Summary
- Oblivion Remastered's vampirism system is frustrating players expecting a Skyrim-like experience.
- The Elder Scrolls franchise has gradually streamlined vampirism mechanics over time.
- Some players are experiencing severe penalties like sun damage when becoming vampires in Oblivion Remastered.
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is frustrating some players with its vampirism system, particularly those who expected it to be more akin to Skyrim. While these complaints sparked some interesting fan discussion over game design and TES tradition, they also led to players proclaiming that they "hate" the way being a vampire works in Oblivion Remastered.
Vampires have been part of The Elder Scrolls franchise for the entirety of its existence. However, Bethesda's 1994 classic TES: Arena only included them as enemies. It wasn't until TES 2: Daggerfall two years later then the celebrated RPG series embraced vampirism as a gameplay mechanic, allowing players to join these magical beings rather than fight them. As was the case with most of its systems, Daggerfall's take on vampirism was fairly complex, featuring nine distinct vampire bloodlines, each with its own abilities, questlines, and lore peculiarities.
Oblivion Remastered: 7 Biggest Differences From The Original Game
Compared to the original, Oblivion Remastered changes much of the visuals and gameplay – but these differences don't sacrifice the game's soul.
From Daggerfall onward, every mainline The Elder Scrolls title has gradually streamlined vampirism, making it noticeably more accessible over time. Some players are now learning this firsthand after eagerly jumping at the opportunity to become a vampire in Oblivion Remastered, only to find themselves shackled with unexpectedly severe penalties. "I HATE being a vampire," exclaimed Reddit user LoTheReaper in a recent online rant that prompted widespread agreement, TheGamer reports. The complaint proved popular enough to hit the front page of r/Oblivion, a community of 860,000.
Sun damage is one of the most inconvenient penalties Oblivion imposes on vampires, forcing them to avoid broad daylight unless they feed constantly, thus keeping the disease’s worst symptoms at bay. Contracting vampirism in both the original game and its massively successful remaster essentially forces players to realign their priorities. This might mean fully giving in to the vampire way of life, or dropping everything to seek a cure for Oblivion Remastered's brand of vampirism.
Oblivion Remastered's Vampirism Is Polarizing Players
Some series veterans enjoy these dynamics, having said as much while chiming in on LoTheReaper’s recently shared frustrations. “Vampirism is a disease, not a cheat code,” as one internet denizen succinctly put it. While that assessment is spot-on, anyone who played Skyrim before Oblivion can certainly be excused for expecting a less punishing experience after contracting Porphyric Hemophilia in Cyrodiil—intentionally or not.
Vampirism is a disease, not a cheat code.
Skyrim's version of vampirism avoids sun damage and imposes only mild penalties for failing to feed regularly. That said, bloodsucking poses little challenge in Skyrim, essentially coming down to pressing a button near any sleeping NPC.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
- Released
- April 22, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Action, RPG, Open-World, Adventure
