An open-world first-person action-RPG where you can, if you want, leave items scattered about your house, on tables and shelves, to admire whenever you popped back into town. For some reason, when I first heard about The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, this what was I couldn't quite believe.
I remember asking, on GameFAQs, if I recall, whether you could, actually, have that level of realism or immersion in Oblivion. I, having only played dumb little console games, was amazed. Easily amused, you might say, and I was desperate to get hold of Oblivion for my PlayStation 3.
Cyrodiil is threatened by the Mythic Dawn, a group of up-to-no-goods intent on opening Oblivion gates - portals to Hell, essentially - and welcoming the inhabitants into town. How distracted by sidequests will you be to help the Blades find the Emperor's only surviving son to save the day?
Fond Memories
Ah, these brown menu screens and orchestral soundtrack take me right back. I played the hell out of Oblivion back in the day. Through all the stutters and bugs I roamed the lands, killing bandits, burning monsters, and always wondering what could be found over the next hill. For as wowed as I was by being able to drop items on the table to decorate the place up a bit, I didn't do much of that at all. I was too busy adventuring to be sat at home.
Oblivion was like nothing else, and the many, many hours I put into it were a joy, even through the struggles. But once you've completed it, you move on. There are other amazing games to lose yourself in, and I wanted those experiences more than a fantasy open-world action-RPG.
While I've played games like Oblivion in the years since, I've not replayed Oblivion itself. Now, though, I have a PC capable of playing video games, and I have Oblivion on the platform it was designed for. I can't wait.
Fun Times
None other than Sir Patrick Stewart introduces us to the world of The Elder Scrolls IV, to the capital city of Cyrodiil, Imperial City (really? Thought it was more impressive than that), and the threat of the Oblivion gates. I've you've played this game, you know exactly what you're hearing right now. The soundtrack is as grand as the game is large, and this is a large one.
As we sweep around the city, we're left to wonder just how we're going to fit into this tale. What noble lineage do we (probably unknowingly) come from? What dramatic and tragic event will set us on the path of quashing the Mythic Dawn? What dashing hero are we to embody?
This character creation suite is... well, it's something, that's what it is. You can create some alarming citizens in here, from a number of fantasy races including Orcs and Elves. It's nightmare fuel in the wrong hands, and it doesn't like doing beards, but this is you, this is who you will be for perhaps a hundred hours. You can try to hide under a helmet but you'll still be you underneath it.
Across the corridor is an Elf of some description, insulting us for want of something to do, I suppose. He's got a point though; why are we in prison? Voices from above start to get louder. Our 'friend' thinks it's the guards, finally come to put us out of our misery, but it sounds like something - and someone - else entirely.
Emperor Sir Patrick Uriel Septim Stewart, the one and only, has just waltzed into our prison cell, but he's not in chains. We're not supposed to be here, but the Emperor recognises us from his dreams, visions of the future that spell his doom, though not by our hand.
As luck, or fate, or the will of the Nine would have it, we're in the cell that is actually a secret escape route from the city, and the situation for the Emperor here is dire enough for him to need to use it.
I leapt into Oblivion before reading up on the keyboard controls, so this section was very much a learning curve. Expecting 'interact' to be on something like the 'E' of 'F' key, I instead jumped and raised my fists. The spacebar is the key to hoovering up every item in sight, which initially felt a little weird, but soon grew on me.
It's not long before you're out of your shabby prison clothes, though dressing like the enemy trying to kill the Emperor probably isn't very wise.
Luckily, we get separated from the group and have to explore the tutorial caverns, which pit us against many a rat, and introduces us to all the skills and activities we'll be doing on our travels, like lockpicking, or shooting arrows, or casting spells.
But it can be abused, and the art of playing Oblivion is to help yourself out. Keep casting fireballs, not to engulf rats in balls of fire, not even to briefly light the hallways ahead of you, but to increase your destruction skill. Just keep spamming the 'C' key. You'll thank me later.
If you're not being informed of increasing a skill or successfully pulling off a sneak attack, you're being informed of how over-encumbered you are. If there is one thing that is universally bemoaned but begrudgingly accepted, it is encumbrance. You can't carry everything. You have the weirdest pockets in the land, but they have a weight limit, and all these weapons you're not using count towards it.
You've got to learn - and quickly - how to pick and choose what you bring with you. Yes, that is a mighty Iron Warhammer, but it's heavy, you don't like using it, and won't make as much money as this Goblin Shaman Staff would, if we ever get back to town before being distracted by another side quest. Better to drop the Rusty Mace and eat some cheese wheels, and hope you don't find anything else to hoover up, because not being able to run sucks.
Eventually, our caverns link back up to the secret escape route, and we're given an opportunity to briefly chat with Baurus here. The game pauses as your camera aligns itself to a headshot of your conversation partner. It's here where you see first hand just how wonderful the characters in Oblivion look, and by wonderful, I don't mean wonderful.
They're not bad, per se, but they're distinctly Oblivion-y, if that makes sense. If you pay a little attention - you won't need much - you'll realise that all of these faces are voiced by the same five people, often using the same five voices. It brings you out of the world a little but is at the same time kind of charming. It's bizarre to think that so much effort went into the world-building and so little to the voicework. Then again, they did have thousands of people to voice, and you can't really employ thousands of voice artists.
