by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: $16.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Patrick Stewart, Sean Bean, Terrance Stamp, Lynda Carter
Intro:
… an undeniable pleasure and quite the delightful surprise …
It’s hard to overstate just how much of an impact The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion had when it dropped way back in that ancient epoch, 2006. Just the concept of a massive, open world fantasy game you could quite literally lose yourself in, was a revelation back in those halcyon days. The sheer scope of the damn thing was mind-blowing and Bethesda quickly became synonymous with RPG greatness.
From a personal perspective too, your humble world-janitor – a wee pup at the time – reviewed the title for Official Playstation Magazine Australia. It was our first large spread (somewhere around nine pages, if memory serves) and we poured out a torrent of love for the game that had so bewitched our skinny, stoned arse.
Now, in 2025, we have a remaster of the title and it’s a pretty bloody impressive one, but will it satisfy nostalgic fans of the original and, perhaps more importantly, bring new players to the table?
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered tells the tale of a user-generated character in the province of Cyrodiil. Like most games from that era, the story opens with you in a jail cell, soon interrupted by Emperor Uriel Septim VII (played by Patrick Stewart, no less), who uses your involuntary lodgings to access a secret passage.
Naturally, you follow the classically trained royal one as he tries – and fails – to avoid being assassinated. From there, you’re embroiled in a generic but fun fantasy plot that involves conspiracies, magic and a bunch of narky demons from the Daedric realm of Oblivion.
In practical terms, the game plays a lot like Skyrim, in that it can be played from first and third person perspectives and involves you fart-arsing around the jaw-droppingly huge map, getting into fights, looting corpses and upping your stats. It’s an engaging gameplay loop, no doubt, although those weaned on Skyrim may find some aspects, like the repetitive dungeon design, a little lacking.
So, that’s the game. But what’s been improved for the remaster? Well, in a word, everything.
While this title claims to be a remaster. it’s a giant rat’s pubic hair away from being a full-on remake. The graphics, animation, sound, combat and UI have also been given significant upgrades on all platforms and the experience of playing the thing feels a lot like a modded-up Skyrim. Yes, the classic Bethesda jank remains, with flubbed voice lines and bizarre bugs cropping up with amusing (but thankfully never overwhelming) regularity, but in terms of a fully working version of Oblivion that you can play in 2025, with all the DLC included, this cannot be beat.Fans of the original, however lapsed, will likely find a lot to love here (dungeon design aside) and the sense of returning home will engulf you, like sinking into a warm bath. However, the question remains: will this entice newcomers to the table? Some, probably. Players who’ve only ever kicked around in Skyrim before, but still like that Bethesda vibe, will undoubtedly find something to enjoy here. Total newcomers to that developer’s oeuvre, however, may well be put off by the rough edges and occasionally obtuse systems (the lock picking can get stuffed, hey).
Still and all, being able to dip your toe back into Oblivion’s mud-crabby waters is an undeniable pleasure and quite the delightful surprise from uncle Todd and company. For those initiated into its charms in an earlier age, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered will feel like a triumphant return home and a chunky fantasy adventure well worth immersing yourself into for a second, third or fiftieth time.
