First Impressions with Oblivion

So being fascinated by the recent remaster but not having the computer to actually play that game, I decided to purchase the original version and try out The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the first time in my life. I played Skyrim and a bit of Daggerfall before, but that was a while ago. So here are my first impressions.

Before even launching the game, I turned off bloom from the launcher. To my surprise, the graphics of the game are not that bad when this option is disabled. It looks like a fine retro game. The only thing that REALLY did not age well is the character's face. What I dislike the most is how you can clearly see that the face and rest of the body are not the same model (there is a clear segmentation). Still, not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

As for the gameplay, I found some of the default keybinds to be a bit strange. I am not sure if that's because the game is old or if that's because I haven't played this sort of game on PC for a while. That was not an issue as everything can be easily changed. My main challenge was getting used to the UI. I took forever to find out where the world map was because there was no clear indication that it was a tab. I quickly got used to it, although my brain still thinks the key to open the inventory is ESC for some reason (you need to press TAB).

From a vibes standpoint, this game heavily reminds me of Zelda: Twilight Princess and World of Warcraft. This make senses considering they take places in a similar medieval fantasy settings and were also made in the early 2000s. I said it before, but I can't believe this game exists. It's like it was made to cater to my personal visual tastes. I am still flabbergasted by this, considering I have zero nostalgia for this game (though I suspect I have some for the aesthetic it uses).

The main story is very good and well written. It is technically a generic "save the world" plot, but that's also exactly what I wanted. It heavily reminds me of the Myreque quest line in RuneScape and I adore that. One thing that I really like is how you sometimes have to follow quest NPCs. This really adds to the immersion and makes the world feel alive. Some NPCs can also die don't kill monsters fast enough. Though I doubt that any actually relevant NPCs can just die, but I still think it is a nice touch.

Another thing I like about this game is the fact it has a console, similar to Quake III. I am not good at RPGs. I clearly recall how I had to enable god mode to escape the tutorial area in Skyrim. As such I am thankful that the "tgm true" command exists so that I can play the game without getting frustrated. There was also a point where I got stuck in a main story dungeon. I am not sure if I was just blind or if there was some kind of bug, but I couldn't find the exit after a story event happened. Thankfully, there is a "player.movetoqt" command that allows you to warp to your next quest objective. I am not sure what I would have done without that.

So yeah, overall I am having lots of fun with Oblivion so far. As it currently stands, I think it is one of the best RPGs ever created. It's so good. I wish I had played it earlier and looked past the "ugly graphics". So far, it is the favorite Elder Scrolls game I ever played. Skyrim is a good game, but I think Oblivion might be better. It is one of the rare instance where I feel like a child again. Since I presume this will be the last, I will treasure and savor every moment of it.

Written by manpaint on 28 April 2025.