Is It Worth Returning to the Past: The New (Old) TES Oblivion

The Elder Scrolls series is rightfully considered one of the best representatives of the RPG genre. Skyrim has already become a legend and is still highly valued by players today.

But in this article, we will talk about the fourth part of TES Oblivion. Especially since a remaster has now been released. We will examine what has changed compared to the original and whether it is worth playing Oblivion in 2025?

System Requirements

📉 Minimum system requirements:

Image: youtube.com

📈 Recommended system requirements:

Image: youtube.com

In both cases, you will also need to free up a significant amount of space on your hard drive. The game requires at least 125 GB just for installation, and the size may increase during gameplay and after patches.

What Has Changed

Roughly speaking, almost everything except the story and the world. Graphics, NPC appearances, animations, the character editor, the level of detail in locations all have undergone major changes. Let’s take a look at the key highlights of the remaster.

Image: reddit.com 

Graphics

Unreal Engine 5 allowed the developers to go all out. Object textures have been redrawn and updated, and the level of detail in the locations is now stunning. Reflections, water physics, fine detail rendering everything is top-notch. In the remaster, every blade of grass is visible, and the familiar locations no longer feel empty. The UI has also been improved it’s now less cluttered, and the fonts and interface have been updated to modern standards while retaining the spirit of the original.

Image: youtube.com

The appearance of the characters has also been reworked. On the downside, some of the iconic ugly NPCs are gone, although for some characters, developers tried to make minimal changes. For instance, the Adoring Fan is still as ridiculous as his hairstyle.

The character editor still allows you to create bizarre-looking figures of various colors and shapes. Now there’s no longer a reliance on sliders, and customization has become simpler and more varied. For example, there’s already a social media trend where players recreate Khajiits that look like their favorite cats.

Image: reddit.com

Combat System

The biggest change in the combat system is that weapons finally have weight. Now your opponents react to hits, and heavy injuries result in blood splatter. In the original game, it felt like you were swinging a stick at the air, whereas in the remaster, every strike feels impactful.

Image: gamersky.com

Also, blocks and parries now require precise timing. Magic has been reworked too spells look better, cast faster, and have more noticeable effects.

Another important change when playing in third-person view, you can now enable an aiming reticle to see the direction of your strikes. Shooting has also been made more convenient, as has camera control, which no longer zooms awkwardly close to characters during dialogues.

Leveling System

One of the biggest changes affects the character leveling system. In the original game, you could receive a triple multiplier to your attributes by fulfilling certain conditions. In the remaster, this feature has been removed now you must carefully distribute your attributes without relying on a triple boost.

Image: reddit.com

The dynamic world leveling system remains, but it has become more balanced. If you abandon the storyline to slay Daedra left and right, you won’t end up with story bosses that are either too weak or overpowered. The game will adjust to your pace.

Other Changes

🏃 Sprint has been added. Previously, you had to either walk or run by toggling modes with a button. Now you can sprint by holding Shift or pressing the left stick.

🗣 Voice acting has been updated. In the original, several NPCs were voiced by the same actors. Now, there’s more variety and different accents. However, the dialogues themselves remain unchanged.

Image: youtube.com

👁 The stealth system has been improved. Animations and NPC awareness have been refined.

👜 The inventory system is now more user-friendly. Item sorting and quick equip functions have been added.

Image: youtube.com

🤖 NPC AI has been updated. Although they still get into silly situations sometimes, many annoying issues have been fixed, and more dialogues have been added. For example, NPCs now discuss the player’s quests or recent events.

🏋️ Size: Yes, let’s address the elephant in the room. The remaster is 25 times heavier than the original. This is due to Unreal Engine 5 all projects built on it demand high performance from PCs. But we will discuss the issues below.

Game Issues

NPC Faces

Despite updated animations and models, remnants of the original Oblivion engine are visible. NPC faces are still quite stiff, with only one or two expressive emotions, and animations are reminiscent of the good old 2006 era.

Image: youtube.com

Performance and Optimization

Speaking of the new engine, performance issues must be mentioned. There are... problems. If you want to play on ultra settings with ray tracing and admire the views, be prepared to invest in a better graphics card. Otherwise, you will have to settle for 40–50 FPS on medium-high settings or 30 FPS on medium if your PC isn’t very powerful.

Image: youtube.com

This leads to another problem texture loading lags. There are also frequent complaints about minor freezes, which are often only fixable with mods. For instance, one player reported that the camera froze every second, regardless of whether it was stationary or moving. We’re awaiting patches and fixes, but for now, mods are the go-to solution.

And again lags occur in "heavy" locations, such as cities with many inhabitants. Here, you’ll experience FPS drops and texture glitches. It’s the classic scenario we await patches.

Should You Play It?

If you are a fan of The Elder Scrolls series, your PC meets the requirements, and you’ve been waiting for the remaster definitely yes. You’ll be able to fully enjoy the beauty of Cyrodiil and replay the game with fresh emotions.

The remaster preserves the essence of the original game. You are still free to explore the world as you wish, and the improved combat system only enhances the adventure.

Image: reddit.com

However, if your PC isn’t very powerful, or you are unsure whether you’ll like it it’s better to wait for patches and performance fixes from the developers. This is not a remake; it is a remaster, meaning you will only get an updated visual experience, not changes to the story or mechanics.

We hope our article helped you decide whether to purchase the game and that you’ll enjoy Oblivion whether in its new or old version.

Main image: store.steampowered.com