Reaction: Oblivion Remastered Sets A New Standard For Xbox & Bethesda

This reminds me of Metroid Prime Remastered, where the developer really took the time to improve the game (not just visually but with gameplay) and it borders on a remake. In this instance, it feels much closer to a remake though.

I have been quite vocal about my dislike of remakes / remasters of old games but I have to say this one has impressed me.

They have done just enough to update the game play, ui and so on to smooth over some jank but still retain it original charm. The same goes for the graphics update. It is leagues ahead of the original visually but it still feels like the original game at the same time.

As I said elsewhere if all remakes / remaster had this much care given to them I would be more accepting of them.

Hmm, comparing pricing of a full remake and a remaster is a bit sus 🤔

I’m sure y’all know that fully remaking a game is different than a remaster, even if its a pretty extensive remaster, the game is not fully remade from the ground up like Demon Souls.

Not knocking on the quality of the Oblivion remaster btw, it even comes close to remake territory and its very well done and even has gameplay tweaks, however its technically not a full recreation made from scratch

Can’t wait to see the rumoured Fallout 3 Remaster, just love fallout too much!

I bought it outright and can agree the value is undeniable for what you're getting. I bought the Deluxe and having a great time with the memories of the original but brought to life in a cleaner look. Maybe Fallout New Vegas next if we're lucky.

I feel the need to point out that most of this effort was likely mostly Virtuous, although I'm not certain of this, I'd assume so considering that studio's track record specifically for ports & remasters. I suppose credit where it's due to Bethesda but their next gen version of Fallout 4 was not so impressive, despite being a clear improvement. Idk it just feels like this reaction article could've at least mentioned Virtuous since most of the info about Oblivion Remastered says it was a joint effort.

Watched Gaming Tech video.
Series x, PS5 and Pro not overall great.
Resolution goes very very slightly to Pro.
30fps and 60fps frame rate gets lower, pacing bad and stuttering.
Pro does come out top of a bad bunch.
I think a patch may have been released not sure and what it does.
Shall wait now for patches to improve the frame rate.

Now they need to remaster Starfield

It's just great overall I'm loving it maybe because I played the original game when it was out but I'm really happy they chose to do this!!
I'm just doing the fighting guild storyline first going up the ranks sorting out some mountain lion infestations in a basement good times 🖖

@GADG3Tx87 as much as I would love a New Vegas remaster next according to the FTC Activision leaks (which so far everything included has come to fruition) we will be seeing a Fallout 3 remaster next so New Vegas would still be years away if it happens at all

Couldn't agree more. This is a great bar to aim for for any remaster, if we can call it that.

The leveling system is a great improvement. really enjoying my time so far. there are still some comically broken quests like retaking kvatch. I had to do most of it solo as the NPCs got stuck but it tdid update when I found the count. the slaughter fish quest took awhile and a bunch of reloads but didi get it done. the single biggest improvement is not having to refresh the cache and the loading times if you do have to load an old save is just great.

I would be more onboard with 'Remasters' if this was the level of effort they put into all of them. Graphics are far from the most important element in gaming and I'm honestly content with being at a 360/XB1 range of quality with new releases, but most classics already nailed the gameplay, so bringing that forward with Graphics, UI, and QOL updates is how it needs to be going forward.

@LogicStrikesAgain Demon Souls was not remade from the ground up. It is identical in all ways (even the bad ones). You could play it alongside the original and not find any changes.

@LogicStrikesAgain Yeah its weird to compare the two. Also not sure why they are glossing over the fact that the UE5 overhaul for Oblivion has resulted in general unstable performance across all devices, PC powerhouses included, and calling it a new standard.

Reviews these days seem to excuse performance as it will be patched based on how big the company is and how much they want that game to succeed.

@Evilinsane It was still fully remade, the fact that the changes are barely noticable is testament to the quality of Bluepoints work. Also they did tweak plenty of things like weapon animations that are pretty noticeable, but don't alter the core gameplay much at all. The main change was to Flamelurker where they made him more agressive than the OG version.

This is very clearly not a remake as it's exactly the same engine underneath the UE5 graphics layer, with most of the original bugs and weird behaviours still present and correct.
I'm glad they improved 3rd person but it really doesn't work as well as modern 3rd person game.
Same with the combat - its good they have given a few updates to it, but it's not even skyrim standard and certainly not up to modern standards in any way.
It's clearly a 'remaster' and thats why its sold as such.

For a player like me who was entranced by the original game and is prepared to tolerate some of the jank that came with it, it's a dream to experience a classic with such a nice suit of clothes on! I was glad to buy this one.

For new-comers, beware! Many systems are still really old and its daft levelling system is still in place so that leveling your character just makes everything else much stronger - I would have prefered if they had worked on this to make it more like skyrim where levelling up felt much better.

I also would have preferred it if they didnt drop it on us still unoptimized and with such an inconsistent frame rate, no remaster is top tier if it can't maintain a steady frame rate imo.

All that being said, it looks gorgeous and I'll play it again just because of the visual update - but I might leave it a while until they fix the poor performance! Have fun!

@Evilinsane Actually it was, it’s all in the name. Oblivion wasn’t called remake because it wasn’t fully remade. These aren’t my opinions, these are just facts i’m stating. I’m not trying to dunk on this remaster or anything, it’s very well done.

I was just mentioning the fact that they decided to compare pricing between two games, that aren’t made in the same way, it just seems like a bit of an unjust comparison that’s all.

Edit: If you’d like to check it out, here’s a link to an IGN article of 2 days ago where the developers tell that they never wanted to remake the game: http://www.ign.com/articles/bethesda-comments-on-the-elder-scrolls-4-oblivion-remastered-changes-we-never-wanted-to-remake-it

I get the poke into Demon souls remake at 70 but whoever has ps5 - highly recommend. Looks stunning and game design is different from newer souls (which can be hit or miss) but definitely worth a shot to see how it all started. Its also frequently on sale.

I personally think resolution+fps patch should be (ideally free) $10 max. Remaster like RDR 1 should be 20-30 max and full blown remake should be $50 max. Even games like RE2 and 4. If its not a brand new game, it should not ever be $70.

@Millionski I agree with the pricing with lesser remasters. But i respectfully disagree about the full blown remakes. In my opinion full remakes usually do deserve a full price. Remakes can be almost as expensive and take similar amounts of work as a new game, since everything is built up from scratch. Of course this is arguable, since there are caveats, like length of the game and not having to create a new story etc, but most of the time i think full price is warranted

Regarding RE2 Remake, i feel it did deserve its price point. They completely modernized the game, even overhauled the whole gameplay with the new camera system and updated combat mechanics, making it feel like a whole new game.

But i also think Oblivion remastered deserves the price they’re asking, since they went way beyond just overhauling the graphics.

Just wondering, if you feel a full blown remake should be priced at $50 max. What do you think of the pricing of Oblivion remastered?

It's bliss!
I can't believe Bethesda has their name on a game that isn't launched as a bugfest.
Wow!