I am a huge fan ofThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivionand have been since I was quite young. It was my introduction to Bethesda’s style of game as well as the first-person RPG genre.Oblivionalso served as the bedrock of my cringe-worthy childhood YouTube channel, but the less said about that, the better. I have lots of fond memories of sitting at my tiny desk in front of my big blocky white monitor and loading upOblivion, hearing the music blast through the tinny speakers, and feeling immediately excited.
So, it will come as no surprise that I am excited about therumoredOblivionUE5 remakecoming from Virtuos Studios, a support developer I hadn’t heard of until theCyberpunk 20772.2 update. While I’m not terribly fond of UE5 - as I believe it makes everything look like a photorealistic glossy congealed mess - I am keen to jump back intoOblivionto relive my childhood memories. In fact,I would go as far as to say that I am more excited about this unannounced remake of a game from 2006 than I am aboutThe Elder Scrolls 6.
The Oblivion Remake Rumors Have Me More Excited Than TES 6
It Somehow Feels More Real
It is important to clarify that the rumoredOblivionremake remains unannounced. Initially, Bethesda was going to release a remaster of bothOblivionandFallout 3, as revealed by leaked FTC documents during thecontroversial acquisition of Activision Blizzard. However, as that never transpired,it was claimed that a full-blown remake ofOblivionwas coming, with various sources seemingly proving its existence. I’m always a skeptic when it comes to rumors, but, as much as I’ve tried not to get too drawn in by it all, I can’t help but feel a little giddy.
What has surprised me though ishow quickly my excitement for this unannouncedOblivionremake superseded my ever-dwindling excitement for the upcomingTES 6. When it was initially announced during the now regrettable showcase, I was overjoyed, imagining how Bethesda could follow up one of the most immersive fantasy RPGs of all time. However, it has been six years since its reveal, and I am growing tired of waiting for Xbox to givedetails aboutTES 6and its seemingly nonexistent release date.
Starfield Has One Major Lesson To Teach The Elder Scrolls 6
Players need Bethesda to learn from one critical launch failure with Starfield so that the Elder Scrolls 6 can avoid the same fate on release
The Elder Scrolls 6no longer feels real to me. It’s not that Bethesda has taken too much time to announce it, although that is a huge factor. Rather,I’m struggling to imagine whatTES 6would even look like at this point. Bethesda hasn’t developed a fantasy RPG in some time, sticking closely to the sci-fi first-person shooter genre instead. That isn’t inherently an issue, but it also means that I have no idea whether it is even capable of making something likeSkyrimanymore, especially whenStarfieldis supposedly the best it can do in this next-gen era.
The Oblivion Remake Is Building On A Better Foundation Than TES 6
Bethesda’s Game Design Has Changed Dramatically
This has led me to believe thatthe originalOblivionexperience, warts and all, offers a far better foundation for a modern AAA experience than Bethesda’s current output. Not only is Bethesda so far removed from its glory days, but, more importantly, its design philosophy has changed exponentially. When I look at Bethesda’s recent offerings, especially thecritically pannedStarfield, I find it hard to believe thatTES 6could grow from those foundations.
It’s not just the endless loading screens and meaningless choices that makeStarfieldfeel somehow last-genin comparison toOblivion, but rather its complete lack of immersion.Oblivion, as streamlined as it was when compared to even its predecessors, felt like it was doing something different with its dynamic, albeit hilarious, NPC interactions, multi-layered quest design, and intriguing worldbuilding. To put it simply,Oblivionmade me feel like a hero exploring a real world in a way thatStarfieldsimply couldn’t, even with its hundreds of planets.
Oblivion’sunderlying game design, as rigid and often buggy as it can feel, is a far better foundation to build a AAA remake from thanStarfieldor evenFallout 76andFallout 4are forThe Elder Scrolls 6.
Oblivion’sunderlying game design, as rigid and often buggy as it can feel, is a far better foundation to build a AAA remake fromthanStarfieldor evenFallout 76andFallout 4are forThe Elder Scrolls 6. If Bethesda were to take everything it has learned fromStarfieldand createTES 6from that, it would likely end up an uninteresting, unimmersive, and deeply unsatisfying experience. However, Virtuos has one of the best RPGs to build from, a game that set the bar high for immersive roleplaying experiences that often even outmatchesSkyrim.
The Oblivion Remake Has The Potential To Fix Its Greatest Flaws
It Is Rumored To Be A Full-Blown Remake
TheOblivionremake still has a lot of work to do as, no matter how innovative the originalOblivion is, it is still a nearly two-decade-old game. Its animations are janky and often unpleasant, its combat is shallow, its armor skills make no sense, and its dialogue, as hilarious and often truly bizarre as it is, needs redoing. Virtuos also hasn’t really proven itself as a developer capable of handling such a big project. While it has worked on some of the biggest and best games in a supporting role, it has never created a full-blown remake like this.
It isn’t that I don’t have faith in Virtuos, as I do feel like it likely has the talent to pull something like this off. However, considering it’s competing with alovingly crafted overhaul modthat is not only recreating all ofOblivionwithinSkyrimbut adding new music and expanding mechanics, it’ll need more than simply updating the visuals and calling it a day. Luckily, a report byMP1sthas claimed thatVirtuos is modernizing every aspect of the original experience to make it the definitive experience.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Needs To Learn This Important Lesson From 2024’s Best RPG
There are a lot of important lessons that The Elder Scrolls 6 can learn from 2024’s best RPG, especially when it comes to immersive world design.
That is what has me more excited about theOblivionremake thanTES 6. Because, as much as I really loveOblivion, it can be really hard to go back to it now. A remake that not only improves the visuals but also makes it play as I remember the original game, not as it actually is, would be a truly wonderful thing. Being able to jump back intoOblivionin a way that doesn’t tarnish its legacy, but rather elevates it, would be a dream come true, and something that I fearTES 6will never be capable of.
