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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Refurbishes A 2006 Classic
In a livestream on Tuesday, April 22, Bethesda Game Studios and Virtuos revealed The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. It’s a brand-new version of Bethesda’s classic Cyrodiil-set RPG from 2006, giving it a fresh coat of paint for the new generation of consoles. While it’s still the same RPG we all know and love at its core, it still offers a comprehensive overhaul of the original.
As soon as you boot up The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, some clear improvements show themselves. If you’re wondering whether or not this remaster is worth checking out on PS5 or through Xbox Game Pass on PC and Xbox Series X|S because many other games are coming out right now, this comprehensive list and enhancements can help you make that decision.
An Unreal Engine 5 Overhaul
The most notable difference with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is that it now runs in Unreal Engine 5 rather than the Gamebryo engine on which the original was created. This means the remaster features a drastically more detailed visual overhaul with improved textures, character, models animations, and lighting that would never have been possible on Xbox 360.
The upgrade to Unreal Engine 5 means Oblivion Remastered has more detailed lip-syncing animations, new visual assets all created from scratch, and realistic lighting that changes based on the time of day, player’s location, and other factors. It’s certainly the best-looking Elder Scrolls game yet.
Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles Are Included
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion got two expansions: Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles. While these were previously only available as part of the Game of the Year Edition of the original, they are included in Oblivion Remastered from the get-go. That means you won’t have to worry about this not being a complete version of the game, unlike the Switch 2 Edition of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. You will still have to pay for horse armor, though.
Leveling Up Has Been Reworked
In The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Virtuos made leveling up a simpler process. In retrospect, the original had a somewhat cumbersome leveling system based around Major Skills chosen by the player early on in their journey. Now, players can simply apply Virtue Points to Attributes like Strength, Intelligence, Willpower, Agility, Speed, Endurance, Personality, and Luck upon a level-up.
This should feel more familiar to fans of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It also leads into all of the remaster’s general UI improvements, which drop some of the style of the original’s menus for better clarity and usability.
There Are Newly Recorded Lines of Dialogue
Due to file size restrictions with the original, many of Oblivion’s NPCs shared a voice actor. For Oblivion Remastered, Virtuos and Bethesda went back and recorded new lines of dialogue so each different race of NPC has more unique voices. While this was a charming oddity of the original, the new voice acting gives Oblivion’s NPCs feel more lively and diverse than they did before.
Sprinting Has Been Added
Believe it or not, it wasn’t possible to sprint in the original version of Oblivion. Now, through a small but important quality-of-life improvement, players are able to do so. This should make exploring Cyrodiil more enjoyable and bring Oblivion Remastered’s game feel more in line with Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Starfield.
Playing In Third-Person Feels Better
Playing Oblivion in third-person always felt a bit janky, but it feels better in this remaster. Players can enable an on-screen cursor in third-person, making it a little more obvious where exactly your character is aiming in third-person. Playing in third-person will allow you to appreciate the visual upgrades of the remaster a little bit more without losing any of the control capabilities of a first-person view. If you’ve historically been hesitant to play Oblivion in third-person, it should feel a lot better to do so with this remaster.
Fights Now Have More Sound And Visual Effects
One final way in which The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered improves upon the original is by adding more sound effects, haptic feedback, and visual effects to each flight. These blood splatters, controller vibrations, and metal-clinging sounds are a small touch, but make everything feel all the more lively.
Bethesda said in a message on X that the goal of this remaster was to present the original “as you remember it playing it, but seen through today’s technology.” By looking at all of these improvements, it’s clear Bethesda did just that. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered still feels a lot like the original; it just looks and plays a lot more like a modern game now.
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