That said, Virtuos has also made changes on that front. Most notably, today’s announcement revealed that the remaster will have a completely overhauled leveling system, which is described as combining elements from Oblivion and Skyrim.
That will be welcome news for many players. In many ways, Oblivion feels like a modern game, but its leveling system—which incentivizes players to delay leveling up to grind certain skills—was controversial even when it launched. It’s not completely clear what the new one will look like, but this is likely a case where most fans will consider any change a good one.
Other aspects of the game that are a bit odd and anachronistic are still in place, though, like the persuasion system for conversations with NPCs. Oblivion’s appeal is largely about its jazzy gameplay systems, so the team likely didn’t want to compromise that too much. Lockpicking is the same as before, too.
On the presentation side, Virtuos has added a much more robust lighting system than before, and the game looks hyper-detailed. NPC faces and talking animations have been overhauled for the better, but there are still some wacky-looking people. (Would we really have it any other way?)
Bethesda
Considerable effort has gone into remastering the character faces, as you can see on this Khajiit.
Bethesda
Bethesda
The UI has also been redone, but it follows the motif set by the original.
Bethesda
Considerable effort has gone into remastering the character faces, as you can see on this Khajiit.
Bethesda
The UI has also been redone, but it follows the motif set by the original.
Bethesda
All told, the stream made it look like we’re getting a promising new coat of paint on a game that made an enormous impact when it first arrived in 2006 but which was overshadowed by Skyrim a few years later.
The Elder Scrolls VI is still in development, and Skyrim was much closer in time to Oblivion than it is to today. So apart from The Elder Scrolls Online, fans of the franchise have been experiencing a historic drought.
A remaster certainly isn’t the same as a new game, but if Bethesda and Virtuos pulled it off, this release is sure to be popular.
The game is available on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S for $50 today. It’s also on Game Pass.
