The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

A vast world, mechanics to sink your teeth into, and interspersed moments of light-heartedness as well as incredible stakes of an extraplanar threat, Oblivion Remastered is a perfect opportunity for new fans to become the Hero of Kvatch, and for old fans to reignite their love of a game that defined RPGs in the mid 2000s.

I stand here with 2006’s Oblivion in one hand and 2025’s in the other. My unapologetic recommendation: take the remaster and knock yourself out. This is the definitive way to play Oblivion now — as clunky as it is classic.

In an era where Sony insists on remastering games that feel like they’ve just come out, to see something almost 20 years old brought into the modern era is a joy that has clearly won back fans who were drifting away after Starfield. If Bethesda feels like printing money, then it needs to move similar remasters of Fallout New Vegas and Morrowind up the agenda.

Though some of the changes and the performance issues will inevitably turn some players off, there's no denying that the fourth entry in the series couldn't have made its debut on modern gaming platforms better than it did with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. Updating the experience where required while keeping true to the original, Virtuos has developed an amazing remaster that does proper justice to one of the most beloved role-playing games ever released. PC players can also tweak it further to their liking thanks to the many mods already available on Nexus.

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is everything a fan could want and an excellent primer on what makes the series so magical.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is the best remaster of Oblivion that fans could ask for. The spirit of the original is held intact and delivered with amazing new visuals and slight gameplay improvements; just beware the occasional performance issues, and remember that the improved gameplay is still 19 years old.

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Remastered remains a good game after all these years. In fact, having received a paint job, it’s even better. I’m happy that one of my favorite RPG series is getting one title remastered and modernized so that players who haven’t yet “violated the law!” Oblivion is the kind of game where you play as someone in a big world overcoming odds and ends. You get to shape your destiny and become whoever you want through multiple playthroughs. It’s an Elder Scrolls game that stands the test of time and has the potential to turn more gamers into fans of the series.

This fresh version of a beloved adventure from the 2000’s is as good as it ever was, and those (like me) who have yet to make the journey will find it well worth the time, even all these years later.

TES IV: Oblivion Remastered is a game that I can easily recommend to those who love role-playing games. With its modern visuals and game mechanics that sometimes seem old but are still better in my opinion, the chance to replay one of Bethesda's unforgettable classics is a must-have. April was a month that made gamers happy with two great RPGs, TES IV: Oblivion Remastered and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. We've only left the 4th month of the year behind, but there are already great games waiting for us to play.

This might be the best visual remaster we’ve ever seen. Virtuos rebuilt Cyrodiil to look even better than we remembered, at a level that matches recent releases. While the gameplay itself is largely untouched and can feel a bit dated, the tremendous narrative steps in to make this worthy of your time. This is how we were meant to experience The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

A remaster of one of the best games in The Elder Scrolls series has arrived like a bolt from the blue. The fiery gates of Oblivion have reopened and look better than ever. But some of the flaws of the past remain.

The surprise debut - no surprise - of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion coincides with the return to the market of a role-playing game that is nothing short of memorable, which marked a fundamental stage in the journey of the series and its genre. The one put together by Virtuos is an atypical remake, which tries to reconcile a twenty-year-old gaming soul with a brand new body. Both the soul and the body show some significant rough edges, but it is truly impossible not to appreciate the work done by the Singapore team, creators of a Cyrodiil that resembles the one in our memories more than the scenario actually explored at the beginning of the 2000s. This is no small feat, mind you.

While Oblivion may not be the best Elder Scrolls game, it still packs a punch in 2025. Despite being a product of its time, it remains a thoroughly enjoyable experience—even with its original quirks and the occasional early-era bug. This is a game worth buying, if only for the joy of embarking on a long and wondrous journey through lands and characters you'll remember for years to come. A piece of gaming history that shouldn't be left behind—and likely a must-play if you've never experienced it before.

A beautiful remaster of a great game that leaves some very old, obvious issues untouched.

