The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Available Now
In a shadow drop that may or may not surprise you if you’ve been following rumours and leaks, the Oblivion remaster is available now on PC, Xbox Series consoles, and PS5. This marks the first time a Bethesda IP has been fully overhauled by an out-of-house development team (in this case, Virtuos) and, based on the trailer and reveal shown, it looks fantastic.
Revealed fully as part of a 20-minute announcement stream, the Oblivion remake had its biggest additions and changes shown off. Of course, the Unreal Engine 5 graphics update makes Oblivion look stunning in the modern age. With better shadows, enhanced ray tracing, and a complete overhaul of its textures, this game looks phenomenal while still staying true to its roots. Each town and location seems to maintain its individualism while enhancing its graphics tremendously.
Thankfully, the controversial levelling system of Oblivion also seems to be getting overhauled. By implementing elements of Skyrim’s more accessible system, it should be less of a micro-managerial chore to improve your stats in this iteration. Alongside completely changed combat animations in every sense (with magic looking especially great), the Oblivion remaster is shaping up to be the definitive version of the game.
Worry not, original purists, however. The original voice lines included in the game seem to be staying in the remaster. That means the classic janky, stilted dialogue that makes Oblivion what it is will be staying. Alongside this, however, new dialogue implemented for specific races will add some much-needed variety when walking around and interacting with NPCs. It seems that this works on the bones of what Oblivion is rather than completely sucking out its charm.
Thankfully, with the remaster being shadow dropped, it’s available to play right now for PS5, Xbox series consoles and PC. Of course, with this being a Microsoft first party release as well, its available via Xbox Game Pass too. Keep in mind that the file size is over 130GB, though, so you may want to start the install sooner rather than later.
