'Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster' First Impressions

As someone who is a husband, father of two (about to be three), and a full time teacher, I do not have much time for video games, one of my favorite pastimes. It is for this reason that I try choosing what games I play carefully, sticking to single player, story driven games (most of the time), and picking only what I am truly interested in. And even then, I can expect to have one, maybe two, gaming sessions every two weeks or so, and not long ones at that. And yet, I am repeatedly drawn to surprisingly long games, such as Ghost of Tsushima or God of War or Elden Ring or the most recent game I completed- Baldur's Gate III, which took me exactly one year to complete, not playing any other video games aside from some Nintendo with my wife and the only multiplayer game I enjoy, Chivalry II. Can you see a pattern in what type of games I like?

For this reason, when The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster was announced, I was both excited and nervous, as I knew this may be the game that takes the rest of my year, and yet it was a chance to dive into Tamriel once more, a world I have spent countless hours in with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, having completed so many playthroughs of that game that I cannot even count them anymore. Luckily, I was able to download Oblivion Remaster over this past weekend and, with the generosity and understanding of my wife, have already completed two whole gaming sessions... ending with a glitched goblin horde overwhelming me and still not having delivered the Emperor's Amulet to Jauffre. If you do not know Oblivion, delivering the amulet is the first mission you receive once completing the prologue. After pouring six hours into the game, I had not completed a single story mission nor started any faction quests nor have I even been to the Imperial City. Instead I have been eternally distracted, having tackled multiple dungeons, found a bottle of rare wine, managed to loot a full set of steel armor, become attached to the skeleton I conjure whenever I go into battle, hunted slaughterfish for a random fisherman, walked everywhere until I got a free horse (and free horse armor!), assisted a captain of the guard find love with the owner of a tavern, broke all of my lockpicks on a single chest, and of course assisted two sons in defending their family farm, after the three of us died from an entire goblin army the first go around.

And I have to say... it feels so good to be back in Tamriel. Despite The Elder Scrolls being a franchise with five mainline entries, most fans of the series actually started with the fifth mainline entry Skyrim. That is not to say the other games were unpopular, quite the opposite actually, but it is undeniable how big of an impact Skyrim had on gaming. However, I was not one of those people. I actually started with Oblivion... but I never beat the game. It was not for a lack of trying, nor was it because I did not like the game, rather I only played it because my brother borrowed the game from one of his friends so he could play it on our Xbox 360. I loved every moment I played Oblivion, and was sad that my brother had to eventually give the game back, but that only made me more excited to play Skyrim once that game was announced. All those years since that initial one time, incomplete playthrough, I never did get to play Oblivion again, and yet I fell in love with the world of Tamriel.

The greatest piece of Elder Scrolls for me is the lore behind the characters, stories, and the world. While I love to explore and roleplay, it is the lore that keeps me exploring and roleplaying, and being able to experience it almost brand new for myself in Oblivion Remaster has been an absolute treat. From the Ayleid dungeons that each have their secrets, the creation of the Cyrodiilic Empire, the blood of the Septims, and so much more, I have already become completely engrossed into Cyrodiil all over again, just as I was when I was a kid and just as I have for years in Skyrim.

But more than just the lore, the gameplay is actually quite enjoyable. I know that Bethesda games are not exactly known for their impressive gameplay, but I actually loved Skyrim's gameplay and likewise do Oblivion. However, they each have their pros and cons. I decided for this playthrough to create a slightly altered battlemage class, with focuses on athletics, heavy armour, blades, restoration, destruction, and conjuration, the latter of which interested me the most. In Skyrim, I often wanted to get into the magic, but it was rarely a viable option. Magic in that game was too weak and too expensive, despite my love for the atronachs that could be summoned. However, in Oblivion magic reigns supreme. I often find myself using my magical abilities to defeat even the most basic of enemies, from wolves to goblins to even other conjurers, my magical abilities have been defining my time, with my steel longsword used for any enemies that get too close.

While magic may have been better in Oblivion, the game is undoubtedly worse than its successor when it comes to both archery and close combat. Slow and stunted, neither swinging a sword nor bludgeon, nor drawing back a bow, bring much excitement. While it is fine gameplay, I am never yearning to get into a melee as I was in Skyrim. And yes, Bethesda's combat has never been award winning, but with Oblivion the game's age certainly shows, and anyone who claims this game should be called a remake instead of a remaster should just be pointed directly to the combat mechanics.

The other place where Oblivion falters is actually in exploration. I previously said that I love exploring in Oblivion, and that is true, but I simultaneously get way too anxious, not because of anything too difficult or terrifying, similar to an Elden Ring experience (which actually worked wonderfully there), but rather due to the fear that if I discover a new location, I better explore all of it now in fear that I will not return again. The fear of not returning comes from simply forgetting whether I have been there before or not. A feature of Skyrim that I wish was reimplemented was showing whether or not you have cleared out a dungeon. I am aware that, again, Oblivion is an older game, but even so, this could have been made into a new option for players, and one that I think Bethesda should seriously consider implementing in the future.

While The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster is by no means a perfect game, it is still a great one, because Oblivion was already a great game. The updated visuals and quality of life improvements (with hopefully more on the way) have only reassured me that I made a good purchase, and I am excited to continue exploring Cyrodiil for the remainder of this year. And hopefully next year we will finally get The Elder Scrolls VI... or the next year... or the next... but please no later than that.