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After more than ten years of Skyrim re-releases, it’s about time another Elder Scrolls game gets a turn in the spotlight. Bethesda finally showed off the worst kept secret in gaming, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, overnight – and best of all, it’s out now.
The game is out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S, and will set you back about AU$85. It’s also available on GamePass, for you Xbox subscribers.
This ‘new’ entry in the Elder Scrolls series will return players to the continent of Tamriel, and pit them against the demonic hordes of Oblivion – a hell-like dimension that threatens to consume the world. So, fantasy DOOM? You’ve got my attention.
What is ‘The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’?
Okay, back to basics. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a fantasy RPG released by Bethesda Game Studios on the Xbox 360 in 2006. In it, players take on the role of… well… whatever they want. In classic Bethesda fashion, your character can be a warrior, or a thief, or a ranger, or a crusader, or a mage, or a spellsword, or whatever else you can think of within the character creation system, and while you’ll need to play through the opening story of the game as soon as you’re loose on the world you can decide to simply ignore the impending crisis if you’re not feeling particularly heroic.
Sure, you could be Tamriel’s one-and-only hope, or you could be a prick that steals everything that isn’t nailed down.
If you do want to play a goodie-goodie-two-shoes, though, you’ll be facing off against the encroaching realm of Oblivion, diving into dimensional portals to kill demons and Daedra, and standing up against a god of destruction. It’s pretty typical high-fantasy fare, though told in the sometimes strangely unserious way Bethesda tends to write.
The draw for these games is less so their plot and storyline, though, and more so the ability to explore and embed yourself in what feels like a living fantasy world. In Oblivion, you’ll be exploring the province of Cyrodiil, which happens to be the home province to the Empire, and by extension, the Imperials. Compared to Skyrim, the most recent Elder Scrolls game (if you can consider 2011 recent), Cyrodiil is far more ‘classic fantasy’ than ‘frozen northern reaches’, if you catch my drift.
You’ll be exploring forests, ravines, castles, ruins, and a fiery hellscape, diving into dungeons to find new weapons, armour, spells, bows, arrows, and whatever else you can carry without dying.
What’s New in the Remaster?
The remaster, though, has been given more than just a fresh coat of paint by Virtuos – the studio behind bringing the game back to life. While originally made on Bethesda’s own Creation Engine, the Oblivion Remaster is instead made on Unreal Engine 5 – which means there’ll be a lot different.
Firstly, the games graphics have been enhanced to modern standards, giving our first look at what a modern Elder Scrolls game would actually look like. Character, weapon, and armor models, as well as environmental details, have been given a nice facelift, and while the art style has seen a shift to something a bit more cartoony (it looks a lot like Avowed to me, personally) everything is vibrant and beautiful.
But it isn’t just the graphics that have been given a once over: gameplay has been changed as well. You can now sprint, thankfully, and combat animations have been completely redesigned, with new sounds, visual effects, and hit reactions delivering more weight and “flourish” to the moment-to-moment gameplay.
You’ll also enjoy a lot of rerecorded audio (as well as some meme-worthy lines left as is), and an overhauled levelling system – taking Oblivion’s overall levelling experience closer to Skyrim to “offer the best of both worlds”. Oblivion’s levelling system was pretty janky unless you had a solid plan heading into any playthrough, so this is a welcome change to casuals like me.
Where Can I Get ‘The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster’?
You can get it now on PC, Xbox Series X and S, and PlayStation 5. It’s also available on GamePass.
