Why Elder Scrolls Never Got Better Than Oblivion

The Elder Scrolls is a franchise beloved by many. There have been several new versions, updates, and expansions to give players a better and more immersive experience in the Elder Scrolls Franchise. But did the series ever get better than Oblivion? The Elder Scrolls Oblivion might go down as the best in the franchise, but why?

#TheElderScrolls #Oblivion #Nerdstalgic

Written by Ash Mitrano
Edited by Parker Bourassa

[LilApe]

Oblivion was my 1st entry into elder scrolls and the X360 17 years ago. Blown away by the performance of next gen consoles from that era. Pure nostalgia.

[infinitewisdom]

Oblivion was more colourful, the soundtracks was amazing, the guild quest missions had well written dialogue with great story telling, i really like how the game presented itself, it felt like an adventure/fantasy game, I didn't get the same feeling with skyrim or morrowind, but the only criticisms I give oblivion was the character voices and the dungeon layouts felt the same.but for me it is the best elder scrolls game to grace planet earth😂

[ChrisOfTheDead]

Oblivion is my favorite RPG, Elder Scrolls game, and Bethesda game. I love the exploration so much. I spend about 60% of my time just wandering and see where my travels take me. :)

[sjobhs]

I love this game. It’s so underrated now and it totally should get a fresh coat of paint and no touches to the system. Games so fun.

[TheAwesomeDarkNinja]

This is why I have hope for Elder Scrolls 6 to an extent. If they can push that grit and realism that Skyrim had, and merge it with the vibrant fantasy that Oblivion had - match made in heaven.

[theHeartlessNooB]

When Oblivion first came out I eventually killed an NPC and a a disturbing message appeared on the screen. It almost gave me Goosebumps, then my jaw dropped when Lucius snuck into my room using a cloak spell. Then there is Skyrim where I go to my first tavern and the owner tells me he's heard rumors of someone trying to summon the dark meet Nazeem or whatever his name is and he welcomes me to "our dysfunctional little family"....ugh cringe teeny dialogue that took itself way too serious. Give me back Ocheeva.

[totem]

Tbh I wish I played Oblivion at the time it came out. I played it in 2017 for the first time and absolutely loved it, can only imagine how amazing it was back when it came out

[bttst-sn]

Skyrim has a better gameplay and also better map at least in my opinion. The Civil war quest line is also quite interesting if you can get nuance's in the Lore and the daedric quest are top notch. Nothing can beat the main quest of Morrowind, that game is lore treasure. Love the feeling of the discovering the truth about the sixth house and nerevar profecy. But yes, overall oblivion is the more rounded experience, has the better side quests, the coolest NPCs and a great main quest.

[PrincessStabbityPLS]

I feel like, if they could somehow replicate everything that made Morrowind great - the side stories, the inter-guild politics, the tangible choices and consequences, the map-markerless quests and exploration, the ability to get lost, or follow up on vague rumours and find a level-agnostic dungeon hiding a legendary item or interesting characters - and everything that made Oblivion great - the dungeon design and... uh... uhhh... okay, that's pretty much the only thing Morrowind didn't do better - Bethesda could make the best Elder Scrolls game ever, and not even have to put a main quest in it.

[byronhorde]

In just watching the first 20 seconds of this video, I have to say that... I AGREE.

Yes, Skyrim is a good game, but it doesn't really have the depth of story... that Oblivion has.

Now, to continue with the rest of the video.

[yosdef]

the thing i loved the most about oblivion which i never see anyone praise is the character you play as. it ditches the generic "chosen one fantasy"... well actually not really, except you aren't really the chosen one, martin septim is. you are the one making stuff happen behind the scenes and responsible for fixing things. also i liked how you mentioned "fighting with nords you just met five minutes ago" in skyrim. that to me was an even bigger disappointment than how easy alduin was. they either should have introduced you to those nords earlier or had you fight alongside someone who had been there early on like paarthunax. this was another thing obvlion did very well. from the very first moments of the game you're looking for martin, then you meet him and befriend him, then you help him gain the throne and finally banish the enemy. you feel really invested in his journey and helping him accomplish it.

[Rabid_Druid]

Oblivion pros and cons

+ Breathtaking open world
+ Cool guild questlines
+ Lots of dungeons & loot to be found and have fun in
+ RPG mechanics are better than most RPGs nowadays
+ Improved unarmed combat system

- Worst level scaling ever implemented in a video game
- Level scaling alone
- Little variety in the open world, which is stupid since Cyrodill should be more diverse than any other province thanks to being in the center, yet the outskirts of the world don't reflect this.
- Dumbed down spellmaking that's locked behind doing favors for the mages guild
- Enchanting is all but completely removed and dumbed down to sigils that you get from the planes of Oblivion
- Melee combat is clunky and chaotic
- Dumbed down magic
- Daggers & greatswords belong to the same weapon skill
- Axes are considered the same as maces and both are considered the same as warhammers as in belonging to the same weapon skill

[JamesCarmichael]

I love Oblivion. It's a shame people remember it for it's frankly ill thought out levelling system BUT in most other respects it's top notch. So much character, charm and personality. Skyrim was good, but felt wooden and hollow at times and it's questlines were very watered down.

[have_a_good_day]

I hate when people start a compliment with addressing flaws. "Oblivion is far from perfect, but..."
-Yeah no shit. No game or anything is perfect and everything has flaws.
Why not just stick with praising the game? It's arguably the best Elder Scrolls game. Period.

[thebigbrzezinski]

While combat was at an awkward nadir in Morrowind, the world building, aesthetics, and writing have scarcely been surpassed. Those favorite quest lines in Oblivion like the amulet of kings and thieves guild weren't improvements, but holdovers. The world building went from a flavorful journey through the alien cultures and the ecology of Vvardenfell to Standard Medieval Fantasy Map #4.

In 2022, I could see myself going back and playing Morrowind again, but not Oblivion. Running across the grazelands, mucking for coda flowers, or exploring the cantons of Vivec might be worth doing again. Traipsing up and down the hills of a generic forest full generic forest enemies probably isn't. I might as well go play Skyrim if I was in the mood for Oblivion gameplay. Better yet, I'd play one of the many games that have been release since Oblivion and Skyrim that have done the concept better.

[matthewbartke]

To be fair, "Never got better than Oblivion" isn't saying much when only one game came after so far....released 3000 times.

[UndeadMessiah]

Delusional Morrowind fanboys inbound...

[linox]

You just convinced me to buy The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion thanks a lot👍👍

[Sourheart]

Even though it was held down by the hardware of the time, so the lush biomes of cyrodill couldnt be realized completely, Oblivion always felt like the most fantastical of the entire Elder Scrolls selection, the closest to Tolkien is spirit.

[Russo-Delenda-Est]

I always thought skyrim was so gray and ugly compared to oblivion, that and the bland quests and repetitive dungeons turned me off from it fairly early on. It just didn't have the same life, the same spark that oblivion did, imo.