse,
especially
if
you
didn’t
sink
points
into
endurance
early
enough.

Now,
every
skill
you
improve
counts
toward
levelling
up,
although
minor
skills
contribute
less
than
major
ones.
And
once
you
level
up,
you
are
given
12
Virtue
points
to
sink
into

any
three
attributes
of
your
choice.
This
makes
the
system
much
simpler
to
understand
and
cuts
down
the
risk
of
becoming
a
useless
blob
in
the
late
game.

The
system
ain’t
perfect,
though.
As
you
level
up,
the
game
scales
with
you,
a
divisive
feature
of
the
Elder
Scrolls.
Virtous
decided
to
tackle
this
as
well,
making
some
changes
to
the
difficulty
system
and
how
levelling
is
handled.
I
can
say
that
it’s
certainly
an
improvement
over
the
original,
but
it’s
still
not
great,
which
is
a
bit
frustrating
when
modders
have
managed
to
balance
everything
quite
well.
The
big
issue
here
is
that
there’s
a
hell
of
a
difference
between
the
“adept”
and
“expert”.
The
former
is
far
too
easy,
while
the
latter
kicks
up
the
challenge
way
too
much.

Combat
still
boils
down
to
hammering
the
attack
button
like
it
owes
you
money
or
until
your
stamina
tanks
–
whichever
comes
first.
But
Virtous
have
thrown
in
a
few
nice
additions,
namely
enemies
now
react
to
being
hit,
and
there’s
even
a
bit
of
blood
splatter.
This
makes
it
so
you
don’t
feel
like
you’re
just
swinging
at
an
imaginary
foe.
Stamina
no
longers
effects
damage,
either,
which
is
nice,
and
your
health
regenerates
outside
of
combat.
You
also
can’t
get
knocked
down
now,
unless
you
block
with
zero
stamina.

Are
these
changes
enough
to
make
the
combat
good?
No,
not
really.
The
truth
is
the
combat
is
still
quite
simplistic
and
button-mashy,
but
it’s
also
a
decent
step
up
from
2006
Oblivion,
so
that’s
cool.
Truthfully,
without
completely
rebuilding
the
combat,
there’s
very
little
Virtous
could
have
done
to
make
it
much
better.
Of
course,
being
Oblivion
you
can
always
avoid
melee
combat
altogether
by
building
yourself
as
a
sneaky
archer
or
a
powerful
magic-wielding
mage.

Naturally,
there
are
a
lot
of
areas
where
Oblivion
shows
its
nearly
2
decades
of
age.
Quests
are
mechanically
fairly
bland,
for
instance,
and
there’s
a
lot
of
exploring
of
dull
caves/dungeons/forts.
In
2006,
Bethesda
had
not
adopted
the
art
of
ensuring
dungeons
looped
back
on
themselves
so
that
you
didn’t
have
to
run
back
through,
and
the
remaster
does
nothing
to
remedy
that.
I
would
have
loved
a
teleport
option
or
something
when
you
reach
the
end
of
a
dungeon,
but
alas,
that’s
probably
asking
a
bit
much.

But
then,
what
do
you
expect
from
a
nearly
20-year-old
game?
Oblivion
is
not
a
deep
RPG
by
today’s
standards.
It
doesn’t
matter,
though,
because
what
Oblivion
might
lack
in
quest
design,
it
makes
up
for
in
other
ways
and
variety.
One
minute
you’re
a
hitman
murdering
people
in
the
name
of
the
Dark
Brotherhood,
the
next
you’re
helping
a
paranoid
dude
figure
out
if
the
entire
city
really
is
out
to
get
him.
You’ll
advance
through
the
ranks
of
the
Mage’s
Guild,
become
a
vampire
by
accident,
get
sucked
into
a
magic
painting
and
encounter
a
town
of
invisible
people.
Oblivion
contains
its
fair
share
of
darker
quest
lines
and
world
saving
nonsense,
but
it
also
has
a
lot
of
wacky
stories,
too,
that
make
it
a
joy
to
explore,
something
which
Skyrim
lost
a
little
of.

And
that’s
not
mentioning
the
fact
that
Oblivion
Remastered
contains
all
the
extra
content
that
was
launched,
from
the
player
houses
to
the
excellent
Shivering
Isles
expansion.
And
yes,
the
infamous
horse-armour
is
here,
too.
That’s
a
lot
of
bang
for
your
$50.

Somewhere
along
the
way,
you
might
even
remember
that
there’s
an
actual
main
quest
and
narrative
to
chase.
Something
about
Oblivion
gates
opening
up
across
the
land,
a
dead
emperor
and
a
long-lost
son?
That
can
probably
wait,
though,
right?

There
is
a
final
question
we
need
to
answer;
what
about
new
players?
What
about
the
people
who
never
experienced
Oblivion
and
are
approaching
this
as
a
brand-new
game
in
2025?
Unfortunately,
I
don’t
think
it’s
a
question
I
can
answer.
I’m
too
wrapped
up
in
Oblivion.
It’s
a
game
I
adore,
one
which
soaked
up
hundreds
of
hours
back
in
the
day.
It’s
difficult
for
me
to
shove
that
aside
and
imagine
what
it
would
be
like
to
play
Oblivion
in
2025
for
the
first
time
and
how
well
it
would
hold
up.
I’ll
give
it
a
go,
though:
if
you
can
remember
that
the
game
is
nearly
two
decades
old
and
laugh
at
the
absurdity
of
its
many
glitches
(holding
a
casual
conversation
with
someone
burning
to
death
in
lava,
for
example)
then
I
believe
Oblivion
is
absolutely
worth
experiencing
for
new
players.

As
a
remaster/remake,
Oblivion
Remastered
is
about
the
best
possible
package
I
could
have
imagined,
outside
actually
rebuilding
the
entire
game.
Of
course,
that
would
have
probably
ruined
the
whole
thing
because
what
even
is
Oblivion
without
its
charmingly
deranged
jank.
No,
Bethesda
and
Virtous
made
the
right
choices
by
keeping
the
core
of
Oblivion
intact
while
encasing
it
in
a
new
suit
of
shiny
armour.
The
gameplay
tweaks
here
and
there
help
smooth
over
some
of
its
wrinkles,
and
the
graphical
overhaul
is
gorgeous.
Now
go
and
give
Fallout
3
the
same
treatment,
you
cowards.
As
for
me,
I
have
some
Oblivion
gates
to
close.

*strolls
off
whistling
the
main
menu
music*