I’m pretty enchanted by Oblivion Remastered. Especially when the stars are out. Wow.
PSA: turning off HDR output in the system settings helps with the frame rate drops quite a bit. But the music, vibes, and views make me forgive all the performance issues. Do I wish they weren’t there? Sure. But would I rather deal with them than not have the game at all? Most definitely.
Something about Oblivion always resonated with me, all the way back when I first played on PS3. Skyrim was fantastic, but I can’t help but feel that Oblivion was just the right scale to keep me engrossed. I’ve tried replaying Skyrim multiple times, and the long treks just wear me down. I feel Oblivion struck just the right chord of conveniently sized while still having a sense of epic scale. I love that the tower is the centerpiece that everything revolves around, and all the views you can get of it always get me to pause and take it in.
The eternally recognizable voices and quests are reborn like I’m living a daydream I’ve been having for the last 20 years. Everything is so familiar yet enhanced just enough to make it all exciting and new again, but with this feeling of returning to a favorite country I visited long ago.
But the thing that this Remaster really does absolutely fantastically is the night sky. Good lord. I’m mesmerized by the ‘milky way’ of stars, and absolutely love the two moons. This game really comes to life for me at night, so much so that I prefer wandering the towns and wilderness during the night. I truly feel born under the sign of the thief in this game. Utterly wonderful stuff.
I played Oblivion first back in college, and I play it now as a parent, and the portability is exactly what I needed. The fact that it looks as pretty as it does is just an added perk. Of course people hate that it doesn’t perform well, but one must wonder if it’s a game that is even capable of performing well, since it’s built upon a core that was pushing the boundaries back when it was created. I can imagine this thing is held together by spit and bubblegum. Would it be great if they rebuilt it from the ground up? Yes. But would it still have that unmistakeable charm? I kinda doubt it.
I’m absolutely loving my revisit to Cyrodiil. This game is exactly what I needed it to be. Sorry to those who can’t enjoy it, or refuse to support it. I suppose I’m grateful that it was made for me, someone who always wanted to revisit, but knew the PS3 disc wouldn’t hold up…and someone who adores the stars.