When the word “remaster” comes to mind, we often think of a visual upgrade and some adjustments to an already great game. In short, remasters are typically ports with improved graphics, higher resolution and frame rates, and other quality of life enhancements that retain the identity of the original game. As a remaster, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is built different. Bethesda and Virtuos essentially kept the core of the original 2006 RPG and upgraded nearly every aspect of the game, from visuals to gameplay and dialogue to leveling systems.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered blurs the lines between remakes and remasters, and although the conversations this may bring could be quite annoying, I certainly welcome it if we get games of this caliber. Utilizing Unreal Engine 5.1 on top of the Creation Engine, Virtuos brings the land of Cyrodiil into the modern era, making this the most visually robust entry in the entire series. This is an incredible facelift on top of the original game, and those who have and haven’t played it will certainly find something refreshing and new, especially those who completed all of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered brings quite a stunning RPG experience to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, and I had the pleasure of checking out the PS5 version to see how it holds up.
Let the Wings of Kynareth Take You Anywhere in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
The entire structure of the original game is kept the same in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, so you will be waking up in that Imperial prison cell, seeing Emperor Uriel Septim’s final moments, and embarking on a quest in Cyrodiil as a hero in the making. I only played a few dozen hours of the original game on Xbox 360, so much of my time with that game has faded to the deepest recesses of my memory. I felt like I was playing an entirely new game, especially when I exited the sewers and found myself right outside the Imperial City of Cyrodiil. That amazing sense of wonder is maintained, if not amplified.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is extremely immersive. Hearing an uncompressed version of Wings of Kynareth while Cyrodiil felt surreal, and the use of dynamic time of day and weather makes this rendition of Oblivion’s game world superb and definitive. Everything looks impressive and believable, unlike many of the fan-made Unreal Engine concepts we’ve seen in recent years for remakes of games. Every detail of this game has been meticulously improved, from foliage to the world map design and even the fabrics and materials found on armor.
If you played the original Oblivion, you will also certainly notice the quality of life changes. The Clairvoyance spell from Skyrim is here, allowing you to more easily traverse in and out of areas and dungeons. In fact, I found more use for it in Oblivion Remastered than in Skyrim. Spawn location rules were tweaked, and there were some changes to monster level scaling, which were certainly felt. Although I play on Adept difficulty, there’s a fair amount of challenge to be had compared to Skyrim’s equivalent difficulty setting.
A Swifter Sword
The combat system of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered has been greatly tweaked, along with the overall feel of movement. Blade and blunt weapon combat feels dynamic in battle due to new animations and behavior, leveling balance is more in tune with the likes of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and the use of new sound effects and 3D audio makes everything feel more immersive. The overall locomotion rework, along with the addition of sprinting and improved sneaking, makes the remaster’s combat feel more fluid and fast-paced in some instances.
The core experience of the original Oblivion is largely preserved, however. There’s still the wealth of skills and attributes to consider and level up, including light and heavy armor, security, acrobatics, and much more. Those coming from Skyrim will notice that Oblivion’s RPG systems are slightly more in-depth, but these systems are easy to understand and get used to. Moreover, many of the unique mechanics from Oblivion are back and reworked, including the Persuasion mini-game.
After spending roughly 35 hours in the game, and being sidetracked so much from the main story, I can safely say the combat in Oblivion Remastered is very fun but clunky at times. This is still a Creation Engine-based game after all, so the quirks and “features” of the original still play a role in determining what your overall experience of this game will be.
Modernized for Current Hardware
The user interface/experience in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is great, retaining the design philosophy of the original game. The first- and third-person camera views work very well, and the controls were exactly what I expected coming from Skyrim. Oblivion has been modernized quite well, but it does run into some issues every now and then. This remaster makes it clear that Unreal Engine 5.1 is still quite taxing on hardware, including the base PlayStation 5.
Even on Performance mode, there are plenty of instances of frame rate stuttering and hanging on PS5, along with the occasional crash. This can especially be observed when exiting out of a dungeon, since the game takes some seconds to fully load all of the Nanite and Lumen-based effects and any ray tracing settings that are enabled. There were also times were lighting was not loading into the game world correctly, resulting in illuminated spots throughout the world where more precise and accurate lighting was supposed to be found. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is somewhat ambitious for the PS5, but when it runs well, it plays very well.
Despite that, I really can’t stop myself from playing more The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. The game’s current issues don’t take away much from the overall experience in the game. The use of quicksave and manual saves meant I didn’t lose out on any progress at all. At the end of the day, the remaster uses the Creation Engine at its base, but it doesn’t feel dated. I haven’t run into any quest- or game-breaking bugs either, which is a plus.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Overdelivers on Expectations
Bethesda’s official reveal for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered truly hyped me up, but actually playing the game impressed me even further. It’s clear that this remaster is a labor of love and wasn’t exaggerated. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered sets a new standard for not only remasters from Bethesda but the company’s future games as well. My expectations were shattered, and I’m eagerly looking forward to spending even more time in Cyrodiil as I uncover everything it has to offer.
What comes next? A Fallout 3 remaster or a revisit to The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind with major improvements akin to Oblivion Remastered? Only time will tell, but this release certainly makes me hopeful for what we could see in The Elder Scrolls VI and future Bethesda games once again. There’s plenty more to take away from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, and you can expect a review from Final Weapon at a later date, so stay tuned.
Disclaimer: Bethesda provided a PlayStation 5 copy of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered for review purposes.
