Even though it isn’t the most popular entry in the series, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is regarded by some as the best Elder Scrolls game ever made. The Bethesda-developed fantasy RPG was one of the most revolutionary titles of the seventh console generation. When it came out in 2006 on Xbox 360 and Windows PC, it left a major impact on the open world genre. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion’s large, interactive environments, combined with its cutting-edge graphics, blew many fans’ minds back in the day. Since they couldn't be achieved on last-gen hardware like the PS2, they were considered very advanced for the time.
These days, however, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion no longer looks that impressive. The game’s graphics have aged poorly, and its NPC AI is so notoriously bad that it’s become the subject of countless internet memes. In order to bring Oblivion up to modern standards, a group of passionate modders have been attempting to remake the game within The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim . This mod, aptly called Skyblivion, has been in development for quite some time and, although it looks really impressive, it’s missing one major feature that could detriment it considerably.
7 Things An Oblivion Remake Can Learn From Skyrim
An Oblivion remake can learn from Skyrim with its deeper factions, more vibrant visuals, complex magic, and lively NPCs.
The Skyblivion Remake Won't Include One Major Piece of Content at Launch
Skyblivion Will Contain New Features in Addition to Most of the Content from TES 4: Oblivion
For a mod that’s being made entirely by a team of volunteers, Skyblivion is a very ambitious project. The developers of the remake aim to not only recreate everything that's present in the original Oblivion, they intend to add new features, as well. Certain regions in Oblivion, such as the city of Leyawiin, are receiving new locations inspired by Bethesda’s concept art for the game. Meanwhile, more than 20 new tracks of music are being created for the remake, including some new dungeon exploration and boss fight themes. On top of all that, the user interface of Oblivion is also getting a total makeover in Skyblivion to modernize it more. Many of the quests, textures, and environments in the game are even being rebuilt from scratch to take advantage of Skyrim’s Creation Engine.
TES 4: Oblivion's Expansion Packs Won't Be Available in Skyblivion at Launch
As exciting as Skyblivion sounds, there is one catch to the project: not all of its planned features will be available at launch. When the Skyblivion mod comes out later this year, it will not include any of the content from The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion’s two expansion packs, Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles. The developers of Skyblivion originally aimed to release this DLC content alongside the base version of the mod, but it appears that they still need more time to complete it.
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion’s expansions are dramatically different in terms of scope. While Knights of the Nine only features a relatively brief set of story missions, Shivering Isles includes enough content to fill up an entire game. The latter of the two DLCs, which came out in March 2007, contains more than 30 hours of new, open-ended quests, and it's widely regarded as one of the best expansions of all time. Shivering Isles is an integral part of the Oblivion experience, so a remake of the game can't be considered complete without it.
If Bethesda's Rumored Oblivion Remake Includes Shivering Isles, It Could Have a Big Advantage Over Skyblivion
The absence of Shivering Isles could prove to be a big disadvantage for Skyblivion in the long run because, if rumors are to be believed, Bethesda is working on an official The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion remake that's supposedly coming out this year. If this remake truly exists, and it includes Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine on day one, then it will have a major leg up over Skyblivion in this regard. Since the fan-made remake won’t contain either of these DLCs at launch, some gamers may prefer to play the official Oblivion remake instead, just to get the complete package.
- Released
- March 20, 2006
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Engine
- havok, speedtree, gamebryo
- Franchise
- The Elder Scrolls
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- RPG
