Review in Progress: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

Just like a surprise appearance from a member of the Mythic Dawn, ready to strike, the remaster of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion snuck up on us—and it’s a delightful surprise I’m eager to embrace. Being one of my all-time favorite RPGs, it’s not shocking that I’ve already spent countless hours immersed in its world again. I’ve closed a dozen Oblivion gates as the hero of Kvatch, cut deals with various Daedric gods, battled to join the ranks of arena champions in the Imperial City, and I’m steadily progressing through some of the faction questlines. So far, I’m genuinely impressed with the overhaul this remaster has received. Having revisited the original game recently, its flaws were fresh in my mind, making the remarkable improvements in the UI, revised voicework, and especially the graphics, all the more striking. However, the game’s quirks do persist, such as clunky animations when mounting a horse, broken questlines, and the occasional framerate drop. Yet, even if nostalgia isn’t a significant factor for me, I’m thoroughly enjoying this quirky open-world adventure once again.

Undoubtedly, the visual upgrade is the standout feature of Oblivion Remastered. Although it doesn’t quite match today’s cutting-edge graphics, when compared to its 2006 version, the results are astonishing. The entire landscape feels vividly detailed, with a draw distance that my younger self could only dream of. The enhancements in lighting, shadows, and especially lip syncing are so dramatic they might catch you off guard. That said, some quirky elements remain unchanged like the NPC faces, which are often unappealingly cartoonish and occasionally cross-eyed. Truthfully, that oddly unsettling design feels like a homage to the original’s quirks. No, not every character or creature is as polished as in other big-budget games of 2025, but it’s still a remarkable transformation. It’s one of those instances where my memory painted a much rosier version of the past—until I was reminded how much progress has been made here.

A particularly impactful addition to this remaster has been the humble sprint button. For those who’ve forgotten, or never knew, Oblivion originally didn’t have a sprint option—wild, right? While I’m not particularly thrilled about sprinting sapping my stamina (a pet peeve of mine in RPGs), it’s a worthwhile trade-off. This change has effectively shrunk the vast map, particularly cities and dungeons, which I can now traverse at a much brisker pace. This also encourages me to invest more in skills and spells that boost stamina, given how crucial it’s become for nearly every action. Despite needing to fiddle more with stamina management, exploring familiar territories at this new pace is refreshingly less tedious.

On top of these changes, there’s a slew of updates to the UI, skills, and leveling mechanics, along with a fresh feature dubbed Character Origins that tweaks your initial stats. The new UI aligns with modern sensibilities, bringing in a host of enhancements you might not immediately notice. The compass now sits atop your screen, offering greater detail; health, magicka, and stamina bars are spread more logically across the display rather than cluttering one corner. Menus are now more intuitive, allowing quicker access to spells and character stats. Some quirks remain, like the quest log disrupting gameplay by appearing right in the middle of your screen whenever you make progress in a quest, but these issues have not been particularly bothersome. I do need additional time to fully grasp how the updated leveling and skill systems impact gameplay.

Although Virtuous Games spearheaded this reimagining, at heart, it’s unmistakably a Bethesda game, bugs and all. I’ve encountered a variety of oddities, like an Oblivion gate vanishing in front of me or an NPC walking off mid-quest, ignoring my character despite needing to interact with them. Still, I managed to move forward in that quest, so no major setbacks yet. The game does have its fair share of performance hiccups, such as dropping frames whenever autosave kicks in or during large battles with those pesky scamps in Kvatch on Xbox Series X. Many of these issues are typical and don’t significantly hinder enjoyment, but it’s still somewhat disappointing that two decades haven’t resolved these familiar quirks.

That’s all I have for now, but I plan to deliver a full review soon. My goal is to complete the main story quest, visit the Shivering Isles, and possibly cause a bit of chaos across Cyrodiil just to hear the Imperial guards recite their iconic arrest lines over and over. Alright, that’s enough from me. Time to go and maybe acquire a vampirism affliction or something. Farewell!