The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion® Game of the Year Edition (2009)

7.5/10

All the fun of the remaster but with mod support and it doesn't take over 100GB of space to install. Cheaper too.

Wanna note my game time is also inaccurate as I've spent a lot longer with it on console before moving to PC.

Absolute classic. Im writing this because the remaster is taking forever to download, but I'm gonna miss the potato faces.

Been playing on and off since I was in 7th grade. I’m 30 years old. Hype for this remake! This was the game that really got me into open world RPGS.
One of the GOTY’s.

I played this game instead of studying for my college midterms senior year. Don't worry, I passed. I DID have to uninstall all of the game's music files because it stuttered whenever the tracks changed but just load your favorite playlist in the background and have fun. My tunes of choice were the boss tracks from Drakengard 3 but I imagine cutting down Daedra to Pink Pony Club would be equally as fun.

As always a pleasure to play this game. I have enjoyed this game since 2006 and played it regularly over the years. I am REALLY looking forward to the remake!

Gentlemen tonight, we dine in Shivering Isles!

no but for real I came here to express my equal excitement for the grand release of the remaster. The scary amount of hours about to be put in this bad boi....

hide yo sweet rolls and yo skooma

Best game ever. Feeling like I need to eulogize this game with all the remasters coming.

I have 5,000 PS3 hours logged, and it's some of the best and most memorable 5,000 hours of my life. Picked this up from a Blockbuster in '08, and had to convince my mom rated M was just for swears. I'll never forget coming out of the sewer the first time. Life changing. The ultimate iykyk game.

I'll probably never play another video game that much ever again, but I couldn't have picked a better game to do it with. I recently played the game intro again just to feel something. Honestly, as far as recommending this game, I don't know when I'll ever be back -if ever- once the remakes come out, and that's bitter sweet to me.

Thanks for the memories Todd!

Thank you for all these years I’ve played this game on multiple platforms, and it’s always been enjoyable. I just wanted to get this review in before the remaster drops.

I've always thought Oblivion felt out of place in the Elder Scrolls universe. Don't get me wrong: It's a great game, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. However, it feels strangely whimsical when compared to Morrowind and Skyrim. I would describe Oblivion's world as one that resembles something like a classical Tolkienesque fantasy world that is corrupted by unintentional goofiness. This game's character models, particularly the faces, have a pretty notorious reputation for how freakishly ugly they can be. But at the same time, the handful of voice actors are so ubiquitous and silly that they weave a certain charm into most interactions. You'll notice that there are plenty of times where the game is trying to be funny, and even if the jokes don't land for you under normal circumstances, there's a good chance the sheer absurdity of the character's appearance, their line delivery, or some buggy behavior will get a laugh out of you. That alone makes Oblivion a romp in its own right. But Cyrodiil, despite its flawed presentation, is a legitimately cool world to explore. The geography is diverse, each city has its own charm, and Ayleid ruins have my favorite dungeon aesthetic in the entire franchise. That being said, I get the impression that Oblivion was designed to be taken as seriously as Morrowind and later Skyrim were. In that aspect, it fails, and I think that hurts the game for pretentious lorebeards like myself. I find it hard to reconcile this game with the rest of Tamriel's lore and history, and I sometimes treat my time in Oblivion as if I'm in an entirely alternate version of Tamriel.

I chose to write this review because the long-rumored remaster of Oblivion appears to be right around the corner. I hope that it is, and that it's good, because it will hopefully solve the personal issues I have with Oblivion. However, I will also say that I believe some level of charm will disappear as a result. For this reason, I think the original version of Oblivion will always have a special place in my heart, no matter how great or terrible the remaster ends up being. Oblivion is a game with a lot of problems, but also one with a lot of heart put into it. Of all the games in the series, this is probably the one that needed a remaster the most. I eagerly anticipate both the Remaster and Skyblivion, but whenever I feel like returning to an alternate, sillier, more whimsical Tamriel, I'm glad this version exists to welcome me home.

Drop the remake already! I'm starving to hear "Stop right there, criminal scum! Nobody breaks the law on my watch! I'm confiscating your stolen goods. Now pay your fine or it's off to jail." in unreal engine. ♥

buy this before it inevitably gets delisted and replaced with the soulless unreal engine remake

I just came here to say the following:

Good game that tends to run poorly on modern hardware, similar to New Vegas.

Also...

THE REMAKE IS REAL.

it’s alright, it might be better if they brought the graphics and mechanics up to date

Must have put a thousand hours of this on Xbox. Oblivion is my favorite game, I believe the best game ever made, and also terrible lol. The leveling and enemy scaling is such a hassle, and the dungeon layouts are overly long and arduous. Everything else about it is perfect. The world, the immersion, the combat, the quests, the lore - when this came out in 2006, I had not experienced anything like this. It's impressive that the numerous cities in the game feel like they have their own individual culture, a fusion of the regional architecture and traditions merged with the imperial empire. The quests are the best Bethesda has made, and the main story is so refreshing to experience as somebody who is not "the guy". I could go on and on about this game, but I wish everybody gave it a chance. I'm sure it doesn't hold up as well in 2025 to those uninitiated, but to experience this at the time was unlike anything else.

