Here it is the worst-kept secret in gaming over the past year. After a steady stream of leaks, rumors, and mounting frustration over how long The Elder Scrolls VI is taking, Bethesda finally blinked. With yet another Skyrim re-release threatening to become the punchline that finally tips fans over the edge, they’ve opted for a different kind of nostalgia play: a full-blown remaster of Oblivion. And let’s be honest—it was only a matter of time. Between the rising wave of YouTube retrospectives and the growing chorus of “actually, Oblivion was better than Skyrim,” it was clear the rose-tinted glasses were on, and Bethesda was paying attention. Let’s set expectations right up front: this is not Oblivion 2.0. It’s not some grand overhaul that fixes all the quirks, bugs, or bizarre design decisions that gave the original its weird charm. This is, at its core, Oblivion with a high-resolution coat of paint, better lighting, re-recorded audio in certain parts, improved draw distances, and (bless them) a much more stable frame rate on modern hardware. It looks better, it plays smoother, and that’s great. But under the hood? It’s still that same awkward, lovable game from 2006. The infamous uncanny-valley faces are slightly improved but not replaced entirely. The same voice actors still carry half the population of Cyrodiil on their backs, with lines that occasionally clip or repeat in hilarious succession. Combat is more responsive, yes, but it’s still floaty by modern standards. Bethesda hasn’t reinvented anything here—they’ve just made the old model look decent enough to roll out on a new showroom floor.

Coming back to Oblivion in 2025 is an odd experience. If you played it back in the day, the muscle memory kicks in fast. You’ll find yourself crouch-walking across cities to level your sneak stat, hoarding cheese wheels like they’re sacred artifacts, and fast-traveling away from any enemy you’re clearly not prepared for. The leveling system is still that beautiful mess where you can accidentally make the game harder by leveling up the wrong skills too quickly. It’s a game that rewards min-maxing and punishes experimentation, but weirdly, that’s part of the fun. What Oblivion still excels at, even nearly two decades later, is giving players a sense of exploration. Cyrodiil might feel smaller now compared to Skyrim’s vertical grandeur or Elden Ring’s open-world genius, but it remains densely packed with things to do. Every Ayleid ruin, Daedric shrine, and forgotten cave feels like it’s begging to be explored, even if the loot at the end is just a slightly better steel sword. The main quest is serviceable—yes, the Oblivion gates are still a bit of a slog—but the guild questlines remain the real draw. The Dark Brotherhood arc is just as twisted and compelling as you remember, and the Thieves Guild still offers some of the best quest design Bethesda has ever done.

The upgraded visuals won’t blow your mind, but they will absolutely make you say, “Oh wow, that actually looks pretty good.” The lighting, in particular, is a highlight, with golden sunsets and eerie dungeon torches casting far more atmosphere than the original engine ever could. Water looks fantastic. Textures are cleaner. Character models, while still stiff, benefit from better shading and more consistent animations. It’s not Final Fantasy VII Remake levels of overhaul, but it’s a noticeable upgrade, and one that makes exploring Cyrodiil in 2025 a more pleasant experience for the eyes. Audio-wise, Bethesda has rebalanced the mix and cleaned up some of the ambient noise issues that plagued the original release. The soundtrack remains a Jeremy Soule classic—melancholic, sweeping, and nostalgic to the core. You may find yourself pausing just to let the main theme hit once again. While most voice lines are unchanged, some background chatter and incidental audio have been improved, making the cities feel slightly more alive.

To their credit, the remaster does include a few much-needed quality-of-life features. You can now track multiple quests at once—finally. The menus have been reworked just enough to feel less like a spreadsheet and more like something designed with console players in mind. Load times are practically nonexistent, and crashes are rare. It’s not exactly a revolution, but these changes make replaying Oblivion far less of a chore and more of a joy. That said, some baffling design choices remain. Encumbrance is still a pain, inventory management still lacks sorting options, and AI pathing is as clunky as ever. Bethesda preserved the quirks, but it sometimes feels like they preserved too much.

What makes Oblivion Remastered feel worthwhile, despite all its jank and dated mechanics, is the way it captures a specific moment in gaming history. It’s a time capsule of when open-world RPGs were still experimenting with scale, player freedom, and narrative ambition. It was the awkward teenager phase of Bethesda’s design philosophy, stuck between Morrowind’s mystery and Skyrim’s polish. And in remastered form, you can now appreciate that awkwardness for what it was: ambitious, weird, and wildly fun. The game’s tone is also worth mentioning. Oblivion walks a unique line between epic fantasy and unintentional comedy. NPCs stare blankly into the void. Guards will sprint across the map to arrest you for stealing a single apple. A man named “Adoring Fan” will follow you to the ends of the Earth with a grin so wide it could be a war crime. These things aren’t bugs—they’re features. And thankfully, they’re still here.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered isn’t trying to replace Skyrim or reignite the franchise. It’s a celebration of a cult classic, lovingly updated just enough to make it playable in the modern age without losing the messy charm that made it memorable. If you’ve never played Oblivion, this is the best version to start with—but go in expecting something that feels older than it looks. And if you have played it before, well… get ready to accidentally punch a merchant in the face while trying to sell a potion and instantly get chased out of town by five guards again. Just like old times.

Score: 8 out of 10

Reviewed on Xbox Series X