Although The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered was one of the worst-kept secrets in gaming, it still managed to surprise people with its shadow-dropped launch, more so with how impressive its graphical fidelity is. Although nineteen years old, the original Oblivion has remained in the minds of gamers through its prevalence in memes, and players have its visuals fresh in their mind, making the comparison between the two versions even more stark. Virtuos and Bethesda have knocked it out of the park with the modern visuals, and have taken some steps towards modernizing the rest of the game too.

Despite this, Oblivion Remastered still feels like the original, rather than being a completely different experience with the same events, as is the case with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake projects and Resident Evil 2's remake. It still has 2006's Oblivion's charm, which wasn't always a guarantee considering Virtuos' involvement and the different engine. Oblivion Remastered uses Unreal Engine 5, a first for a Bethesda title, which is likely the reason for Virtuos' involvement, and while it gives the title impressive visuals, it did run the risk of feeling like an alien experience. Luckily, this isn't the case.

Oblivion Remastered Maintains Bethesda's Distinct Charm

The Game's Rough Corner's A Part Of The Studio's Identity

With all the time that's past, a different game engine, and a new studio working on the game, there was the chance that Oblivion Remastered would feel completely different to the original, and while it has been modernized, it still emulates the original's experience. While not quite as extreme, players still get jarring close-ups with the NPCs, and although they are higher poly than ever, they still elicit the same reactions as the original NPCs. They still look kind of gross, but with better lighting, more polygons, and improved animations, they look gross in HD.

Oblivion begins with a speech from Uriel Septim, the Emperor of Cyrodil, who is played by Patrick Stewart.

Although updated, being somewhat of a hybrid between Skyrim and the original Oblivion, the UI still has the old-school, fantastical book design, alleviating fears that the game would fully go with Skyrim's minimalist designs. Keeping close to the original while modernizing seems to be part of the design philosophy, and whether that has intentionally resulted in maintaining Oblivion's janky charm or it's a result of Bethesda's involvement is irrelevant. Oblivion Remastered is so strange and awkward in so many ways, yet this is exactly what many want from this remaster. A perfectly smooth experience wouldn't be true to the original.

This can be seen throughout, whether that be with the zooming camera breaking slightly while on a horse, putting an NPC's face at the bottom of the screen, or players being able to exploit the leveling system, getting Sneak to 100 by walking into a wall near a goblin for about twenty minutes. Players even have access to the console, where many of the same commands still work, although nothing screams Bethesda's charm more than NPC behavior. Despite a modern engine and new technology, the NPCs are still as strange and oddly charming as ever.

Despite Being Made In Unreal Engine 5, Oblivion Remastered Feels Like A Bethesda Game

And NPC Behavior Is A Big Reason For This

Oblivion Remastered has some of the common issues other Unreal Engine 5 games have. One is its optimization, specifically on PC, and its lighting does look distinctly Unreal Engine, yet the game itself feels like it was made in Gamebryo or the Creation Engine, and a big reason for this is the NPCs. The NPCs behave very similarly to the original, repeating voice lines in combat, and acting in odd ways. Guards shouting 'Why won't you die?' over and over will never get old, but the guards aren't the only strange-behaving people.

Although true to the original in many ways, Oblivion Remastered does not have mod yet.

The iconic Khajiit thief will still demand a player's money or life, yet can be pickpocketed right after robbing them, will notice losing the money he's just stolen, and announce that he doesn't care. Common NPCs and traders will flip-flop in their attitude towards the player, telling them to come again one second, then to stop talking the next. This strange NPC behavior has engraved itself with Bethesda's games, and is most prevalent in Oblivion, so it is important that it is maintained for the remaster, and Virtuos has done well here considering its use of UE5.

While new voices have been added, the delivery sounds straight out of 2006. It doesn't have the refined nature players have come to expect from modern games, especially with the increasingly impressive cinematic elements, and that lack of refinement still has the same charm it did almost twenty years ago. Zooming into their usually ugly faces while they robotically emote as they deliver these still hilarious lines certainly helps with the charm, especially when a guard jarringly interrupts a thief's work to yell 'Stop criminal scum.' It helps the game to feel familiar despite being made in an unfamiliar engine.

Oblivion's Janky Nature Wouldn't Work For Other Games

Other Remakes Couldn't Get Away With This Strangeness

While called a remaster, this version of Oblivion is a remake in all but name. It was literally remade from the ground up in a new engine, and maintaining much of the original's strange, rough, and somewhat buggy nature isn't something many other titles could get away with. While remakes have never been more popular, not many maintain the original's spirit as strongly as Oblivion Remastered does. Bluepoint Games's projects, like Demon's Souls and Shadow of the Colossus, are probably the only other examples.

Comparing Oblivion Remastered to the Resident Evil remakes is a good example. The Resident Evil remakes change lines, how these lines are delivered, can greatly change gameplay, as was the case with the RE2 and RE3 remakes, and even change how characters act. Ashley in the RE4 remake is effectively a different person, while Leon doesn't shout as many corny one-liners. This isn't the case with Oblivion Remastered. The sometimes wooden and awkward line delivery is still there, despite more actors being brought onto the project, and it is a thing of beauty.

Were the Resident Evil remakes to be just as awkward with their line deliveries as their originals with their new, cinematic approaches, especially RE2 and RE3, it just wouldn't meld, yet The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered has managed to capture the original's spirit while in a new engine and modernizing many elements. It doesn't quite make the world feel alive, and it seems a little like a theme park at times, but that's what made the original Oblivion so special. Without the original's janky, rough, and awkward nature, it wouldn't feel like Oblivion or a title made by Bethesda.