Oblivion Remastered reminds me of when Bethesda were the true RPG masters
Oblivion Remastered demonstrates the kind of inspiring world and storytelling experience any studio worth its RPG weight should be aiming to recapture.
For the longest time, the RPG video game arms race was dominated by the two Bs: BioWare and Bethesda. Specialising in creating titles with memorable characters set in incredibly detailed worlds – the kind where you, the player, can make an impact through your own gameplay decisions – it's clear that this style of game, in 2025, has only become harder to make for both studios.
As a result, there's a lot less of these 'all-encompassing' style RPG experiences to be found in general, which means when a disappointment of, say, Starfield 's calibre arrives, it's no fun for anyone. Particularly the players and developers who adored the genre-defining experiences of BioWare and Bethesda's heyday.
While not a bad game per se, Dragon Age: The Veilguard 's more action-oriented approach caused long-time series fans to wonder why it was even called Dragon Age at all. As for Mass Effect? Time will tell whether BioWare can put lightning back in that bottle. Meanwhile, as for the other big B, I've been dipping in and out of Oblivion Remastered since its release this month.
It's showing age in places, true, yet still reminds me of when a Bethesda RPG was something to be savoured. Is it full of jank and barmy voice acting? Yes, but it also nails (as Skyrim also did) the feeling of being transported to another place, a feeling that's further cemented once you gain influence over it through your decisions. Starfield lacked a lot of this texture, by comparison. The difference with Oblivion is that it cuts the clutter.
Now, what do I mean by 'clutter'? Part of this is the size of the world, of course. Whereas Starfield was largely sold on the premise of being limitless, what with procedurally generated planets making up a vast solar system that seemed ripe for exploration alongside a few central hubs, Oblivion's Cyrodiil is almost the exact opposite.
In a little under 10 minutes, I can run from its capital all the way to the county of Kvatch, where I'm immediately besieged by countless narrative threads to pull on – almost all of them interesting. By nature of being substantially smaller, not only is Oblivion Remastered more manageable, but less intimidating when wanting to become invested in the several stories it presents.
Starfield's more procedural approach feels more like a chore. There's an interesting concept at its centre, one involving some sort of ancient prophecy that quickly sees your main mission to hunt down a series of Artefacts as part of Constellation's effort. This narrative throughline quickly gets muddled soon after you've first launched off the starting planet, however, and it isn't helped by the avalanche of continuous load screens as you board, fly, and then exit your shuttle. Oblivion Remastered has absolutely none of these extra trimmings, and therefore very little bloat. You're quickly out there, exploring Cyrodiil at your own pace, meeting all kinds of quirky races and characters.
A dying age
Funnily enough, where Oblivion Remastered is most like Starfield is in the raft of dungeons I'm encouraged to plunder. Absolutely all of them I've explored so far feel like the same copy-and-paste underground design, only with a slightly different layout and objective. This isn't an issue exclusive to Oblivion, mind you, Skyrim still has a similar sense of repetition.
However, it never bothers me too much since you're never forced to spend exorbitant amounts of time in them, meaning it's never too long before you're back out into Cyrodiil's beautiful open scenery – which obviously looks better than ever due to being rebuilt from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5.
These are just a few superficial examples, but as someone who is currently playing Oblivion for the first time via this remaster, the benefits are clear: Bethesda RPGs are best when they cut out any noise and make you the centre of this story cleanly and promptly. It's not perfect, and by nature of being essentially a facelift of a 2006 Xbox 360 title, there's a few niggles I have with combat, pacing, and the minigames. Dear lord, the minigames…
That said, I hope Bethesda learns what it did great during this era of RPG development so it can use these lessons to inform the next generation of The Elder Scrolls rather than the less nuanced approach of Starfield.
In the end, there's a direct line that can be drawn from Oblivion all the way to Starfield. You see it in its insistence on wanting to make the player feel special, combined with plenty of reasons to poke away at the farthest reaches of the map and, most of all, tell a story in a world that reflects the effects of your specific decision-making right back at you.
These kinds of wide-scale RPGs are no longer a walk in the park to make, and so it's not too surprising to see both BioWare and Bethesda stumble a fair bit when wanting to still get it right while making the most of what new advancements in technology offer. Oblivion Remastered, warts and all, has far more texture and allure than most other recent video game worlds. As such, I don't think it's wrong to expect a once great RPG studio like Bethesda to try and get back to that.
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