It's been 16 years since I played Oblivion the first and last time, and playing it now again feels like a journey through my memory. I still know many of the locations and some of the NPCs and a part of the story. But a lot of things I have to slowly recollect.

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion is in many ways an amazing game, for me definitely one of the best RPGs of all time. There is not much else about this game I can say than that I love it.

Well, this game is literally an evolution of Morrowind. Eventho it's a little buggy (like all the elder scrolls xD...) the gaming experience is awesome, and the way everything w in this game from the npc interactions to magic evolutions to the weapons is really cool. You might be a little confused at start (i REALLY advice you to lower the difficulty at start, trust me... haha), but with the course of the game you feel the exact same as Skyrim: Immersivity into this medieval world and lots of long nights grinding :) Enjoy this legendary RPG game!!!

I liked Oblivion way more and put so much more time into it than I ever did Skyrim, I put 100's of hours on a non-Steam copy of the game, and even when I first originally played it on the Xbox 360, I believe I played nearly 1000 hours alone, the game was just so good especially the Shivering Isles DLC. That I replayed it so many countless times, I even messed around with hex editing my HD and getting into the testing hall etc. Those were the days. Skyrim is fun, but Oblivion just hits in such a way that Skyrim never captured. Here's hoping that rumored remake is true. I suppose we are rumored to find out soo.

My favorite Elder Scrolls game. Much more personality than Skyrim to me, but not as much of a slog to play as Morrowind.

I have been a long time Elder Scrolls fan since I first watched my mom playing it when I was a young boy. I would recommend Oblivion and Morrowind to new Elder Scrolls fans and encourage older fans to return to the old games. As we enter into the new era of Elder Scrolls with the soon to be released Elder Scrolls VI, the new tales in ESO, and the recent take over by Microsoft of Zenimax Studios and thus Bethesda, I would ask for us all to take time to explore the past games and remember where we come from and what the Elder Scrolls truly represents.

I have well over 100 hours on my original xbox 360. This game is replayable to no end. Hilarious glitches and bugs, ragdoll physics that make me crack tf up. overall just a hilarious experience.

For some people, this game will never get old :) Pop in from time to time to enjoy the atmosphere, the biodiversity (not only snow-ish Skyrim) and prime quest lines. Looking forward to 'Skyblivion' release and rumored re-master from Bethesda.

Bought it on sale. nice game so far after playing for 52 hours. graphics is bad but story makes up for that. oblivion gates are very different each time and very cool. if you have played other games in the elder scrolls series, I would recommend you play this game

I really love this game, the story is great the, the elder scrolls is built so wonderfully. So much great lore that follows through from Morrowind keeping the world of Tamriel alive. The only problem I have is with the steam versions lack of controller play ability.

I'm the classic Morrowboomer yelling at clouds and telling kids real roleplaying games don't have fast travel. And while Oblivion does take a back seat to Morrowind for its nostalgia factor and Skyrim for its enhanced gameplay, Oblivion is still on my top 10 games. Although a lot of the dimension was lost with Oblivion, it was a major leap forward in many ways and led to the RPG genre being what it is today. P.S. SKYRIM BELONGS TO THE NORDS! PC > XBOX, real gamers play survival mode with Legendary Difficulty, and if you haven't tried Daggerfall, we can't be friends.

Constantly crashes and there's nothing you can do about it despite the game being 18 years old.
i'm not saying there's a problem with the story or the gameplay, but these technical problems are inexcusable.

A classic RPG from 2007 that's still fun in 2025. This game just has something special about it that's hard to explain. I hope we get a remake soon.

This game crashes so much it's virtually unplayable. How the hell is this happening? And no, my laptop is a gaming one so i KNOW the hardware is not the issue. I have to save every two minutes because I know it's going to crash. Has anyone found anything to help with this?

Always loved oblivion even as a kid and it stills is nostalgic to play it again

Great story and graphics good game

Even to this day the game holds up. its in depth fun to play and can get lost for hours even after all these years.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a timeless classic that defined open-world RPGs and still holds up remarkably well. From its sprawling landscapes to its deep lore, Oblivion delivers a magical experience that draws you into the vibrant world of Cyrodiil.

The freedom to explore is unparalleled. Whether you're saving the world from the Oblivion Crisis, joining guilds with unique storylines, or just wandering the countryside hunting for treasure and adventure, the game lets you carve your own path.

Combat and character progression offer plenty of flexibility, with dozens of skills and playstyles to experiment with. The leveling system rewards creative builds, and the guild questlines (like the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild) are some of the best stories in gaming.

Yes, the graphics are dated, and the NPC conversations can be unintentionally hilarious, but these quirks add to the charm. Mods also make it easy to enhance the visuals and gameplay for a modern experience.

