Everything New And Different In Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
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Tomas Franzese
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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Revives A 2006 Classic
In a livestream on Tuesday, April 22, Bethesda Game Studios and Virtuos announced The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. This new edition of Bethesda’s renowned RPG set in Cyrodiil enhances the original 2006 game for the latest consoles. While the core gameplay remains the same beloved RPG, it includes significant improvements over the original.
Upon launching The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, various enhancements become evident. If you’re curious about whether this remaster merits your attention on PS5 or via Xbox Game Pass on PC and Xbox Series X|S, particularly as numerous other games are debuting currently, a detailed list of features and improvements can assist in your decision-making.
An Unreal Engine 5 Upgrade
The most significant shift with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is its transition to Unreal Engine 5, moving away from the Gamebryo engine used for the original. This change enables a considerably more refined visual enhancement with heightened textures, character models, animations, and lighting effects that weren’t feasible on the Xbox 360.
Switching to Unreal Engine 5 grants Oblivion Remastered enhanced lip-sync animations, new visual resources crafted from scratch, and lifelike lighting that varies with the time of day, player position, and other elements. It definitely ranks as the best-presenting Elder Scrolls game to date.
Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles Are Included
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion featured two expansions: Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles. Previously accessible only through the Game of the Year Edition of the original, these expansions are part of Oblivion Remastered from the outset. This ensures you won’t miss out on a complete game, unlike the Switch 2 Edition of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. However, you will still need to purchase horse armor.
Leveling Up Has Been Reworked
In The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Virtuos simplified the leveling process. In hindsight, the original’s leveling system, which was based on Major Skills chosen by players at the start of their journey, was somewhat convoluted. Now, players can easily allocate Virtue Points to Attributes such as Strength, Intelligence, Willpower, Agility, Speed, Endurance, Personality, and Luck during level-ups.
This change should resonate with fans of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It also contributes to the overall UI enhancements, streamlining the original menu designs for better clarity and usability.
There Are Newly Recorded Lines of Dialogue
Due to file size limitations in the original game, numerous NPCs in Oblivion shared a single voice actor. In Oblivion Remastered, Virtuos and Bethesda revisited and recorded new lines of dialogue, ensuring each NPC race has its distinct voices. Although this was a quirky trait of the original, the new voice acting brings Oblivion’s NPCs to life with greater variety and vibrancy.
Sprinting Has Been Added
Believe it or not, sprinting was not an option in the original Oblivion. Now, with this beneficial quality-of-life enhancement, players have the ability to sprint. This adjustment promises to enhance exploration in Cyrodiil and aligns the game’s experience with that of Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Starfield.
Playing In Third-Person Feels Better
Engaging in third-person gameplay in Oblivion often felt clunky, but this remaster enhances that experience. Players can now use an on-screen cursor in third-person mode, indicating precisely where their character is aiming. This upgrade allows for greater appreciation of the remaster’s visual enhancements without sacrificing the control benefits of a first-person perspective. If you’ve been hesitant to play Oblivion in third-person mode, it should now feel significantly more enjoyable.
Fights Now Have More Sound And Visual Effects
Finally, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered enhances combat by incorporating additional sound effects, haptic feedback, and visual effects to each encounter. The blood splatters, controller vibrations, and metallic clangs add minor yet impactful refinements, creating a more vibrant atmosphere.
Bethesda stated in a message on X that the remaster aimed to depict the original “as you remember it to be, but viewed through contemporary technology.” Observing all these enhancements makes it evident that Bethesda accomplished this goal. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered still retains the essence of the original; it simply appears and performs much more like a modern game now.