Summary
- Bethesda’s Oblivion remaster looks to be a resounding success, with a modern visual overhaul and some tweaks to gameplay systems that make the game feel modern without losing its soul.
- This could be the start of a whole new age of Bethesda remasters, introducing classics to new audiences, sparking interest, while leaving the originals intact for purists.
- Remasters could give fans a reason to replay the classics while Bethesda is hard at work on new titles, which take a long time to make.
With the Oblivion remaster out in the wild and going down like a smooth 20-year-old scotch, Bethesda seems to have realized what many of us have been thinking for years: the company is sitting on some quality old games.
While Skyrim has had enough re-releases to last a lifetime and Fallout 4 got its glow-up treatment in 2024; there are many games in the company’s back catalog that need a lick of paint and some work under the hood.
Oblivion Remastered Is a Lesson In How to Handle Old Games
After putting a solid 10 hours into the Oblivion remaster in the last two days, I’m delighted by what I’ve seen so far. While that might not sound like a lot, that’s about all I have time for in a week these days but condensed into around 48 hours. Last night, I even stayed up late past my “responsible adult” bedtime just to clear one more dungeon. And then one more fort.
As someone who is Oblivion-aware but who only ever experienced the Xbox 360 version after playing Skyrim, I’ll admit I’m not the authority on this beloved 2006 fantasy RPG. Even so, I’ve been glued to subreddits and reviews-in-progress since the game was shadow dropped.
What I’ve noticed is that long-time fans are breathing a sigh of relief over the way the game has been handled. The spirit of the original (including the butt-ugly non-player character models) remains intact, while systems that were sorely in need of improvement have been overhauled. While Bethesda has overseen the project, third-party studio Virtuos is responsible for much of the work.
By far the biggest improvement has been a visual overhaul, with the game’s rendering moved to Unreal Engine 5 and looking better than ever. Even with improved lighting, shadows, dense foliage, and high-resolution game assets like textures and weapon models; there’s still an unmistakably Oblivion look to the game. Much of this comes down to the boxy architecture and bumpy terrain that defines Cyrodiil. It makes for an odd mix of dated design and photo-realistic rendering, but it works surprisingly well considering the end goal.
Bethesda also saw fit to expand the game’s database of voice lines, with the original game featuring little in the way of variety. Iconic performances from Patrick Stewart and Sean Bean remain intact, with new lines recorded to make the game feel fresh and modern. This is just one of many simple changes that make the remaster work so well.
There are also some big changes to game mechanics, particularly character creation and leveling systems. This is one area where Oblivion really showed its age, with leveling being far more complex than it needed to be. Now you just get points to distribute freely, rather than having to min-max your character based on major skills.
It’s worth noting that the revived version of Oblivion is not perfect (it’s a Bethesda game, after all). Performance issues abound, particularly in open-world segments, when autosaving, and on the PC version. Bethesda also doesn’t seem to have made changes to enemy scaling or balanced the difficulty very well. This leads to all enemies scaling with you, which can result in weak bandits carrying high-level items rather than level-gating areas as per Skyrim. The game is also somewhat easy on the default “Adept” difficulty, with a massive spike (from 1x to 3x damage taken) when moving up to Expert.
Modders are already taking matters into their own hands with a difficulty slider fix mod (even though mods aren’t officially yet supported). Console players will just have to wait it out to see if mod support ever arrives or if these problems will eventually be fixed.
Bethesda’s Best Games Take Forever to Make
14 years have passed between the Oblivion Remaster and Bethesda’s last major Elder Scrolls release in 2011. Skyrim is a beloved game that many of us enjoy replaying, but the game is really showing its age now. In many ways, it feels outdated even compared to Oblivion Remastered.
But The Elder Scrolls isn’t the only franchise that takes a long time to make. Bethesda (I’m talking about the in-house development studio headed by Todd Howard known as Bethesda Game Studios) specializes in narrative-driven, open-world RPGs. These games are defined by player choice, the ability to create your own unique hero, massive sprawling worlds that feel alive, and the ability to wander off in any direction and see how long you survive.
Crafting a gaming experience that thrives on uncertainty is no small task. Filling an open world with things to do takes time. Branching storylines and interwoven quests complicate things even further. It’s no wonder that it takes Bethesda so long to create games. This leaves fans hungry for more, to the point where they often create their own epic content like Fallout: London and Skyblivion.
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But Oblivion Remastered proves there’s plenty left in the tank. Such transformative remasters could tide fans over between major installments. It’s a wonder (and perhaps a blessing) that the company hasn’t done this already. At least now we can hope that lessons have been learned from how well Bethesda’s Creation Engine and the Unreal Engine 5 can be married together.
