The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered was one of the worst-kept secrets. Fans worldwide learned of Xbox’s interest in releasing this game thanks to files that leaked from the FTC. This was back when Microsoft was still battling regulators to acquire Activision Blizzard. However, while we knew it was being considered and rumors continued to spread over the years, we didn’t know officially when it would arrive. This also came at a time when so many of us were aware of a fan remake project being developed called Skyblivion.
For those unaware, Skyblivion is a remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, bringing the game to a more modern take like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Fans are handling that project, so it’s taking a bit of time to get through the finish line, as developers working on the title have their own lives, jobs, and responsibilities outside of the game project. Fortunately, we know this project wasn’t killed off.
Now that we finally have The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, we are getting some new words as to why you might still want to check out Skyblivion. The primary reason is that Skyblivion is a remake, not a remastered edition. Therefore, some of the older game designs that are not up to today’s standards will be addressed.
That’s one of the issues that remains with the remastered release. PC Gamer recently spoke with the lead developer behind Skyblivion, Rebelzize. During their conversation, it was confirmed that some game design choices require a much-needed fix. One that was highlighted in the interview was dungeons.
In original Oblivion and the remaster, by contrast, most of the time there’s nothing at the end. There’s no boss or loot or anything to make that delve rewarding. Then once you’ve done that very unrewarding delve, you have to backtrack all the way.
That’s something I’ve been trying to really hammer on with everyone in the teams, that we make the dungeons fun. And if a dungeon serves no other purpose than to just distract someone from what they’re doing, then it can’t just be a bear den—you know, with a really big black bear—at the end.
Dungeons in the current Oblivion game can sometimes lead to nothing. So when players go through the challenge of fighting their way through the dungeon, there might not be any reward. It’s instead just a distraction with no payoff. That’s not going to be the case in Skyblivion, as the team wants to ensure that players who fight their way through these dungeons are given some notable loot.
No longer will you have the frustration of fighting all these enemies for nothing. We’re certainly interested in checking this mod out when it launches. While we don’t have a release date just yet other than developers shooting for this year, we do know getting the mod will be easy. This is one of the games highlighted by GOG’s new one-click mod setup when it launches.
