Is 'Oblivion Remastered' proof that the golden age of RPGs is genuinely back — or are we just paying full price to relive a game we already owned?

• FT

  Feli T.1w ago

  My husband and I actually bonded over Oblivion when we were first dating in 2008. He'd stay up watching me play and we'd argue about which faction to join. Playing the remaster together this week felt like going back to a place that meant something to us. You can call it nostalgia bait all you want — some things are worth revisiting.

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• P

  Priya1w ago

  The Adoring Fan is back and that is simply the most important cultural event of 2025.

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• A

  Avery2w ago

  I put 200 hours into this game in 2007. I will put 200 more hours into it now. I do not need to explain myself to anyone.

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• L

  Leo1w ago

  If you're new to this game: go do the Dark Brotherhood questline first. Trust me. Don't read anything about it. Just go join them and play through to the end. You can thank me later.

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• E

  Elena1w ago

  The NPCs still walk into walls. Bless.

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• RR

  Ravi R.1w ago

  my roommate hasnt left his room in three days. he slid a note under the door that said 'im in oblivion' and i think hes talking about the game but im not completely sure

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• LR

  Leo R.2w ago

  I never played the original — I was too young and only knew Skyrim. Started Oblivion Remastered yesterday and I genuinely cannot believe people were playing something this deep and ambitious in 2006. The world feels ALIVE in a way modern open world games just... don't. Maybe you nostalgia people are onto something.

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• TB

  Theo B.1w ago

  the character creator is STILL terrifying and i will not have a word said against it

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• M

  Morgan1w ago

  The music. Patrick Stewarts voice. The main quest. The Dark Brotherhood questline. The Thieves Guild. The Mages Guild going completely off the rails. Even the jank. This game HAS SOUL and modern games are terrified of having a personality.

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• NR

  Noah R.1w ago

  i have never in my life experienced anything as peaceful as walking through the Cyrodiil countryside at dawn with Jeremy Soule's music playing. therapy is expensive but this game costs $50 one time

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• F

  Feli2w ago

  The problem isn't Oblivion Remastered specifically. The problem is that the games industry has figured out that remasters of beloved titles are basically risk-free money printing machines. Why invest in new IP when you can resell nostalgia at a 60-dollar price point to people who already own the original? It's genuinely bad for the medium long-term.

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• RT

  Riley T.1w ago

  bought it for my 14 year old son to show him what games were like when i was his age. he's completely addicted and keeps asking me questions about the lore. this is peak parenting actually

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• DT

  Diego T.1w ago

  Genuinely curious how many of the people defending this have actually touched Baldur's Gate 3, Elden Ring, or Disco Elysium. The golden age of RPGs never left — you just stopped looking. Oblivion Remastered is fine but let's not pretend we're in some kind of RPG revival because Bethesda released a nostalgia product.

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• J

  Jordan1w ago

  I genuinely cannot decide if I think this represents something meaningful about gaming culture or if I'm just a 35 year old who misses being 16 and staying up until 3am for the first time ever. Possibly both. Probably both.

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• ZB

  Zara B.2w ago

  Here's my unpopular opinion: Oblivion was actually always better than Skyrim. More interesting guilds, better roleplaying systems, weirder quests. The Shivering Isles DLC is still one of the greatest pieces of game design ever made. The remaster just finally gives it the audience it deserved.

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• E

  Elena1w ago

  i spent six hours last night doing the dark brotherhood questline and cried at the same moment i cried in 2007. some games are just permanently part of you. this isnt a debate for me its just fact.

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• QL

  Quinn L.1w ago

  What nobody is saying: Bethesda NEEDS this to succeed because Starfield was a commercial and critical disappointment by their own standards. This isn't just nostalgia content — it's a company buying goodwill and proving they can still ship something that works while everyone waits to see if they can actually make Elder Scrolls 6 without destroying it.

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• E

  Elena2w ago

  bro the potato faces are GONE. that alone justifies the entire project lmao

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• P

  Priya1w ago

  Can we talk about how the Shivering Isles DLC holds up INSANELY well? The worldbuilding, the humor, the actual emotional beats at the end. It was ahead of its time in 2007 and the remaster makes it look absolutely stunning. That content alone is worth the price of entry for me.

