The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion® Game of the Year Edition

Let me paint you a picture. It’s 2007, me and my friend are two middle schoolers. I’m sitting behind him in a dark room that is lit only by the 4:3 monitor in front of us. I am peeking over his shoulder, and honestly, being amazed by what I am seeing. Watching as he creates a character, which was the first time I ever saw such a feature, being a console player at the time (I’ve had PS One and 2 when I was a wee lad). I’m watching him kill goblins and rats in sewers, and as he was leaving the dungeon, the next frame of a river with ruins and forest in the distance, and the amazement I felt at that moment will be burned into my mind forever.

Story:

As in any other open-world RPG, there is a main quest that the game expects you to follow.

You are an ordinary prisoner, thrown in jail for an unnamed crime. But by a "fortunate" twist of fate, a secret escape passage is hidden right in your cell. This leads to you being taken along by the Emperor and his personal guard. The Emperor is killed, and this very action sets off a chain of events leading to the opening of portals to Oblivion - a hellish dimension full of demons (Daedra) and other monsters. High stakes and a mystery-filled adventure await you. However, the thing is, the main quest in the game is just the tip of the iceberg. I'll say more: many people simply ignore the main quest because there's so much to do in this massive game.

Your very own adventures in Cyrodiil are the story. As soon as you escape the starting dungeon, you can do whatever you want. You can become a great hero - a member of the Fighters Guild, a protector of the weak, closing Oblivion Gates left and right. You can become a ruthless assassin in the shadowy organization - the Dark Brotherhood. You can study the secrets of magic in the Mages Guild. Or you can become an ordinary adventurer: buy a house, explore ancient ruins, brew potions. Rest assured, the Oblivion Crisis isn't going anywhere.

There's something interesting in every side quest and random encounter. Maybe you’re wandering through a forest and get ambushed by bandits who are arguing over their loot. Maybe you help a ghost find peace, or get tricked by a talking dog. The world feels alive with its own dramas, and you can choose to step into them or just walk on by.

Graphics:

The game came out in 2006, so yeah, by today's standards the graphics are old. Characters’ faces can look a bit… rubbery. There’s no getting around that.

The textures can't boast high resolution. The models lack detail. But rest assured, at the time of release, computers struggled to run this game.

But you know what? The world itself still has a certain magic. The forests are dense and green, the cities have their own unique feel, dungeons are decrepit and the skies are just gorgeous. The day/night cycle and the weather create some honestly beautiful moments. Watching the sun rise over the mountains can make you stop and just look. So despite the outdated graphics, the atmosphere and visual design create an amazing vibe.

Audio:

The music is legendary. That main theme kicks in and you immediately feel like you’re on an adventure. The exploration tunes are peaceful, the combat music gets your heart pumping-it’s a perfect soundtrack.

The musical score is done by the great Jeremy Soule. It is, without a doubt, one of the greatest video game soundtracks ever composed. The orchestral themes that play as you walk up a hill and see the Imperial City for the first time are pure magic. The peaceful, ambient music while you're exploring a dungeon sets the mood perfectly. It's a 10/10. It is the soundtrack worth listening to outside the game. I know I did.

The sound effects are solid too. The clash of swords, the “fwoosh” of a fireball, the creepy sounds in a dungeon-it all works. Where the audio gets…interesting…is the voice acting. On one hand, you have stellar performances from legends like Patrick Stewart as the Emperor or Sean Bean as Martin Septim and a superb cast for major characters, but then there’s the rest of voice actors (or should I say, the voice “actor”). The game famously only had a handful of people do all the voices. You'll have the same guy voicing a city guard, a young farmer, and an arrogant elf, sometimes all in the same conversation. It’s charming in its own way, but it’s definitely a product of its time.

Gameplay:

First of all, the character you create matters deeply. You choose a race, a class, and major skills that determine how you level up. Let's say you create a sneaky Argonian thief. You might pick a lock to break into a shop at night, but you realize your Security skill is too low, so you break a dozen lockpicks. You finally get in and sneak past the sleeping owner, but your Sneak skill isn't high enough, and you wake him up. You try to fight him, now your HP is getting low. You panic, chuck a fireball at him, but your Destruction level is low, so you do almost no damage. In the end, you're chased by the town guards, while over-encumbered with stolen goods, and have to reload a save. On top of that, your character needs to manage stamina for sprinting and power attacks, so you have to factor that in too.

And believe me, you do need to level those skills, because the world levels with you. If you level up by non-combat skills like Speechcraft, you might find yourself suddenly getting destroyed by bandits in leather armor. On top of that, leveling up unlocks the ability to buy better spells and enchant gear.

Let's say you play a bit, finish a faction questline, and become the leader of the Dark Brotherhood. What's next? Add a bit of personality to your playstyle. You can create your own custom spells, combining effects to make enemies run away in terror at super speed. You can buy a house and decorate it with your trophies. You can just wander off the road, find a mysterious cave, and get lost in a dungeon for a half an hour.

And if after hundreds of hours you still have things to do, you can tackle the DLC. In the end, you'll be a god-like figure with a legendary reputation in every corner of Cyrodiil.

The world is packed with things to do. Every city has guilds to join: Fighters, Mages, Thieves, Dark Brotherhood - and each has its own full storyline. And don't forget Daedric Princes - literal Oblivion gods who will reward you with powerfull artefacts if you're willing to do their bidding. The quests are often really creative, involving detective work, heists, or moral choices, not just “go kill ten mudcrabs.” (Althought there's enough of that too.)

Combat is straightforward but fun. You can swing weapons, block, and cast spells. The physics can be hilarious - seeing a goblin fly backwards after a powerful blow never gets old. The AI of the NPCs in the world is famously weird. They have schedules and will chat with each other about totally random, sometimes nonsensical things. It’s bizarre and wonderful.

If I had to find a negative, I'd say that the lack of visible impact makes the fights kinda dull. As if you're beating a mannequin.

Mods:

The modding community for Oblivion is huge. You can fix bugs, improve graphics, add new quests, new lands, new weapons, and completely overhaul game mechanics. If something about the vanilla game bothers you, there’s probably a mod to change it. Want better faces and bodies? There’s a mod. Want a more challenging leveling system? There’s a mod. It extends the life of the game immeasurably.

From small fixes to total conversions. Anything you want, you can find it.

But it'll take some work, to be honest. Countless times I've spent hours modding and troubleshooting the game, only for it to not work and I don't know why! 

Conclusion:

Oblivion is a game about freedom and weird, wonderful moments. It’s not the prettiest or the smoothest game anymore, and it has its fair share of old-fashioned quirks. But the feeling of stepping out of that sewer, seeing the vast world ahead and hearing Peace of Akatosh for the first time, and knowing you can go anywhere and be anyone? That’s something special. It’s a classic for a reason. Just be prepared to do some finagling if you want your experience to be perfect.