Naturally, the last couple of weeks have been full of misty-eyed nostalgia for Oblivion Remastered. Those who spent dozens or even hundreds of hours wandering around the 2006 original are understandably gushing over it once more. Beloved characters, famous bugs, and secret easter eggs all remain, now with a lick of Unreal Engine 5 paint. But take off the rose-tinted glasses, and how does Oblivion's world stack up? That's what I – a heathen whose Elder Scrolls credentials stretch to a handful of hours in Skyrim – wanted to find out. Plus, as a huge fan of Bethesda's Fallout games, could it convince me that I sided with the wrong RPG series all this time?
At its first real opportunity, open-world game. After emerging from the opening section in the sewers, it immediately convinced me that the extremely important and extremely urgent main story quest I'd been given could wait. The on-screen prompt saying I could explore the world at my own pace only validated what I instantly thought the minute I saw that vista of the lake, the island, the ruins, the mountains beyond. It was an opening view that begged to be explored – Bethesda is rather good at that initial world reveal moment, isn't it?
After hours of cave clearing and ancient ruin touring, I finally force myself to pursue the big red quest marker. While I had the option of fast traveling my way over to my objective, those initial hours of exploration persuaded me that going on foot was the better option. I tend to limit myself with fast travel usage anyway when I get stuck into a big RPG, but I'm struggling to recall a time where I've wanted to use it less than I do when playing Oblivion Remastered. That may just be the highest praise I can bestow on it.
What I've found especially interesting is that its world remains compelling even when there are no tantalizing visual queues to tell you where to look next. If you take a more modern RPG – say, something like Avowed, a game I thought had an enjoyable and well-crafted fantasy world – there is almost always a landmark in your field of view, or an obvious path to lead you on to the next destination. This, of course, happens in Oblivion Remastered too – a track to follow here, a distant silhouette of an ancient ruin there – but nowhere near as frequently and blatantly.
There were quite a few times when I would find myself walking through fields or a mountain with nothing to aim at, but I would still keep walking. I was even enjoying the remoteness and the scenery in these moments. And , I've never stepped foot in Cyrodiil before this. I'm not energized and motivated by trekking across mountains to track down old points of interest I fondly. The fact its almost 20-year-old world still draws me in, even as a newcomer, is a testament to the strength of its design.
I'm unsure exactly how deep into the main quest I am, but I have a feeling I'm not very far along at all, despite having clocked up close to 30 hours. I've got the scenery, the moreish exploration, and the expectation of finding something surprising to thank for that.
ittedly, there's still quite a lot about Oblivion Remastered that feels dated and causes some grumbles, but to be quite honest, I couldn't care less about that. The places and people of Cyrodiil alone make up for Oblivion's shortcomings – it's a world that puts a lot of modern RPGs to shame, despite its age.
All of this is to say that even if you've never played TES 4, or any Elder Scrolls game for that matter, Oblivion Remastered can still suck you in and hold you there all these years later. I'm living proof that it can be enjoyed without the nostalgia factor.
In fact, I think that my time with Oblivion Remastered has made me feel a certain… shame? Frustration? Regret, maybe? I've devoted so much time to the Fallout universe over the years, and rightly so, but why didn't I give Oblivion and the rest of the Elder Scrolls series more of a shot?
It was a long time ago, so I'm unsure why Skyrim never hooked me when I initially tried it, and why the Elder Scrolls series largely ed me by. All I know is that my adventures in Cyrodiil are as painful as they are pleasing – I'm kicking myself for not giving The Elder Scrolls the same kind of attention as I did Fallout.
So, to all those who squealed with glee when those leaks first emerged, I get it now. One of my favorite new PC games of 2025 so far is a 19-year-old RPG – I certainly wouldn't have predicted that.