I Hope The Elder Scrolls 6 Learns The Right Lessons From Oblivion Remastered

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In days gone by, Bethesda held a strong reign in the RPG genre. Morrowind, an innovative game for its era, was followed by Oblivion and Fallout 3, which became iconic games during the PS3/Xbox 360 generation. Skyrim, one of the most influential and widely played games ever made, marked a shift in Bethesda’s design approach.

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Moving forward, things became less complex. While Skyrim remained an exceptional RPG, it lacked the depth that we were accustomed to seeing from Bethesda. This simplicity was likely one of the factors contributing to its broader appeal, but it contributed to the divided response towards Fallout 4. Starfield, on the other hand, seems to echo classic Bethesda gameplay, and its reception is a testament to that.

With The Elder Scrolls 6‘s development progressing, Bethesda can’t afford to overlook the importance of their traditional approach, as they’ve managed to make Oblivion more well-liked than ever before.

Or:

As work on The Elder Scrolls 6 moves forward, it’s crucial that Bethesda doesn’t disregard the value of their classic method, given how successful they’ve been in making Oblivion more popular than it was originally.

People Want The Deeper RPGs Again

2021 marked the release of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, a sequel to Warhorse Studios’ underrated 2018 role-playing game. Despite being somewhat underappreciated initially, it garnered numerous top scores from critics. To attract a broader audience, the creators engaged content producers and streamers to play the game, maintaining its rich depth while making it more accessible for mainstream enjoyment.

Now, we’ve got Oblivion Remastered back on the scene, sporting a shiny new look thanks to Unreal Engine 5. However, the fundamental gameplay remains the same at its core. Many longtime fans find joy in its faithful recreation of the original, but what really stirs excitement is watching newcomers discover this classic title for themselves.

Compared to the response following Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Starfield, I genuinely pray Bethesda glean the appropriate insights from this experience. Todd Howard expressed during the Oblivion Remastered unveiling, “Every time we think of Oblivion, it’s ‘What if we could provide that moment to everyone again?'” I hope these words not only apply to the remaster but also inspire the developers as they progress on The Elder Scrolls 6. We yearn for another such experience in the future.

The RPG Elements We Lost Along The Way

In the game Oblivion, every action you take helps create a sense of progression and growth. Each action enhances your abilities, enabling you to perform tasks like drawing your bow for longer periods, firing it while jumping, or using dodges in combat – things that aren’t initially available when you first enter the game world. This makes every achievement feel hard-earned and rewarding. Unlike Skyrim, where unlocking skills is more structured through skill trees and percentage-based perks, Oblivion’s progression system feels more organic, natural, satisfying, and human-like.

In Oblivion, similar to Fallout’s system, there was a Karma-like mechanism – a feature not fully realized in Fallout 4. In this game, you could choose to win people over through charm or simply offer bribes for additional information or aid. Conversely, you could boost your character’s personality trait to become more likable as an alternative solution.

In Oblivion, the character classification system is more flexible compared to other Bethesda games, particularly Skyrim. Unlike Skyrim, which removed classes entirely, Oblivion uses Standing Stones for skill enhancement but still allows you to customize your character’s class. This feature enables players to tailor their characters based on role-playing preferences, a aspect that seemed lacking in Skyrim.

I’m not hating on Skyrim, I love that game – I just want the best out of Bethesda’s future games.

In simpler terms, it’s been quite some time since we’ve spent much time in the world of The Elder Scrolls 6, with only The Elder Scrolls Online and Oblivion Remastered keeping the flame alive for the past 14 years. Meanwhile, Fallout and Starfield have had their share of complications. However, the return of Oblivion has been a delight. I just hope that as we anticipate returning to Tamriel again, Bethesda will remember the renewed interest this brings.

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2025-04-29 04:04