“Find him, and close shut the doors of Oblivion.” Those were the final words uttered by Emperor Uriel Septum—played by none other than Star Trek‘s Patrick Stewart—before an assassin leaped out of the shadows to cut him down. That not only capped Elder Scrolls IV’s tutorial and began the game in earnest, but also kick-started my Elder Scrolls love nearly 20 years ago.
(Credit: Bethesda Game Studios/PCMag)
At the time, open-world games were dominated by urban, Grand Theft Auto-like titles, so The Elder Scrolls IV was my first experience with a fantasy realm cut from that template. Even after hours of fast traveling, horseback riding, and slowly jogging from point A to point B, there were more quests to find, gear to loot, and havoc to wreak. Oblivion was rough around the edges, but it touched me in a way that contemporary Bethesda releases, such as Fallout 4, Skyrim, and Starfield, do not.
I was surprised by how much Oblivion was ingrained in my brain when I loaded up the remaster on my PlayStation 5. I was also surprised by how much of that original title remains in the new version. From the Lord of the Rings-esque opening track to the weird, center-of-the-screen zoom that frames every conversation, it’s immediately apparent that 2025’s Oblivion Remastered is nearly the same game as the 2006 release, albeit wrapped in an Unreal Engine shell.
(Credit: Bethesda Game Studios/PCMag)
That’s not to say that nothing has changed, and Oblivion Remastered’s new coat of paint comes with art direction shifts that may not resonate with fans of the original. Upon stepping out of the Imperial Sewers and into the world of Cyrodiil, I immediately noticed that the high-contrast green hills I remembered were now muted and shaded more realistically. This gives Oblivion Remastered some visual inconsistencies, as some outfits and characters look noticeably dull. But for every ugly NPC, I found a gorgeous Aurora Borealis stretched across the night sky, or stared at the shadows dancing behind a burning torch illuminating a dark dungeon.
I was also impressed by Oblivion Remastered’s sound design, which preserves much of the original release’s charm. The iconic score is just as I remember it, but most importantly, the fully voiced characters return. Performances from notable actors like Sean Bean and Patrick Stewart stand out, but the real stars are the voice actors who portray dozens of unique characters throughout Cyrodiil.
(Credit: Bethesda Game Studios/PCMag)
They remind me of a community theatre doing medieval impressions at the local Renaissance Fair. I mean that with love. However, bizarre line deliveries and intonations make it hard not to laugh. Couple that with bugs and the less-than-stellar AI, and you’ll encounter many bizarre interactions.
In one instance, as I traveled to an objective, I spotted an elf running across the plains with her fist up, punching every deer in her way. In another case, I had just closed an Oblivion Gate, and as soon as the guard captain congratulated me, he became disgruntled and told me to get out of his face. As I walked through the survivors’ camp after a Daedra attack, three characters began talking over one another, spouting the same dialogue.
Those moments helped solidify Oblivion as an unintended comedic masterpiece. As modern games become obsessed with movie-quality performances and hyper-realistic graphics, it’s nice to step back and appreciate the jank that persists underneath Oblivion Remastered’s Unreal Engine glow. That authenticity defines and elevates Oblivion for the same reasons an earnest B-movie becomes a cult classic.
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(Credit: Bethesda Game Studios/ PCMag)
That said, Oblivion’s open world, as new as it was at the time, wasn’t the real reason I fell in love with it. Rather, I was obsessed with the idea of consequences. More so than being good or evil, Oblivion remembers your actions and responds accordingly. Killing the wrong person gets you kicked out of guilds, while other characters react to you negatively when you try to steal from them. Guards chase you down and toss you into jail. Quests become inaccessible if you take the wrong action. This made the game world feel alive in a way that many games do not. That was true in 2006, and it remains true in the 2025 remaster.