She’s janky and a little bit broken, but she’s the Oblivion we all know and love.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is good once you come to grips with the approach. The minor gameplay tweaks are welcome, but the presence of some longstanding bugs test your tolerance for having an authentic experience. The game has a mostly fantastic presentation, but what will hold your attention is the gameplay with a world that isn't as sprawling as Skyrim yet is just as packed with interesting things to do and some side-quests that can grab your attention better than the main questline. If you have a powerful PC and want to experience this with good gamepad support, you'll be happy with this remastering of a modern classic.

This would be one of the best examples of a remaster done right if it weren't the severe technical issues plaguing this release. Nevertheless, Oblivion still holds up as an amazingly engaging role-playing experience all these years later. I simply can't get enough.

Bethesda Game Studios doesn’t just bring the visual spectacle — they pack in a ton of upgrades without losing that classic Oblivion feel. A remaster done right, if only it weren’t for those annoying framerate dips.

Everyone downloaded that 120 gigabytes just for the sake of the name The Elder Scrolls, but somehow saving Cyrodiil ended up being my responsibility. And I think I might've made things even worse. Oh well, we'll fix it with some mods, right?... Right?

Oblivion Remastered proves that The Elder Scrolls 4 has withstood the test of time. It’s the perfect opportunity for new audiences to discover why it’s so beloved, and a nostalgic throwback to Bethesda’s golden years for older fans. However, its extensive quality-of-life features aren’t enough to excuse the endemic performance woes of Unreal Engine 5.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is certainly a nostalgic experience worth revisiting, but for modern players, whether it's actually enjoyable largely depends on your tolerance for its clearly outdated design choices.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is far more than a simple facelift applied to a beloved classic. It’s a heartfelt tribute, crafted above all for those who first explored the lands of Cyrodiil nearly twenty years ago. Virtuos and Bethesda have struck a delicate balance, modernizing the essentials without compromising the unique identity of the original. Visually, the transformation is often stunning. But behind this ambitious graphical overhaul, some technical aspects still show their age.

What’s truly awesome is that underneath all the new glitz and glamour, Oblivion Remastered is still Oblivion. Bethesda games are infamous for their bugs and quirks, and a lot of that goes back to the incredibly ambitious game that was The Elder Scrolls 4 in 2006. This time around, it’s a lot cleaner and more presentable, but still littered with awkward animations and full-on flubs that have been lovingly preserved as part of the game’s legacy. There’s a real charm to this world, its story, and characters. As a kid who grew up in the 2000s, I’ve got a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in Oblivion, and a bit of concern realizing that this game is approaching its 20th anniversary. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is undoubtedly the new definitive way to experience Bethesda’s flawed masterpiece, a game that continues to be a standard for western RPGs.

The cult role-playing game returns with sleek graphics and meaningful improvements – a treat for fans! The technology could be better, though.

I think Oblivion Remastered is a skilful re-release of a legendary game that will bring out the nostalgia in most who have lived with the story and Martin Septim's battle against Mehrunes Dagon for almost two decades. Bethesda and Virtuos has kept the atmosphere and skeleton of what Oblivion was and updated it to feel fresh. Oblivion is a product of its time, and I don't know if new players will be able to live with the jank and awkwardness that the rest of us find charming today, but as a beautiful and shiny time capsule, Oblivion Remastered is everything you could want. No more and no less.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is undeniably more than just the sum of its parts: in 2025, it brings not only a technical facelift through Unreal Engine 5 and a few small updates to progression, but also the wealth of memories and emotional attachment it earned at its original release—when it became, for many players (especially on consoles), the true gateway into the franchise. The enduring charm of Cyrodiil—magnificent not only as an “open” game but also excelling as a fully realized “world”—is still very much intact. However, it’s accompanied by a technical side that, at least on PC, feels rough and problematic, and an undeniable truth: even seen through the nostalgic lens of love we all share, Oblivion bears the weight of its many years, evident in its rough edges, imperfect balancing, and the sparse density of its world. What we are left with, then, is a project that pays heartfelt tribute to the Elder Scrolls game that was many players’ first love, but that—despite the new polish—struggles to fully transport it into 2025. Instead, it mostly transports us back to 2006, with all the beauty and discordance that entails.

