The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

 PC
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3846 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,010 out of 3846
  2. Mixed: 542 out of 3846
  3. Negative: 294 out of 3846
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Ty
    Apr 23, 2006
    10
    Amazing.
  2. MichaelJ.
    Apr 30, 2006
    10
    This game is simply marvelous. The graphics are stunning and there are heaps of RPG elements. Outstandng.
  3. BoogerNugget
    Apr 4, 2006
    9
    Great game, best single-player RPG ever. Would be a 10 if the PC interface was customizeable - as it stands now it's awkward and clunky. Why can't I open map by pressing "M", or inventory by pressing "I". Damn you XBOX!
  4. JacobK.
    May 13, 2006
    10
    OMG. This is deff one of the best games i have evr tryed. i played for like 3 mins and already i was hooked. I loved the begging dungoun. cant wait to play more of it.
  5. MikeM.
    May 17, 2006
    8
    I agree that this is probably the best RPG to date, when i first got it i couldnt put it down, there are thousands of quests, and on high settings with a high resolution it looks better than any other game its true sometimes my framerate drops to 30 :( but this is only for a second or so, and the NPC's do suck but it still manages to draw you in, We all know it has its bugs but no I agree that this is probably the best RPG to date, when i first got it i couldnt put it down, there are thousands of quests, and on high settings with a high resolution it looks better than any other game its true sometimes my framerate drops to 30 :( but this is only for a second or so, and the NPC's do suck but it still manages to draw you in, We all know it has its bugs but no game is perfect, But also no game comes this close.… Expand
  6. ErikM.
    May 2, 2006
    8
    Would have gotten a 9 if Bethesda actually released a finished product instead of this bug-ridden beta version. Black marks for STILL not having a patch either, since they're focusing only on revenue-generating expansions. Fun game when it works, but the scaling dungeons dumb the game down way too much. Not enough variety in gear. Graphics are great, save for the annoyingly ugly faces.
  7. BellinoP.
    May 2, 2006
    10
    Simply the best game I have ever played. Hands Down!
  8. PackerL.
    May 2, 2006
    10
    WOW !! I can't believe how great this game is.
  9. MattB.
    May 6, 2006
    7
    The game itself is amazing, untill it suddenly comes to an abrupt end. sure you can keep going with side quests and whatever, but the main quest should have been much longer, graphics are awesome, but why is everyone so ugly? release a pretty face patch or something.
  10. AndrewN.
    Jun 14, 2006
    10
    Superb game. A real life eate. Although it's not perfect the little flaws do nothing to detract from a game that is vast in scope and enjoyment. You don't even have to play the story line - I've clocked 160+ hours and still haven't touched it. The side plots are more than enough to keep you entertained.
  11. Hef
    Jun 20, 2006
    7
    A decent game, good for wasting away the hours, however it's plagued with bugs and the difficulty scaling issue doesn't help its cause much either. I stopped playing it with about half the quests finished, the repetitiveness of the game made me feel like I'd seen every new quest before.
  12. KameelE.
    Jun 28, 2006
    5
    Nice graphics, but the scaling levels are a bad idea. You never, ever feel strong. Not nearly enough armor and weapons to find that you can use. One can become the leader of all the guilds without even embarking on the main mission which consists of, uh what was it again? Areas and dungeons all look the same and even though you can wander all over the map, it never feels like you are Nice graphics, but the scaling levels are a bad idea. You never, ever feel strong. Not nearly enough armor and weapons to find that you can use. One can become the leader of all the guilds without even embarking on the main mission which consists of, uh what was it again? Areas and dungeons all look the same and even though you can wander all over the map, it never feels like you are visiting new areas. Great fun for a while, but it loses it's luster fairly quickly. Run around in Sneak mode all the time and you soon become so unnoticable, you can walk right by every enemy in the game and NEVER fight. Voice work is ridiculosly silly when you are talking to an NPC and all of a sudden his voice is from a different person! There really is no immersion, as you always feel like an outcast and a stranger, intruding into others lives. I was rather disappointed.… Expand
  13. JohnI.
    Jun 4, 2006
    6
