The recent release ofOblivion Remasteredhas generally gone down well with fans of the Elder Scrolls series, but it hasn’t been without its controversies.
One major talking point after the “shadow drop”, which had been not-so-subtly anticipated by leakers for months in advance, was how it inevitably affects the fan-made Skyblivion mod.
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Much like the Fallout 4 patch whichderailed the launch of Fallout London, Oblivion Remastered will inevitably make life much harder for the Skyblivion team and likely affect the number of players they will ultimately receive.
As someone who grew up playing and loving Oblivion, I was largely disappointed with the remastered version. Still, I remain very optimistic about Skyblivion. Here are some reasons why:
7It Won’t Be Made In Unreal Engine
Allowing For Greater Attention To Deal
Having spent 5 years training as an animator and gaining a fair amount of experience with Unreal Engine along the way, it is clear to me that shortcuts have been taken and that the engine has been left to do the busy work throughout much of Oblivion Remastered.
Sure, it looks more realistic and has “better graphics”, but the soul and atmosphere of the original game has largely been stripped away thanks to anover-reliance on UE5’s default capabilities.
One prime example is the use of the Nanite lighting system which, though impressive back in 2022, is now virtually an industry standard.
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More attention to detail needs to go into creating the homely, central European atmosphere that made Cyrodil unique and special - especially during the twilight hours. Skyblivion clearly understands this concept much better from the looks of early previews.
Though Skyblivion will be somewhat limited in terms of its graphical fidelity and won’t have the same particle effects or dynamic lighting that is possible in UE5 alone, the extra work that this entails actually gives the developers more of a chance to add subtle atmospheric details when textures are “baked” in manually.
6Improved AI Behavior
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Oblivion was never famed for its especially intelligent AI, and the 2025 remaster is no different. I’m not necessarily even saying that this is a bad thing. After all, Oblivion’s “unique” AI has given rise to plenty of hilarious and meme-worthy moments over the years.
However, one area in which veteran Skyrim players will experience a noticeable difference is thegame’s stealth mechanics.
Much like the original Oblivion, the stealth AI is still clearly inferior to Skyrim’s, with enemies sometimes not even reacting to arrows fired right in front of them, or failing to see you when in close proximity.
Fortunately, Skyrim’s improved AI will be the standard in Skyblivion, which should make stealth gameplay easier and more effective.
This isn’t to say that Skyblivion’s AI will be perfect by any means, but there are some major differences in the behaviour of Oblivion NPCs and their situational awareness compared to those in Skyrim. It’s surprising that more improvements weren’t made to this for the Oblivion remaster, though there is of course still time for it to be patched.
5Animations and Combat Finishers
Don’t You Miss This Cinematics?
One thing that Oblivion Remastered players will undoubtedly have realized by now is the lack of any combat-finishing animations.
While combat is certainly improved when compared to the 2006 game, with hit detection and enemy reactions being noticeably more effective, it is still not quite on a par with Skyrim in many ways.
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While I can appreciate that not everyone was a fan of combat finishers, I certainly was. When you’re playing as someone like the Champion of Cyrodil, you want your swords to show what damage they can produce.
Given that Oblivion does not have any dismemberment or stealth takedowns, it can leave combat feeling quite flat and repetitive after a while. Skyblivion is likely to retain this feature, which will make quests like theDark Brotherhood storylineeven more immersive.
4Skyrim Mod Compatibility
Backed By Enthusiastic Community Support
For long-term Skyrim players, there is good news when it comes to Skyblivion’s mod compatibility. As a Skyrim mod itself, any visual enhancements, weapon or character overhauls and other such changes should transfer over to Skyblivion, too.
Inevitably, there will be some complications and certain mods may require patches, but overall there is a good chance that with a few visual tweaks, players caneasily achieve the same levels of fidelityand detail in Skyblivion as they can in Oblivion Remastered.
If, like me, your Skyrim mod list is longer than the trip to High Hrothgar, this comes as welcome news.
Some mods have been with us for so long that we can barely distinguish them from the base game, and each player will have their own particular quirks and preferences when it comes to things like graphics and UI.
3Dual Wielding and Spellcasting
A Massive Oversight In The Remaster
One major feature which Skyrim introduced to the Elder Scrolls series was the ability to dual-wield weapons. Since this feature was not present in Oblivion, it is also not present in the remaster.
For many of us who have grown accustomed to builds which use dual-weapons, or a combination of weapons and spellcasting, this change back to the old system can feel slightly jarring.
While it doesn’t affect spellcasting quite so much, since this can be done with a hotkey, it was great being able to double the output of certain spells by casting them with both hands.
It seems like quite a simple feature, but nonetheless it was overlooked in the Oblivion Remaster.Skyblivion ought to have no such issues, which will enable a far greater variety of character builds and fighting styles for players within the game.
2Better UI
For A More Classic Feel
If there’s one area where the Oblivion Remaster feels especially weak in comparison to Skyblivion, it’s in the UI design.
While new players or those coming directly from Skyrim might not feel that much of a difference, those of us who played the original Oblivion will notice that the modern UI design is very basic and lacks all the character and charm of the original.
Fortunately, Skyblivion has retained the style of the original UI design, but added subtle improvements which make it feel slightlymore modern and user-friendly.
For PC players in particular, the UI can be an issue since its size and scaling cannot be adjusted. With Skyblivion, there should be no such issue down to the fact that the inventory overhaul is based on the popular SkyUI mod.
1Dungeon Variety
Oblivion’s Dungeons Remain Largely The Same
One criticism that even the original Oblivion received wasthe lack of dungeon variety. Sure, dungeons might have appeared in different places on the map, but overall many of them felt very similar and became boring quite quickly as a result.
The Skyblivion modders have made a point of ensuring dungeon spaces feel immersive and varied. This is done through adding icy areas where the dungeon is in colder regions, or sand in the warmer areas etc.
It’s amazing that the Oblivion Remaster did not take this into consideration, as the same issue can now be felt by modern players exploring Ayleid ruins.
It may not seem like a huge deal, but the dungeons in Skyblivion will likely feel far more diverse and immersive due to their environmental details.
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