Oblivion Remastered successfully breathes new life into The Elders Scrolls IV, which is going to be great for the mature gamers that already knew about this title from the original release in 2006. Whether you beat the game back then or not, this remaster is, as of today, the best way to experience Oblivion. We still have Skyblivion to look out for, even if this remaster may have stolen some potential players from that project. However, no amount of make up and re-texturization can mask the classic Bethesda jank, which makes the game just as endearing and frustrating as the original.

Bethesda has certainly made a serious effort to meet expectations — that much is clear. However, this effort has mostly been limited to visual and surface-level changes. Core elements such as in-depth gameplay mechanics, AI behavior, and the animation system have not seen any fundamental overhauls.

Oblivion Remastered is undoubtedly a beautiful visual update of the classic. At the same time, the game hasn't got rid of its old flaws. NPCs still act like they're caught in a time trap, frozen in the time of the original. Bugs and technical issues are still a part of this world, which certainly detracts from the overall impression of the update.

Certainly, the single-player open-world RPG has evolved a lot in 20 years. Even if The Elder Scrolls IV remains an incredibly rich title, various elements remind us that we are indeed facing a software released in 2006. But what we must not forget is that Oblivion was ahead of its time and that it still has serious arguments in 2025. Virtuos' love letter to Bethesda's work is in any case very strong: it's beautiful, it's intelligently renovated and it remains faithful to the soul of a creation that marked its time. Nostalgics, you have every reason in the world to answer the call of the Blades. Newcomers, it might be time to let yourself be seduced by this old grimoire beautifully reissued, especially if you have the Game Pass: you might find a bewitching formula.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered updates the technical aspects of the renowned RPG through the use of Unreal Engine 5, enhancing lighting, animations, and sound. However, it suffers from instability, with frequent crashes and significant drops in frame rate, particularly in open environments. The original issues persist, including the notorious auto-leveling system and an outdated combat system. Additionally, some changes made to the character progression risk amplifying the problems already present in the original version.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is certainly not quite the “resurrection” we would have liked to see. It's a trial balloon for Bethesda. But it still turned out pretty well.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered isn’t a reinvention. It’s just a time capsule with a fresh coat of vibrant high-quality paint. Under the hood? It is pretty much the same beloved sandbox RPG of the early 2000s, with few of its issues fixed for this new update. Fans are advised to go straight for the purchase as long as they have a capable system. The rest are advised to wait for a price drop, some bug fixes, or preferably both.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is a beautiful time machine that will strike a chord with anyone who once spent hundreds of hours wandering the lands of Cyrodiil. With its refreshed visuals and a few smart tweaks, it reminds us why Oblivion was so special in the first place. But beneath the shiny surface still lurks a clunky, bug-ridden old-school RPG that might push newcomers away rather than draw them in. It’s a great nostalgic journey — just with too many stumbles to count as a triumphant return.

Oblivion Remastered aims to primarily target longtime fans by offering an experience that is ultimately extremely close to the base game, but with a new, very successful visual coating. This is the principle of a remastered game, of course, but we were entitled to expect a robust frame rate, or official support for mods, for example. While the few improvements made by Virtuos are also appreciable, we also feel that the studio could have gone further, and Bethesda seems determined to refine things in this area. It's just a shame that all this is happening after the release and reinforces the impression that the goal isn't so much to introduce the game to a new generation, but rather to satisfy the old ones.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is a comprehensive package that includes nostalgia, the base game, add-ons, and all the old bugs.

The remaster wants to remind you of what it was like to play Oblivion in 2006, but some changes make it lose sight of this and it feels just enough like a different experience to be jarring. At the same time, this version does not commit the other way and retains some of Oblivion's notable flaws – resulting in a game that's caught in the middle and does not quite work either as a remaster or as a remake.