    It only deserves a 10 if you have the highest PC and video card system in the world. I have more than min. specs but can hardly run it. Do not trust the specs bethesda gives! My Morrowind looks almost as good and is a lot better game despite no speech or "radiant AI". The swamp area feels like a swamp area and the wildenerness feels like a wilderness. Not so Oblivion, even if Morrowind It only deserves a 10 if you have the highest PC and video card system in the world. I have more than min. specs but can hardly run it. Do not trust the specs bethesda gives! My Morrowind looks almost as good and is a lot better game despite no speech or "radiant AI". The swamp area feels like a swamp area and the wildenerness feels like a wilderness. Not so Oblivion, even if Morrowind doesn't look as good. More proof that graphics isn't everything!… Expand
  14. hcarter
    Jun 9, 2006
    9
    I haven't played an RPG this good since the Baldur's Gate series. The endless play is amazing, let alone the great main quest arc. The amount of variation you can play in this game is just amazing. The graphics are wonderful. Back when CIV4 came out I had upgraded my video card--so I was easily able to play Oblivion with no modifications whatsoever.
    There are a few glitches    I haven't played an RPG this good since the Baldur's Gate series. The endless play is amazing, let alone the great main quest arc. The amount of variation you can play in this game is just amazing. The graphics are wonderful. Back when CIV4 came out I had upgraded my video card--so I was easily able to play Oblivion with no modifications whatsoever.
    There are a few glitches here and there--but nothing too major---the first beta patch is sincerely a take or leave install--which means the version you get in your box was tested well. Still, I'm eager to see what the full exp. patch will entail when it's released. The only thing that would earn a 10 from me is multi-player--same party capabilities like Baldurs Gate. Otherwise, bravo to Bethesda--well done.    … Expand
  15. Cocidius
    Jul 27, 2006
    10
    this game rocks... It's not only a huge world which looks amazing and give you (almost) total freedom; It's modding system gives you the ability to mod all those pesky little bugs away :D The only downside is that is has a tendency to crash.
  16. Exos1stWalker
    Jul 29, 2006
    10
    This game is so cool. Ignore what those other bastards say Oblivion deserves a 10. Bethesda has worked bloody hard on this game. The A.I. is so next-gen. The graphics are eye candy that you're eyes won't stop staring at (if you have the right graphics card). The combat is fun but the level scaling system really ticks me off so there's no use in leveling up. Sure there bugs This game is so cool. Ignore what those other bastards say Oblivion deserves a 10. Bethesda has worked bloody hard on this game. The A.I. is so next-gen. The graphics are eye candy that you're eyes won't stop staring at (if you have the right graphics card). The combat is fun but the level scaling system really ticks me off so there's no use in leveling up. Sure there bugs some are hell some are not so hell. But thats why patches were invented. The Pc version is 5% better than the X BOX 360 one beacause you can download stuff and create your own bonus content. Some things are really anoying like how an imperial gaurd on the other side of the island all of a sudden knows that you stole a horse. But nothing is perfect buy this game now.… Expand
  17. TristanEdge
    Jul 5, 2006
    10
    One of the greatest games I have ever played, and I'm not overreacting; I've played plenty of RPGs (and games in general). Graphics are simply beautiful - you can stand on a mountain overlooking a town and see a huge Imperial city in the distance. Gameplay was varied and enjoyable - several styles of combat, plenty of character interaction, some fun mini-games, and a whole hostOne of the greatest games I have ever played, and I'm not overreacting; I've played plenty of RPGs (and games in general). Graphics are simply beautiful - you can stand on a mountain overlooking a town and see a huge Imperial city in the distance. Gameplay was varied and enjoyable - several styles of combat, plenty of character interaction, some fun mini-games, and a whole host of back story in the form of books, letters, newspapers, and gossip. The world is pretty damned big - coastlines, rivers and bridges, mountains, forests, towns and cities, hamlets, dungeons, caves, ancient ruins... the map has a nicely spaced out feel to it, it's not too clustered. Each individual dungeon area seems different with its own traps, monsters, scenary etc... Realistic physics were a great addition - seeing an enemy fall down a cliff can be very satisfying. Level scaling was well implemented, as your enemy's levels match your own. The various addons that Bethesda are releasing look to make this game very enjoyable for a very long time to come! You MUST buy this game!!… Expand
  18. AcharneA.
    Aug 1, 2006
    10
    The most stand up game ever made.
  19. AnonymousMC
    Aug 23, 2006
    6
    Considering how hyped this game has been, it would have to be the best game ever made (and 20 times as good as the second best) not to be incredibly overrated.

