Why TES IV: Oblivion Still Outshines Skyrim

If you ask most gamers who experienced the Xbox 360 era—aside from the infamous Red Ring of Death—chances are they’ll share plenty of fond memories. For many Xbox 360 owners, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion created countless such moments, myself included. I was working for Official Xbox Magazine at the time, and despite the major success of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind’s Xbox port, it never quite captured my attention. Oblivion, however, hooked me from the start. Originally intended as a day-one launch title for the second Xbox, we ran multiple cover stories leading up to its release—just the screenshots alone left everyone in awe—and I enthusiastically volunteered for every trip to Bethesda's office in quiet Rockville, Maryland.

When it came time to review Oblivion—back when exclusive reviews were common and accepted—I eagerly took the opportunity. I returned to Rockville one last time, settling into a conference room in Bethesda’s basement for four straight days. For nearly 11 hours each day, I was immersed in Cyrodiil, exploring every corner of that breathtaking, expansive, next-generation medieval fantasy world. Before flying home, I had logged 44 hours and penned OXM’s 9.5 out of 10 review, a score I still firmly stand by today. It was an unforgettable game, packed with compelling quests—like the Dark Brotherhood—and off-the-beaten-path surprises (if you know about the unicorn, you know). Since I was playing a submission build on an Xbox 360 debug kit rather than a retail console, I had to restart when I received my final boxed copy of a game I had already invested two full real-life days in.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Screenshots

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I happily poured another 130 hours into The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, so it’s no surprise that I'm absolutely thrilled about its remastered release on modern platforms.

For younger gamers who grew up with Skyrim, the newly released The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered will be their first "new" mainline Elder Scrolls game since Skyrim's debut.

In fact, I’m almost envious of the generation that came of age with Skyrim, as that game defines The Elder Scrolls for them. The freshly launched Oblivion Remastered represents the first new mainline entry since Skyrim originally launched—the first of many iterations—over 13 years ago, while fans of all ages continue waiting for The Elder Scrolls VI, which is likely still 4–5 years away.

But if I’m being honest, I doubt Oblivion will resonate with new players the way it did with me back in March 2006. For one, it’s a two-decade-old game (side note: kudos to Bethesda for releasing it now rather than waiting another year for its more elegant-sounding 20th anniversary). Many games have built on Oblivion's foundations, including several from Bethesda itself—Fallout 3, Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Starfield. Second, it no longer delivers the same visual impact it did in 2006, when I’d argue it was the first truly next-gen experience of the HD era on Xbox 360. While the remaster certainly looks better than the original—that’s the whole point—it doesn’t tower over other titles as something you’ve never seen before. By design, remasters aim to modernize older games for current hardware. This stands in stark contrast to full remakes like Resident Evil, which are expected to be built from the ground up and compete visually with the best on the market.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion arrived at just the right time. By fully leveraging HD televisions and expanding the scale of what players expected from an open-world game, it delivered a wake-up call to console gamers accustomed to 640x480 interlaced displays. (Although, speaking of visual punches, just a month before Oblivion's March launch, EA released Fight Night Round 3 in February 2006—an absolutely stunning game in its own right.)

My memories of Oblivion are abundant—it was a world overflowing with discoveries and activities. For newcomers, here’s a tip: either complete the main quest as quickly as possible, or save it until you’ve exhausted every side quest and open-world activity. Why? Once you progress along the main story, Oblivion gates begin spawning randomly and can become a nuisance, so in my view it’s best to seal them off early.

Ultimately, the technological leap from Morrowind to Oblivion may never be repeated—though if we wait long enough for The Elder Scrolls 6, perhaps it will. At the very least, playing Oblivion Remastered won’t feel as dramatically different from any version of Skyrim, so younger gamers raised on Skyrim might not experience what I did. Whether you’re stepping into Oblivion for the first time or revisiting it after hundreds of hours, its richly crafted medieval fantasy world, filled with surprises and adventures, has always made it my favorite Elder Scrolls game. I’m delighted it’s back, even if its surprise return was repeatedly leaked before finally arriving.