If you love freedom, exploration, and a rich fantasy world, Oblivion is a must-play. Even after all these years, it’s a masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 – Still worth every Septim!

Don't listen to the others, neither Morrowind nor Skyrim is better, this is peak

Oblivion, Oblivion oh how I love you, oh how you have given me countless hours of entertainment since the days of me being a bored 11 year old.

This game is on the long list of legendary RPGs. If you haven't given it a chance. Don't think twice. Besides an overwhelmingly epic story. This Lore rich game is full of interesting quests, free roam, and different choices. Armor and weapons must be maintained with skill or armorer. The game boasts of many hours of gameplay, and there is of coarse the buggy charm of Bethesda's game engine that rolled out this title.

Loved this elder scrolls, great main story, cool ending, the world is pretty okay but aged exceptionally well for a 2006 release. NPC's are sometimes pretty odd but certainly an iteration on their continuous polishing & improvement of their approach in the RPG genre, which is portrayed in Skyrim. A recommended playthrough, especially for the main story!

Get the character overhaul mod so you dont have the shitty potatoes on ur screen 24h

Honestly played this game for years, alot more when I was younger, way more than id like to admit. This game is a thing of beauty I mean it will proboloy be played forever, you have to play this. Its a requirement.

This game puts the RP in RPG. Best Elder Scrolls game to feed your role-playing addiction.

If you don't already know, this is an instant classic and no library is complete without it. SOOOO GUUUDDDD

Its a great game and i played the heck out of it on xbox but can not bring myself to play it on the pc due to no controller support which you'd think they'd added by now but if you're more into using the mouse and keyboard this is still a good buy since there's alot of mods for it as well.....just no good controller ones

It was a November evening in about 2007ish when I went to Walmart with my mom. I think we were there for some Thanksgiving shopping, but my mom decided to let me pick out what I wanted for my birthday since it fell near the holiday. I had never done that before and haven't since, but I had what felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity to try my luck on grabbing something and I might get it. So, I grabbed a couple toys and no one stopped me yet, then we reached the video game isle and I saw only two games that looked interesting to me, and those were: some Splinter Cell game that was $5 for the PC and this other game called "Oblivion."

Oblivion had some cool pictures of a knight, swords, demons and such. That was all I needed. As a youth I would frequently describe this game to friends as Grand Theft Auto with swords. This game and others like it from the era especially from the developer Bethesda have laid the ground work for the qualitative magnificence that are these works of art that we call The Elder Scrolls series.

I could write a dissertation on this game, and I might. But, I know no one will read this so, on the off-chance someone does, here's the absolute best thing I can say about this game... My favorite thing about Oblivion is how fantastical it was. There is really cool sociological aspects to Cyrodiil and interesting biodiveristy. You get a bit of everything from Ogres to Minotaurs. The towns are populated with a diverse mix of Imperials and peoples from the provinces closeby. Like Nords in Bruma and Khajit in Anvil, etc. It was really cool to get to see a bit of everything from the Empire and all together. Skyrim didn't have that feeling as much, and there are valid reasons for that e.g. the area is more remote, etc. But I love each ES game in it's own way. Oblivion just feels alive, there are so many people and little towns and settlements, and that's why you ought to play this game among many other reasons.

PS: Once Skyblivion drops, here we go again.

great game, but wont save my game at all and is practically unplayable with controller.

i still remember the reviews when this thing came out. they claimed no one had seen anything like it before.
and to me it still stands the test of time. there is so much to do. there is so much to find. i love this game. you should try it.

Janky as hell, but still fun. Play it with a modpack like 'Last Seed', 'Heartland' (for graphics mod base to build off of) or 'A Painted World' - which is a very large modlist still in development, currently at version 0.62, list is quite stable considering its size.

Regardless, Oblivion is definitely worth a shot if you've never played it before. Although, if it is your first time playing Oblivion I would perhaps avoid 'A Painted World' due to all of the additional content it adds and maybe just use the other 2 lists, or 'Through the Valleys' on Nexus.

i tried to buy this game but it doesn't include any of the DLC at all for some reason. it says it has all of them. someone needs to fix this ASAP !!!

Near perfection. Still allows for plenty of creativity while still having map markers to keep you from going insane. Played this for hundreds of hours when new, glad to jump in again.

Stepping into Cyrodiil for the first time is akin to walking into a dream. The lush green meadows, sprawling forests, and rolling hills create a timeless world that feels simultaneously fantastical and familiar. Unlike the darker tones of Morrowind or Skyrim, Oblivion offers a comforting brightness that feels welcoming. The glowing Ayleid ruins scattered across the landscape beckon with mysteries, and each quaint village or bustling city feels alive with its distinct charm.

For many, Oblivion evokes a specific time in life—perhaps a carefree summer spent exploring its boundless horizons or late nights losing oneself in its endless quests. Every trip back to Cyrodiil is like revisiting an old friend, where the world feels unchanged, yet the memories grow richer.

This game is just the right kind of ass it goes back around to being peak. You just gotta experience it I'm gonna be real