    It's a good game in a lot of ways. There is a ton of opportunity to play the game in different ways. The range of characters you can develop feels almost limitless and the span of the world is huge. I have three main    Considering how hyped this game has been, it would have to be the best game ever made (and 20 times as good as the second best) not to be incredibly overrated.

    It's a good game in a lot of ways. There is a ton of opportunity to play the game in different ways. The range of characters you can develop feels almost limitless and the span of the world is huge.

    I have three main beefs: instability, quest fragility, and NPC lameness. Instability doesn't affect everyone, but it affects people across a wide range of computing power. On the PC it crashes at minimal settings even with reccommended hardware. It crashes overclockers and non-overclockers, patched and unpatched versions alike. It's even been known to crash the console! nothing ruins a high immersion game like frequent crashes.

    Quest fragility is another problem. A lot of quests can be broken if you do things slightly out of order. It's not all that common, but this isn't some half-assed budget game like KOTOR II. It's oblivion. Things should just sort of work. On a related note, the way horses work sucks.

    The NPCs are my last complaint. Their facial expressions are totally wrong all the time. When people are flipped out, their eyes are supposed to get bigger, not smaller. This is not rocket science. All that work went into making faces life-like and varried, but the expressions are creepily unnatural. How is it that the most touted RPG of all time has NPCs that look so much worse than the ones in HL2 - a first person shooter?!

