Bethesda announced and simultaneously released The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on Tuesday after a series of leaks and reports suggested the game would unexpectedly launch in April. The remastered version, which features visual and gameplay upgrades to the 2006 original game, is available now on PC, PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and is free to Game Pass subscribers.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Annihilation Remastered Edition Is Now Available
The Standard Edition of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered includes the base game, the Shivering Isles and Tales of the Nine Knights expansions, and other downloadable content – even the infamous horse armor pack.
Bethesda RPG is also releasing a Deluxe Edition, which adds new quests, a digital artbook, and a soundtrack in addition to the benefits of the Standard Edition.
Bethesda said the remaster project began in 2021 and aims to preserve the essence of the original game. Leaks and rumors claimed the project was a complete remaster, but the newly announced game is a remaster developed by Virtous and Bethesda Game Studios that enhances the visuals and improved gameplay of the original game.
“We never wanted to remake it, but rather remaster it as you remember playing it, where the original game was, but seen through today’s technology,” Bethesda said in a blog post following the announcement on Tuesday.
“Every piece of artwork, animation, special effects and part of the world will be remastered,” the company said of the scale of the project. “We’ll be recording some new sounds while keeping the original ones. The game system has been updated to feel better in your hand. The upgrade system has been revised for smoother progression and balance. We’ve gone over every part and carefully upgraded it. But most importantly, we never wanted to change the core. It’s still a game from a previous era, and it should feel like one.”
The Elder Scrolls IV: Annihilation Remastered features visual enhancements
Photo credit: Bethesda
Instead of a complete overhaul, Bethesda and Virtuos opted for a graphical upgrade and some modern gameplay improvements. The remaster leverages Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 to improve visuals and performance, delivering crisp environments, detailed character models, enhanced atmospheric effects, and improved lip sync during dialogue.
In a separate blog post detailing the upgrade, Bethesda said that while the project is called a remaster, in-game assets such as characters, weapons, items, rocks, and more have been remade from the ground up.
Bethesda said that “The Elder Scrolls IV: Annihilation Remastered” is also equipped with an advanced real-time lighting system that can accurately simulate the interaction of light and environment.
Gameplay-wise, while both Bethesda and Virteous have stuck to the familiar feel of the original, the remake does bring modern refinements and quality-of-life improvements. The game finally has a dash mechanic that was missing from the original RPG. Bethesda says that all character movement and models have been redone from scratch.
Battle animations have been reworked
Photo credit: Bethesda
Combat animations have also been rebuilt, adding even more finesse and panache. The animation now separates the upper and lower body. Combat is also now more convincing thanks to new sound and visual effects and hit reactions. The third-person perspective has also been overhauled and features a crosshair. Bethesda claims that the third-person mode is on par with Starfield in terms of playability.
Improvements to QOL include a redesigned leveling system, UI and UX updates, newly recorded dialogue, and unique voices for each race in the game.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Annihilation Remastered is now available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S/X. On Steam, the standard version of the game is priced at Rs. 4162 while the deluxe version is priced at Rs 4162. 4,995. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was originally released on PC and Xbox 360 in 2006 to critical acclaim and won multiple Game of the Year awards at the time. This role-playing game is considered one of the greatest games of all time.
