Once upon a time,Bethesdadominated the RPG genre.Morrowindwas a revolutionary game for the time, and in the following years,OblivionandFallout 3stood tall as giants of the PS3/Xbox 360 generation.Skyrim, despite being one of the most popular and significant games of all time, was where Bethesda’s design philosophy started to change.
From here onward, everything was simplified. Sure, Skyrim is still an incredible RPG, but it had far less depth to it than we’d seen Bethesda tackle before. This is undoubtedly one of the reasons it struck a more mainstream chord, which was the right move, butFallout 4’s mixed reception was in large part due to this continued simplification. Starfield feels more like classic Bethesda,though the reception to that speaks for itself.
And now, as development continues onThe Elder Scrolls 6, Bethesda has no excuse to ignore the significance of its classic formula, when it’s just made Oblivion more popular than ever.
People Want The Deeper RPGs Again
Earlier this year saw the launch ofKingdom Come: Deliverance 2, a sequel to the largely overlooked 2018 RPG by Warhorse Studios.With many perfect scores across the board,it proved that complex RPGs can still be appreciated, even going as far as getting content creators and streamers involved to enjoy the game in a more mainstream way without sacrificing its evident depth.
Now, we haveOblivion Remastered, which returns with a fresh, Unreal Engine 5 coat of paint, but withthe core game unchanged at the heart of the experience. Many fans returning to it appreciate how true it remains to the original, but what’s even more exciting is seeing all the people experience the game for the first time.
With this sort of reception, compared directly to the aftermath of Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Starfield, I sincerely hope Bethesda learns the right lessons from it.Todd Howard stated in the reveal stream for Oblivion Remastered, “Every time we think about Oblivion, it’s ‘What if we could give that moment to everybody again?’” While these words were intended for the debut of the remaster, I hope they also resonate with the developers as their work on The Elder Scrolls 6 continues. We need that moment again, going forward.
The RPG Elements We Lost Along The Way
Oblivion does a lot to make you feel that everything you do in the game contributes to a sense of growth. Everything you do will improve your skills, not only letting you advance in level, but giving you the ability to draw your bow for longer, fire it while jumping, or even use dodges in combat. You won’t have these things out of the sewer gates, so it makes everything feel earned. Skyrim has plenty that you may unlock in a more hands-on way via skill trees, but even they are broken up by perks of a ‘15 percentage increase in X’ before you get something cool later on, and then more percentages. It doesn’t feel natural, satisfying, or human in the ways that Oblivion does so effortlessly.
Oblivion also had its own version of Fallout’s Karma system - something that was never properly implemented in Fallout 4. you may spend time persuading people to like you, or just bribe them, for extra information or help. Alternatively, you can just throw points into your personality skill to be a bit more likable and call it a day.
Even the class system is better in Oblivion. Bethesda games typically never tie you into a single class, with Skyrim doing away with them entirely, instead just letting you use Standing Stones to net certain levelling boosts. From a gameplay perspective, sure, it makes sense when there are technically no hard classes; but Oblivion will guess your class, and let you change it and even create your own, name and all. From a role-playing standpoint, this is a big deal, and just another thing that felt absent in Skyrim.
I’m not hating on Skyrim, I love that game - I just want the best out of Bethesda’s future games.
The Elder Scrolls 6 has big shoes to fill, and aside fromThe Elder Scrolls Onlineand Oblivion Remastered, our time in Tamriel has been noticeably minimal for the last 14 years, while Fallout and Starfield have been messy in the meantime, to say the least. Having Oblivion back in such grand fashion is a wonderful thing, but I pray to the Nine that Bethesda will keep that rekindled popularity in mind as we march ever closer to Tamriel once more.