One thing that is important is that remasters don’t completely replace the original games. Rockstar Games did this when it released The Definitive Edition trilogy GTA remasters. Removing the classic games irked fans, particularly given the miserable state that the remastered versions arrived in. Modders were similarly distraught since the remasters switched engines.
Thankfully, there’s no sign of that here. You can still buy The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – Game of the Year Edition Deluxe on GOG without any DRM. You can even access the original Xbox 360 version on Game Pass, if you really want to!
Remasters Reinvigorate Old Titles and Introduce Them to New Audiences
There’s a longstanding debate about whether old games should be remade and remastered, or whether they should just be left alone. By far the biggest argument in favor of refreshing old titles comes down to exposing the classics to new audiences. While purists may live for the nostalgia of a crusty old era-appropriate game, there’s no denying that even verified classics are a hard sell for new audiences.
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This can be good for longstanding fans, too. Giving an old game a fresh coat of paint and some much-needed tweaks is a great way to gauge interest in a title. It’s the main reason I think Nintendo should dust off Star Fox Zero for the Switch 2. Consider it market research, or early marketing for a franchise comeback.
Spacing these remasters out is key. You probably don’t want to remaster a 100-hour RPG a few months before the next big game comes out. If I was going to release the follow-up to a long-awaited fantasy RPG within 12-24 months, I’d release the remaster tomorrow, just saying. You can join me in hoping that The Elder Scrolls VI really is only a year out if you want…
Which Games Should Bethesda Remaster Next?
The problem with huge open-world RPGs is that they take so long to make. There’s only so much sauce in the store cupboard, but even so, Bethesda has some back-catalog bangers that I’d love to see treated with the same care and attention that Oblivion has received.
Fallout 3
Rumors of a Fallout 3 remaster came from the same source that suggested Oblivion Remastered was happening, back in 2020. According to this source, the Oblivion remaster was supposed to arrive in 2022, but didn’t materialize for three more years. By that timeline, and assuming Virtuos takes up the reins again, we could expect a Fallout 3 remaster sometime in 2027.
While Fallout: New Vegas was seen as a mechanically better game with a better story, Fallout 3 is still a beloved title. It was Bethesda’s first crack at moving Fallout into the 3D realm after its humble isometric beginnings, and the game is still surprisingly playable today.
A remaster could fix the game’s most glaring issues like poor gunplay, an overly needy weapon degradation system, and the way the game “ends” with the conclusion of the main quest. It could also add some of the more interesting RPG elements from New Vegas and earlier games like traits, plus the usual lick of paint.
The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard
How-To Geek’s Jorge Aguilar has already written a whole article about why Bethesda needs to bring back The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard. The game is considerably different to the mainline Elder Scrolls series in that its linear and focuses mostly on action. Jorge argues that this could lead to Bethesda releasing modern action-focused spin-offs, fleshing out the lore, and introducing the series to a wider audience.
I can’t say that I’d argue with any of that. I’ve personally always wanted some sort of Elder Scrolls hack and slash dungeon-crawler, and this sounds like the closest thing to that.
Morrowind
Right before leaks confirmed the existence of the Oblivion remaster, Eurogamer’s Jim Trinca boldly stated that Bethesda should “remake Morrowind, not Oblivion, you cowards.” Tongue in cheek though the statement was, he’s clearly got a point. While Oblivion is the safe option, Morrowind is by far the most interesting one.
It’s also a game that could stand to gain far more from the Unreal Engine treatment than Oblivion, considering its age. This is a game that, though playable in 2025, hasn’t stood the test of time very well. Morrowind fans will argue it has charm, but there’s no denying that the game has a face like the proverbial. Unlike Skyrim and Oblivion, it’s also missing voice lines which means it involves a lot of reading. Mechanically, it’s also a mess.
The game lacks quest markers (though you could argue in favor of this, considering what has happened to modern RPGs). The combat relies on dice rolls and features little in the way of feedback. The physics are as otherworldy as its fungus-strewn landscape. It would require a lot of work to get Morrowind up to snuff, but the end result would be even more significant than Oblivion Remastered.
As much as I’d love to see Fallout: New Vegas get the remaster treatment, I think we’ll be waiting a long time for that one. Perhaps that’s one that can drop sometime between the next mainline Fallout game and whatever comes after it. It’s also held up far better than Fallout 3 (if you don’t believe me, give it a shot).
Whatever happens, it’s exciting to see something of a return to form for Bethesda (even though it was accomplished using a “golden era” game like Oblivion).
