Like many other Elder Scrolls fans, I dove straight into The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered when it was released. With a wonderful dose of nostalgia, stepping back into Cyrodiil seems like the perfect way to fill the long gap until the next installment of the series. However, the more I played, the more my mind drifted to how stripped back many of Skyrim's mechanics and features were, and this only got worse as I started playing through one of my favorite guild questlines. 3z1m51

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered took everyone by surprise when it was first announced - well, aside from those constantly online - especially considering it was shadow dropped. However, that didn't stop it from reaching number one in the charts and having a staggeringly high player count for any game, let alone a single-player title. You would expect, then, of the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people playing Oblivion Remastered, that at least the majority of them would have beaten the game's campaign. Right?

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered continues the series' tradition of cultivating an enthusiastic modding scene, and a new mod makes sweeping improvements to how NPCs behave throughout Cyrodiil. Oblivion Remastered makes plenty of changes to the original, but it's still Oblivion at its core, and very much feels like a game from 2006.

A new mod for The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredreimagines the game's lighting, bringing it to life through well-placed lighting fixtures. Bethesda's faithful recreation of Oblivion brings the classic 2006 title to modern gamers, complete with an upgraded look and plenty of quality-of-life updates.

There's no denying that The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered's premade difficulty settings feel a bit flawed. While the original Oblivion featured a slider that could incrementally adjust damage dealt and taken, Oblivion Remastered streamlined things to a few bespoke increments. If these were well-tuned, that might be an improvement, but the average player is unlikely to fall in love with any of the options.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is, for a lot of people, myself included, a genuinely astonishing release that couldn't have been further from our 2025 bingo cards. The fact that Oblivion is not only playable on modern hardware in 2025 but has also had a major visual facelift as well as numerous gameplay enhancements is as baffling as it is genuinely incredible. Being able to bathe in so much nostalgia as I roam the wilds of Cyrodiil is a pleasure I'm extremely grateful for, and I can't wait to see what Virtuos and Bethesda cook up next.

It doesn't take long to build up a massive inventory in Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, but whenever you're making space, there's one unassuming material you should hang on to. In typical Elder Scrolls fashion, the world of Cyrodiil is filled to the brim with items and materials to earn, loot, and steal, and you'll likely find yourself frequently offloading them to avoid hitting the encumbrance threshold. Even if you keep a few of every material on hand for crafting purposes, it usually makes sense to sell the excess, especially when the value seems decent.

One The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered player managed to lock themselves out of the main story quest by following a certain sequence of events. The remaster of the classic fantasy RPG follows the main character as they make their way through Cyrodiil. The central story is an engaging tale of political unrest, but there are also plenty of side quests for players to get distracted by.

Conjuration magic inThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is used to call upon summons, or unique entities that are among some of the strongest allies your character can have. Summons come in all shapes and sizes, from volatile elemental Atronachs to resilient undead Skeletons and Zombies called forth from necromancy. However, some conjured creatures are better to use in battle compared to others, as some summons have fewer weaknesses.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered's magic system is the opportunity to craft your own spells. This system allows players to create powerful, weird, or just plain fun combinations of magical effects once they've reached a certain point in the Mages Guild faction sidequest. Although a trend throughout much of the Elder Scrolls series, the customizable magic system was removed from Skyrim. However, it's been revived by the Oblivion remaster, and many players are diving into it again.