We're not even halfway through the year and 2025 has already graced us with two fantasy action RPGs in the form of Avowed and Oblivion Remastered. Naturally, having played a lot of Avowed when it came out, I couldn't help but think about it while making my way through Oblivion Remastered. I really enjoyed Avowed and wondered if I'd be able to get back into The Elder Scrolls when I felt the former did a lot of things better than Skyrim, the only TES game I'd played.

I quickly realized that this wasn't going to be an issue, as I was quickly sucked into Oblivion Remastered and am still having a lot of fun with my playthrough. This got me thinking about the games' very different approaches to their storytelling, and how both work in their own ways. It also made me re-evaluate some of my criticisms of The Elder Scrolls' style of story, and realize that there isn't just one right way for an RPG to present a narrative.

Oblivion Remastered Proves The Power Of Emergent Storytelling

Oblivion Remastered's Loose Structure Allows For Imaginative Personal Storytelling

Oblivion Remastered tells its story in two main ways: through direct narrative quests, and through emergent storytelling. Emergent storytelling refers to the narrative that develops naturally through your gameplay decisions and your reasoning behind them. It can also be inspired by elements of the world that don't have any official explanation given, leaving you free to fill in the gaps with what you think they might mean and develop your own personal version of events.

One example of this happened when I became the Arena's new Grand Champion. I had finished the Knights of the Nine DLC quests first and had used my Helm of the Crusader and Sword of the Crusader in all my fights up to that point. So, when I was allowed to select a nickname for myself from a list of options, I was pleased to see one called The Divine Avenger and selected that. It was a fun story moment that the game hadn't necessarily planned for, but one that perfectly fit with my decisions.

There are a lot of opportunities to come up with your own headcanon in Oblivion Remastered, either about details in the world, or your own character. Because the game doesn't give you a framework for what quests you need to do and when you need to do them, I try to think up reasons why my character would be choosing to do my current mission. These can lead to fun thematic playthroughs where you build up your own story within the world that has been presented to you. While this isn't impossible in Avowed, I found more opportunities in Oblivion.

Avowed's More Linear And Constructed Narrative Accomplishes Things Oblivion's Story Can't

Avowed's More Developed Story Allows Your Choices To Have Major Impacts On The World

The story in Avowed is much more linear than Oblivion Remastered's. While you're free to explore each given area, you aren't given free rein over the entire world, and need to advance the story to see other regions. Quests in Avowed are also a lot more focused on, or at least influenced by, the game's main narrative, so you're rarely ignoring the major events going on. Although these changes leave less room for creating your own story, it does allow Avowed to pull off some impressive narrative feats that Oblivion Remastered can't replicate.

For one thing, your choices in Avowed, even ones made in side quests, can have a major impact on the world. People the decisions you make, and it can influence how they treat you later on. These choices build on each other, leading to a conclusion that feels tailored specifically to you thanks to your decisions. This made me heavily invested in each conversation I had in Avowed, whereas I rarely even pause the podcast or audiobook I'm listening to for conversations in Oblivion Remastered.

Because Oblivion Remastered allows you to tackle its many quests and explore the world in any order, it can't exert the same level of control over how its narrative plays out. This isn't necessarily a flaw, just a difference in what the two games prioritize when it comes to player agency. The freedom to go where you want when you want, or the ability to have more control over how the story plays out. Both are satisfying in their own ways, and both are a perfectly acceptable way to create an RPG story.

Both RPGs Have Engaging Stories That Prove There Is No One Right Answer

Both Styles Of Storytelling Have Unique Strengths

When I play Oblivion Remastered, I find myself feeling deeply immersed in its world. In a way, having to conceive certain story or character details for my own playthrough keeps me more engaged. I'm not just going through the motions of playing the game, but I'm also crafting a story in my mind out of the loose framework Oblivion presents me with. It makes the experience feel very personal, because I know nobody is going to play Oblivion Remastered in the exact same way as me and think up the exact same story for their character.

On the other hand, when I play Avowed, I find myself deeply invested in the narrative the game presents me with. I enjoy seeing the impact that my choices have on the world and people around me. The game does a good job presenting you with morally gray choices, leading to interesting internal debates over which option makes most sense based on either my own personal convictions, or those of the character I'm role-playing as. The game has extensive dialogue options, so I always felt like I had the option to play exactly how I wanted.

The fact that these two games can have so many differences and still present engaging stories proves that there isn't just one way to build a narrative in an RPG. Each method has unique strengths that enrich their experience, and I rarely find myself wishing one of the games was more like the other. That said, I wouldn't say no to Oblivion Remastered stealing some of the wonderfully satisfying firearms from Avowed, or not requiring me to have arrows for my bows. Of course, I'm sure I could find some mods for that, even if the game doesn't them.