Today, Bethesda unveiled The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, described as a “love letter” to the original game with updated graphics, modernized gameplay, and more. Better yet, the game is available to play today through Game Pass, Xbox Series, PlayStation 5, and PC.
The game has been rebuilt from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5, although the teams at both Bethesda and Virtuos said little about the core of the game has changed. It remains the Oblivion you remember; it just looks and plays better, with a much wider range of technical ability than the disc-based game of 2006. That said, it has several quality-of-life improvements that will make it easier for gamers used to modern mechanics.
Perhaps most noteworthy of all is the sprint feature. You can now run at full tilt when needed, and that should help offset the sometimes-plodding feel of the original. Numerous voice lines have been added to the game, too, but Virtuos was careful to preserve the silliness of the original (especially Sheogorath’s obsession with cheese.)
The leveling system has also been improved. Players of the original game might remember that enemies could scale in strange ways, resulting in woodland creatures that were more threatening than trained city guards, but that’s a thing of the past. Virtuos leaned into Skyrim’s leveling system as a base and also borrowed from its combat systems, giving Oblivion Remastered a heftier feel in battle.
The game will launch with all of the original’s add-ons and expansions, which means you’ll be able to visit The Shivering Isles and play through the Knights of the Nine storyline. Smaller additions, like the infamous horse armor, have also made a comeback.
And for fans eagerly waiting for the next game in the franchise, don’t worry. Todd Howard assured viewers that work on The Elder Scrolls VI is well underway, though he didn’t give any more detail than that.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is available today for $50 across a variety of platforms. We assume it will roll out per region; at present, we can’t download it, but it might simply not yet be available or there are too many people trying to access the servers at once.
