Summary
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimhas long been considered the bestElder Scrollsgame ever made, and for plenty of good reasons. Firstly, it is still the most expansiveElder Scrollsgame to date — not countingThe Elder Scrolls Online— and that world is free for players to explore at their leisure. Additionally, itsopen-ended gamedesign in general, from its quests to many parts of its story, are considered high points by many. However, even with all thatSkyrimhas going for it, there is a spiritual weight toOblivion, and nowThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, thatSkyrimsimply can’t touch.
SinceThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredretains the spirit and design of the original game, it’s essentially the same experience at its most fundamental level. SomethingOblivion Remasteredaccomplishes for the original game, though, is that it highlights what made the originalOblivionso great by visually and mechanically enhancing its world to reach closer to modern standards. In doing so, it highlights one of the biggest aspects ofThe Elder Scrollsthat was lost inSkyrim, despite the status it maintains as the bestElder Scrollsgame ever made.
Oblivion Remastered Outdoes Skyrim on a Thematic and Atmospheric Level
Oblivion Remastered’s Themes Reach Deeper Than Skyrim’s
InOblivion Remastered, players aren’t framed as a chosen one born with power, but as a prisoner drawn into the impending doom of an empire. In many ways, players can relate toOblivion Remastered’s playable character, theHero of Kvatch, as they are thrust into a world filled with unknown possibilities that can’t be conquered by a hero with supernatural powers. Being such a destined character of prophecy inSkyrim, the Dragonborn, players are likely to feel as though they can overcome any danger ahead of them, but as an ordinary individual inOblivion Remastered, they have no choice but to rely on their personal strengths to accomplish their goals.
SinceThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredretains the spirit and design of the original game, it’s essentially the same experience at its most fundamental level.
There’s a more spiritual side toOblivion’s story— and it’s highlighted inOblivion Remastered— that deals with sacrifice, divine absence, and cosmic responsibility in a way thatSkyrimnever really touches. As a normal individual in a world doomed to fall, players pick up the weight of what in any other story would be handed off to the one whose destiny it is to fulfill such a responsibility. InOblivion Remastered, however, players are required to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, not because they are a character of prophecy, but because they were in the right (or wrong) place at the right time, and to neglect that responsibility would be both morally and ethically defiant.
Oblivion Remastered Is Much Quieter, Darker, and Eerier Than Skyrim
Oblivion Remastered, like the original game, is also much quieter, darker, and eerier thanSkyrimever gets, and much of this is due to the status of the playable character. Rather than being on top of the world as theDragonborn inSkyrim, players are more or less bearing witness to the world from ground level. There is a degree of life inSkyrim’s world thatOblivion Remastered’s Cyrodiil doesn’t possess, which even comes down to the number of NPCs and substories players can find throughout. EvenOblivion Remastered’s dungeons achieve a tension thatSkyrim’s never did, and its story is thematically much darker overall.
HowOblivion Remastered’s themes compare toSkyrim’s is made evident by each game’s title.Skyrimis named after the province itself, indicating a focus on its world, since that was a big part of its success.Oblivion Remastered, on the other hand, is named after the very thing that is threatening the world, making its premise much more foreboding.
At its core,The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredcaptures a feeling thatSkyrim, for all its achievements, never quite managed to reach. It pulls players into a fragile world on the brink of collapse, where the weight of unseen forces presses in on every decision. It reminds players that greatness is not always born from destiny, but sometimes from choosing to stand when no one else will. In doing so,Oblivion Remasteredreaffirms that the strongest stories are not always the ones about being powerful, but about being willing to take on the burden.
