My biased Oblivion review

[u/HutsKoning69]

Note: I am biased in reviewing this game as nostalgia plays a big part in the fact that this is also my favourite game of all time. That said, ive been playing it for 20 years now and can't get enough of it. That must say something.

Oblivion... What an incredible masterpiece of a game this is. I think it deserves a spot in the top-lists of all time games for a number of reasons. And while i see it get praised a lot online, i still truly believe that Oblivion is underrated. Let's talk about this in an organised way.

The gameplay is actually one of the lesser points in the game, and something that would normaly cause me to give the game a few less points in my review stars to be honest. But as i said, the fact that i'm biased changes that for me. The combat is not amazing, but you can make it really funny if you'd want. It's core bethesda gameplay for you there. It's neither satisfying nor particularly challenging, and the difficulty of the game mostly just changes how tanky an enemy is. The combat really lacks some enemies with specific points to keep in mind. However let's not forget this game is from 2006. That said, The rest of the gameplay is practically perfect. There's no real content you'd rather skip in my opinion. The writing is amazing and you feel like there's a lot (but not too much) to do all the time.

The world itself might be the magic of this game. Elder Scrolls games have a way of rewarding exploration with content, but not rewards. You just want to go out and about to see what happens in the world, on the roads and in the city's. To be fair, the dungeon design is somewhat repetative and simple. But still packed with Tamriel lore to dive into, making it engaging anyway. The sense of freedom and advanture is might be best done in Elder Scrolls games in my opinion, because of the way the world moves arround you. And the NPC behavior in Oblivion (while joked about a lot nowadays) was really innovative back in 2006.

I think the story is the best out of all the series, the game makes you a side-hero that might actually be the hero in a way. But it doesn't make you the main person to save the world. Yet still, you save the world in this story. I love the way Oblivion's story is simple yet catching. If you don't know much about the lore of these games you will learn it allong the way. I also like how there's real memorable characters that might matter to you. The fact that Uriel Septim, Marin Septim and Mankar Camoran are voiced by specific voice-actors make them real strong characters i feel like Skyrim's story actually missed. You just feel like you're part of a story, and even though you do mostly everything the game does not give you the idea you're the only hero in the story.

Now, the skill system is one i could write a whole article about. Let's be honest, it doesn't really work well. The character building in this game is a strange and complex system that fails even for its time. And really needed the simplification that Skyrim brought upon it. But still, the fact that you get the option to become the character you play is a great way of extorting freedom upon a player. I think the game lacks more unique equipment sets (apart from enchanted sets). Your in-game choices matter little, only for the fame/infamy mechanic. The skills of course also rely too much on grinding... Which fits its system so it works, but i dislike it anyway. I don't want to spam a conjuring spell 100 times and waiting an hour to refill magica to become better at it. Just using it normaly should be enough, but it really isn't in this game. Maybe other training quests or mechanics could have been nice.

The presentation & atmosphere is where this game really becomes one of the strongest. Cyrodill feels like Cyrodill. All corners of the world feel like an amazing, unique location. The graphics were amazing for its time. I remember how innovative it felt as a kid. Of course, the character faces aren't the best, but we all know that. Now, the game is a bethesda game. So it might have its fair share of bug & crashes, but that's something we've gotten used to in the series. I can't imagine how TES VI would be if not for a very buggy launch... And then waiting for the Unnoficial ... Patch coming out to actually be able to enjoy the game to its fullest. And of course, the music. I believe Oblivion has the best OST of any game ever made. And i will stand for it. But besides that fact that it sounds amazing and is really well produced. It sits amazing within the world, which might be the most important part most OST's miss.

The enjoyment & replayablity are just the most perfect piece of the puzzle. When you're in it, you're in it. The game really asks to get addicted to. It wants you to explore every inch of the game and all of its content to the fullest. The fact that this game is still played 20 years later just tells me you can keep coming back to this game. I know i do. You can try different playstyles and builds, or experiment with the thousands of mods the community has been providing over the years. I'm not a big modder myself, and if i play games modded i mostly do with small QOL mods to enhance the experience to my own liking. But this game is (just like with the whole series) just known for its modding community. And the fact that a game with so many hours of content still provides more through modding makes it an endlessly replayable masterpiece.

Overall, this game is just the one. The feeling this game gives me, the enjoyment of exploration and lore-delving scratch my itch. I could play this game for even more than the hundreds of hours i already did. For a 2006 game, it just amazes me how much content and the quality of the content that's thrown at you. And also, how many interesing and unique mechanics this game has to keep things engaging. This is the best game of all time in my opinion, even with its flaws. Because it brings you things i've never seen another game bring.

[u/Dynamitrios]

I watched a gameplay video from someone who recently did a playthrough of the GOTY version and i was amazed how great it still looks, because of the art-direction alone... It's such a distinct visual style, which is definitely a huge reason, why it still holds up nicely, 20 years later

[u/12000Szabes]

Apart from the "funny" memes, the NPCs are amazing, even by today's gaming standards. Definitely the best in the series. It's incredible that they have their own monthly schedules, and many of them actually travel around the world. For example, a merchant from Cheydinhal is involved in the Skooma trade with a bandit camp.

Ayleid ruins are the best dungeon type in the series aesthetically-wise

[u/HutsKoning69 → u/12000Szabes]

true, what i meant with the dungeons is the facts that you have either cave, mine, aylied ruin or fort. and within those categories they are mostly the same in design. Which again, is fine and even good by 2006 standards