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• T

  Taylor1w ago

  The discourse around this remaster perfectly illustrates why gaming culture is exhausting. You have people who haven't even played it declaring it proof of industry decay, people who are playing it declaring it proof of industry salvation, and meanwhile the game itself is just... a very well-made RPG from 2006 that now looks pretty.

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• N

  Nina1w ago

  The optimization is a disaster. I have a 4080 and I'm getting frame drops in Kvatch. A remaster that can't run smoothly on high-end hardware isn't finished — it's early access they're charging full price for. The original modded community has been doing this better for free for fifteen years.

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• Q

  Quinn1w ago

  the guard dialogue is still identical and im not even slightly annoyed. if anything i NEED them to say i used to be an adventurer like you. do not change a single word.

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• T

  Taylor1w ago

  Golden age of RPGs is back? We literally just had Baldur's Gate 3 win Game of the Year and become one of the most acclaimed games ever made. And before that Elden Ring. The golden age never left for people who were actually paying attention.

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• D

  Diego1w ago

  I think the more interesting question is what this means for Elder Scrolls 6. If the remaster sells massively, does Bethesda take that as validation that the old formula still works? Because the old formula in a modern open world context might actually feel really dated. Oblivion works because it's Oblivion. A new game that plays like it might not.

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• T

  Taylor1w ago

  From a pure business perspective this was a genius move. Minimal R&D risk, massive brand recognition, guaranteed day-one sales from an existing fanbase, and it generates goodwill while everyone waits for Elder Scrolls 6. It's cynical but it's smart. I'm not mad at Bethesda — I'm mad that it works on me.

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• NS

  Noah S.1w ago

  The fact that a 19 year old game with updated graphics is beating most 2025 releases in engagement and cultural conversation should be genuinely embarrassing for the current AAA industry. Not Bethesda's fault — everyone else's.

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• M

  Morgan1w ago

  paid $50 for this and my GPU is on fire. 10/10

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• I

  Iris1w ago

  The real test is whether new players who never had the nostalgia attachment will still be playing this in three months. If the answer is yes, it's a genuinely great game that deserved this treatment. If the answer is no, it was always just nostalgia bait that wore off once the novelty faded.

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• Q9

  Quinn 921w ago

  the level scaling is still broken and the enemy respawn system still makes no sense. they remastered the visuals and left in every design flaw. this is what they couldn't fix in 18 years?

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• CS

  Casey S.1w ago

  I'm a game developer and I want to push back on the 'just nostalgia' framing. Porting and rebuilding a game of this scope in a modern engine is genuinely technically complex work. Saying it's just slapping a new coat of paint shows a real misunderstanding of what remastering at this level actually involves.

  61Reply
• Z

  Zara1w ago

  Real talk: Morrowind was better. More interesting world, deeper lore, more meaningful choices. Oblivion was when Bethesda started simplifying everything for mainstream appeal. The remaster is gorgeous but it's a remaster of their first step backward, not their best step forward.

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• L_

  Liam _x1w ago

  As someone who studies game preservation, remasters like this are genuinely important cultural work. The original will eventually become inaccessible on modern hardware without significant effort. A high-quality remaster ensures the work survives. The commercial motive and the preservation motive can coexist.

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• F

  Feli1w ago

  ESFAs argument that this proves the golden age is back is the most delusional take ive seen this week. One remaster of an old game doesnt prove anything about the current industry. if anything it proves the opposite — Bethesda cant make something new good so theyre polishing something old

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• O

  Omar1w ago

  Unpopular fact: the leveling system in the original was actually broken in a way that punished you for playing naturally. You HAD to min-max your skill increases or you'd end up underpowered by midgame. The remaster apparently addresses some of this. If true, that's not just visual polish — that's making the game actually function as intended.

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• K9

  Kofi 921w ago

  People complaining about paying for a remaster of a game they own need to understand that nobody is forcing them to buy it. The original still exists. Steam still sells it. This is a choice you're making voluntarily and then resenting yourself for.

  44Reply

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