As the game goes on, you'll learn to ignore it. If you're lucky, you might even catch a messed up take make it through to the final game. Oblivion still impresses and charms, even when it's going wrong.
The Emperor has been killed, the game thinks my playstyle will suit the Bard character class, Baurus has given me my first quest of getting an Amulet to a bloke called Jauffre, and I remember that I should be spamming the 'E' key to jump everywhere and increase my acrobatics and athletics stats, but we're finally coming to the end of the secret escape route. Beyond this gate lies Oblivion.
Wait, no, that's literally a description of an Oblivion gate, and we're very much not at an Oblivion gate. We're at a sewer gate. Big difference. But if you've played Oblivion, you'll know what view comes next.
Oh, come on, Bethesda, let us admire the view. This was your reward for sticking with Oblivion through the sewers, and what a reward it was. Freedom. The world is yours. Go and explore it. Probably forward, into those ruins, but perhaps to the left, or right. Towards your objective marker, or away from it.
I probably went straight forward, all those years ago. This time around, I stop and admire the view, wondering where all the Bloom went.
These screenshots, without bloom, lack a little character. Oblivion looks less like Oblivion here. It looks more generic, a little more bland and empty. It shows off how old the game has become, yet does still look more than alright.
But it does feel incredibly empty. The map is devoid of icons until you discover them first hand, and while the odd ruined wall pops out at you, hinting of something more to be found, often all you see is hill after hill, dotted with the odd tree, and with grasses that pop into view if you're lucky.
Oblivion is incredibly hilly, almost to the point of being a parody of a hilly country. The paths to some towns are alarmingly steep. The terrain is shaped in ways that, I'm sure, allow for something to be loaded in the background, behind the crest of yet another hill.
As I run along the outskirts of Imperial City, heading towards Jauffre, way off in the distance, jumping and casting unnecessary spells, my mind drifts towards the countless mods that have made Oblivion so much more. I don't know much about them for Oblivion specifically, but I have learned that people are still making them for this game, more than a decade on. There is much love for this title.
Bandits are one of many random events that emerge from the landscape. I remember reading - and, yes, being amazed - that you can stumble across deer bouncing around the hills and decide to hunt them for their meat, like an actual character in a fantasy RPG probably would do to survive. I bet, with mods, you'll have to, but in the base game of Oblivion, how you interact with the world is largely your choice.
Largely.
It all took place so quickly, and you couldn't plan your way around it. You were living in the moment, doing what you had to do to get out of a bad situation. Cast a spell, swing a weapon, run away, try to talk your way out of trouble, set off a trap, aggravate a third party. Oblivion, for as empty as it looks nowadays, felt alive and somewhat real at the time.
There are ways to tell a story through the environment, even in Oblivion, but most of your story is told through these conversations, branching off into topics you want to know about, and they want to talk about.
The Emperor and the Amulet, are needed to protect the land. The Emperor is dead. His sons are dead. The only hope is an illegitimate child who may or may not be alive anymore. Fancy tracking him down for us?
Want an incentive to explore Oblivion looking for Martin? He's voiced by Sean Bean. Oblivion has killed off Sir Patrick Stewart already, just to set up the plot. What will it do to Sean Bean?
Final Word
Well, I know what it'll do. Long ago, I completed Oblivion and left it happy. I'd done it all, or all that I found to do at least. I'd explored Oblivion itself and closed it off to protect Cyrodiil from the horrors that lay there. I don't need to go there again.
But this game holds up surprisingly well. My hour with it went by without noticing, and I was still impressed by the lighting, especially. Outdoors was a different story, being disappointed by the lack of excessive, nostalgic, bloom, and empty looking views, but there was something about Oblivion that still made me smile.
With plenty of races and character classes to play as, approaches to gameplay to follow, and things to do, it's no surprise to learn that Oblivion still lives on for many players. Go through the game as a melee fighter. Go through it again as a mage. Go through it yet again as a joke, skilled only in talking and bribing people, before running away as fast as possible. The possibilities are endless.
And then you can add mods. I haven't, yet, but I think I owe it to Oblivion to try some out before uninstalling it. Sure, they're not part of the game as intended, but they allow players to continue playing in an environment they can't get enough of.
While I couldn't tell you what happens in Oblivion in any detail, I can bring to mind the memories of playing it. I know I was the kind of player - still am - to ignore large chunks of the experience for lack of interest. Creating magical potions? Who cares? But it's in fully exploring the way the game works that you can exploit it in your favour, to absurd degrees.
Oblivion is broken, in this regard, but is so fun regardless. It's a joy to play, despite the jank. It's dated and can't stand out like it once did, but I'm so glad to have played it again.
If you struggled with Morrowind, you've been catered for in Oblivion. This is a first-person fantasy open-world action-RPG for the masses. For those who've never experienced them before, and for players who didn't know video games could do this, and as such it is easy to recommend.
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some mods to investigate.
Fun Facts
Radiant AI leads the population of Cyrodiil to act on the situation they find themselves in and behave more like real people, apparently to the point of stealing food if they're hungry and can get away with it. Unfortunately, they inhabit cities devoid of life, because you can't stick hundreds of such characters on screen at once.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, developed by Bethesda Game Studios, first released in 2006.
Versions played: PlayStation 3, 2007, via teenage memory
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition, PC, 2007.