    This is an almost great game and if I hadn't experienced so much instability, I might let the other complaints go. Still maybe we can all stop pretending that this is the best game since Sliced Bread Challenge Ultra (remember that game?) and get real.    … Expand
  20. MarcO.
    Aug 6, 2006
    7
    Oblivion is the greatest game in terms of the massive amount of freedom and mods. There are countless mods/plug-ins for Oblivion and that is what i like. Even though the plug-ins cost a small sum it doesn't bother me. This game has somewhat little to no realism in terms of the jumping and weapon damage, physics etc etc. But I don't expect it to be perfect because nothing is Oblivion is the greatest game in terms of the massive amount of freedom and mods. There are countless mods/plug-ins for Oblivion and that is what i like. Even though the plug-ins cost a small sum it doesn't bother me. This game has somewhat little to no realism in terms of the jumping and weapon damage, physics etc etc. But I don't expect it to be perfect because nothing is perfect. And the most disapointing fact is that it has a tendency to crash ALOT. Other then that all is fine. Story line is okay. It's basically another life, i hope they patch up the technical problems, crashing glitches etc etc… Expand
  21. SebastianM.
    Sep 11, 2006
    10
    Immersive and extensive game play makes for a great - and lasting- experience; enhanced blending visuals.
  22. MikeD.
    Jan 13, 2007
    10
    This is a single player for World of Warcraft. Trust me, nothing got near World of Warcraft other than this game for the single player role playing game.
  23. BenA.
    Jan 14, 2007
    10
    Simply the best game I have ever played, beats Halo or Gears of War Hands down. Simply eye popping - mind blowing visuals, a brilliant story. A must have for ANY RPG fan. Also fear not if your computer isn't good enough to run it, there is a mod called Oldblivion that alows older/worse computers to play the game!
  24. noobclass
    Oct 28, 2007
    7
    Beautiful graphics. Pretty corny 'huge production' theme music at the title screen. I really enjoyed my time playing it, so I'll give it an 8. I'll outline some criticism for it down below. 1st person is great, really like to be able to control it that way. If you want to complain about it, go back to world of warcraft and the continuous clicking of 'cast Beautiful graphics. Pretty corny 'huge production' theme music at the title screen. I really enjoyed my time playing it, so I'll give it an 8. I'll outline some criticism for it down below. 1st person is great, really like to be able to control it that way. If you want to complain about it, go back to world of warcraft and the continuous clicking of 'cast spell', or clicking on the enemy and saying 'attack'. Making your own class was fun, but it didn't really make any difference. You can pick any class and end up being the same as others in the end. Also, a lot of useless skills (alteration, mercantile, illusion, speechcraft, security, etc...) that are just not worth it. The storylines were interesting, but again it was 'go to X city and talk to this person'. go to Y location and kill Z and retrieve AA item. Go back to X. Pretty repetitive after awhile. Unless you've played the game before, the birth signs all seem like really cool, unique ideas. Most of these can be completely obsolete after a couple levels (stat bonuses, shadow, tower, etc...). I would really love to see birth signs that are completely unique and you can't find as a scroll or spell after a couple hours of playing.… Expand
  25. DamienN.
    Feb 11, 2007
    10
    ABSOLUTELY SUPERB! If you haven't bought it buy it this instant you haven't a clue what your missing out on! Ticks all the right boxes (GFX, SOUND, quantity of quests) and on top of that CPT Jean Luc Picard is in it to so BUY IT!
  26. TomA.
    Mar 23, 2007
    8
    This game is definitely fun. The graphics are excellent. You are free to explore a large world. The game developers seemed to only use about 5 different voices for hundreds of non player characters. In a game where everything is focused on quests, the realism is goes out the door fast. I would also like to say that this game has a lot of very repetitious elements so if you can rent it This game is definitely fun. The graphics are excellent. You are free to explore a large world. The game developers seemed to only use about 5 different voices for hundreds of non player characters. In a game where everything is focused on quests, the realism is goes out the door fast. I would also like to say that this game has a lot of very repetitious elements so if you can rent it you'll enjoy it more. Oblivion was fun for about two weeks.… Expand
  27. ColbyA.
    Mar 23, 2007
    9
    Okay, I won't waste your time rephrasing everything everyone has said here. Great Graphics, Great gameplay (imo), but the scaling system is seriously flawed, yes. My suggestion? If you buy this for the PC, find a modding site and download a scaling modification for the game. Oblivion for the PC was -made- to be modded, so find mods that fix the game how you want it, and play. Okay, I won't waste your time rephrasing everything everyone has said here. Great Graphics, Great gameplay (imo), but the scaling system is seriously flawed, yes. My suggestion? If you buy this for the PC, find a modding site and download a scaling modification for the game. Oblivion for the PC was -made- to be modded, so find mods that fix the game how you want it, and play. It's definitely worth the money and the time.… Expand
  28. TheWasp
    Mar 25, 2007
    8
    The only down side to to this game is (was),you can not attack while ridding on your horse.
  29. TimothyM.
    Apr 16, 2007
    10
    This is really one of the most addicting games ever created. The world is huge, there are tons of quests, and there are so many variations of characters. This is not the normal type of turn based RPG. This mixes the two worlds of RPG and FPS in a beautiful almost seamless way. There are few games that I have played and been sucked into. This is one of them.
  30. ConorL.
    May 12, 2007
    10
    Totally the best game on the PC that i'v played, Its also great on the 360 everythng about the game has a very good feeling to it and the graphics for a world that big is AMAZING.
Page:

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PC Game of 2006
2
#2 Most Discussed PC Game of 2006
2
#2 Most Shared PC Game of 2006

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
94

Universal acclaim - based on 54 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 54
  3. Negative: 0 out of 54
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    100
    It’s just so damned big. That’s what you’ll say after playing Oblivion for more than an hour. Or, for that matter, 50 hours.
    Read full review
  2. Game Over Online
    96
    Oblivion is by far the closest I have come to playing D&D Sunday afternoons with my friends (yes, I did that, though I’m on medication now), all wrapped up in a stunning package with tens of thousands of lines of spoken dialog and good music.
    Read full review
  3. Quandary
    100
    I honestly have to say that I am in favour of most of the changes and I think Oblivion is an awesome achievement from Bethesda.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »