It’s no mystery that Bethesda’s goal is to port Skyrim to every console possible, including the Nintendo Switch and VR technology, though this may not be the case for future games and the PS5 following the Bethesda acquisition by Microsoft. It’s become both a pop culture classic and a global phenomenon, meaning that bringing it to the next generation of consoles would be another easy money-grab for Bethesda, and now Microsoft as well.
But what about The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion? It received just as good of scores as its successor, being critically noted for its expansive open-world gameplay, creativity, and impressive graphics for its time. To this day, Oblivion is noted as being one of the best action-adventure RPGs of all time, with many Bethesda fans claiming it is a better game than Skyrim because of its story and quest elements.
But strangely, it hasn’t received a port to future consoles or a remaster the way that Skyrim or even Morrowind has with the Elder Scrolls Online expansion pass that allowed players to return to the familiar province. But if Bethesda were to put the time and money into an Oblivion remake by making improvements to gameplay mechanics while keeping with the iconic tone, it could end up being as successful as the original.
While Skyrim naturally improved any many mechanics seen in its predecessor, some great ones found in Oblivion were left out. For example, Spellmaking was one of the most loved, unique features that the fourth main series installment had to offer. It was among the most powerful perks available to the player, allowing them to create custom spells after joining the Mages Guild. It essentially allowed the player complete freedom to ridiculously damaging spells or low-costing supportive spells, really anything the player could think of. Spells were also watered down in the fifth installment, and some fun ones had been done away with, such as levitation.
Many consider Skyrim to be a shepherd in the open-world genre, setting the standard for variety in side quests and the amount of content available for the player to get lost in. But rather, it was Oblivion that made the big turn in the Elder Scrolls series and did it more successfully than Skyrim. While Skyrim‘s questlines were linear and followed a simple path, Oblivion‘s quests took the player down a windy road of twists and turns. The Dark Brotherhood is a great example that many fans who’ve played both games often compare; while Skyrim‘s is still fun and leads to a somewhat sad ending, overall it feels lacking in comparison. Oblivion‘s Dark Brotherhood quests, on the other hand, bring the player into a dark murder mystery campaign.
On another note in regards to variety, Oblivion holds the upper hand in landscape variety as well. Skyrim is mostly a snowy tundra, and most of its lands are designed as such. Some areas of the map are warmer and are covered in grassy plains and turning leaves instead, but many of its towns look identical to one another. Aside from bigger cities with their own personalities, like Riften and Solitude, the smaller settlements have little variety so finding new ones can often be uninteresting.
But at the center of Tamriel, Cyrodiil has much more variety to offer. From the Black Marsh to snowscapes of Skyrim, they’re all found in bits and pieces in Oblivion. And Cyrodiil’s cities are simply larger, with many more citizens weaving through them. Though Skyrim‘s tundra is nostalgic for many gamers, seeing the immersion of unique landscapes of Cyrodiil once again in modern-day graphics would be refreshing to explore.
If Bethesda were to move forward with an Oblivion remake, it wouldn’t hold up against modern gaming and criticism with a simple remaster. It would need to be a full remake, such as recently seen with Final Fantasy 7, with both completely reformed graphics and updated gameplay mechanics while keeping with the original tone fans came to love.
In addition to generally improved combat thanks to the classic dual-wielding feature, Oblivion could also take after Skryim‘s extensive skill trees and leveling options. The option to pay gold to level up to a certain point made level some little-used classes much easier. The player also has complete freedom in choosing where skill points go, offering full customization towards characters, even if many players end up making a sneaky archer time and time again. The 18 specialized skills in Skyrim that each offer several perks was a great improvement on Oblivion‘s 8 attributes that only offer new abilities few and far between. It’s simple, yet elegantly done.
The fourth installment also saw a groundbreaking 200 hours of gameplay, which was a big deal for its time. Other Bethesda games would continue this trend, which means an Oblivion remake shouldn’t settle for being the same. It’s a great opportunity to add even more content that dives into the lore fans have since learned in Skyrim and Elder Scrolls Online while bringing them back to the province of Cyrodiil. Additionally, it would be great to see the many DLC packs such as Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles included in a remake.
Though Skyrim performed better in terms of gameplay mechanics, many argue that Oblivion is overall a more interesting game because of its better-written storylines and intriguing factions. But this means that should Bethesda move forward and combine Oblivion‘s amazing story and narrative with Skyrim‘s enhanced mechanics, a future game would likely be a huge hit, even it means starting nearly from scratch.
But for now, fans may have to settle with mods that bring Oblivion back to life via the fifth installment and mods, such as Oblivion Remastered from modder Levi, or the upcoming Skyblivion mod that will run the complete fourth game on Skyrim‘s engine. But it would be simply stunning to see Bethesda revisit the old masterpiece.
An Oblivion remake is not in development.
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