The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Review

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was an absolute game-changer when it came out. It was an amazing sequel to Morrowind, but has arguably been overshadowed by the follow-up game, Skyrim, and of course, the Elder Scrolls Online MMORPG.

That leaves us with a simple question: 13 years and multiple sequels later, is Oblivion still worth playing? Or should you go get an arrow in your knee with a different game in this franchise?

Story

This game is set in the Cryodill province of Tamriel. You play a prisoner who is pardoned by the Emperor. After he and his sons are assassinated, you must find an heir to the throne.

Along the way, you fight plenty of conventional bad guys as well as otherworldly Daedra. And it soon becomes clear that you must find a way to shut down the gates that these fiends are coming through or there will be no kingdom left to serve!

Uriel Septim the VII, Emperor of Tamriel

Visuals

Whenever booting up a really old game, there is likely a blunt question in your mind: “Does it still look any good?”

After all, nostalgia is a hell of a drug. And some of the games that wowed you in years past might be downright ugly now.

Fortunately, Oblivion is not one of those games. It still looks very epic: crisp sprites, interesting designs, and engaging architecture. And while some of the NPCs admittedly look weird, that is more a symptom of odd design choices rather than old school graphics looking weird on a new PC.

Lonely Kingdom

At its heart, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion wants to be an epic sword-and-sorcery game. The voice acting and sprawling open world help to evoke the feelings of genre classics such as The Lord of the Rings films.

And while the voice acting, world design, and story all help to do this, one thing really sabotages that epic feel: this kingdom is really damn lonely.

It’s very notable how few characters are on screen at any one time. And once you notice that, it’s tough not to notice the same dozen or so people who do almost all of the dialogue in the game.

This doesn’t diminish the overall experience, but it does making traveling that open world a little bit lonelier.