When Bethesda unveiled Oblivion Remastered earlier this week, the sight of 2006's journey to Tamriel transformed into the best-looking Elder Scrolls game ever left me in disbelief. Historically, remasters like Mass Effect Legendary Edition and Dark Souls Remastered have often fallen short of expectations, barely distinguishable from their original Xbox 360 counterparts. Yet, to witness the Imperial City, a place I explored nearly two decades ago, now rendered in Unreal Engine 5 with ray tracing, felt surreal. Moreover, the game has been enhanced with significant upgrades to combat, RPG systems, and numerous other details. This led me to question whether Bethesda and the project's developer, Virtuos, had misnamed it. Shouldn't it be called Oblivion Remake?

I wasn't the only one with this thought. Many fans and even Bruce Nesmith, the senior game designer of the original Oblivion, suggested that "remaster" might not fully encapsulate the extent of the changes. However, after spending several hours with the game, it became clear that while Oblivion Remastered looks like a remake, it retains the gameplay feel of a remaster.

The reason *Oblivion* appears to be a remake is due to the extensive work by Virtuos, who redesigned "every single asset from scratch." Visually, everything you see on screen is brand new—from trees and swords to crumbling castles. This ensures the game meets modern graphical standards with beautifully textured environments, stunning lighting, and a new physics system that realistically impacts the game world with every arrow and weapon strike. Despite the familiar characters from 2006, every NPC model has been recreated anew. This overhaul doesn't aim to replicate the nostalgia of the original but strives to meet the expectations of 2025. It's the most visually stunning Bethesda Game Studios RPG to date, and had I seen it before the remaster rumors, I might have mistaken it for *The Elder Scrolls 6*.

Beyond visuals, the combat system has been revamped, making swordplay feel more substantial. The third-person camera now includes a functional reticule, and all menus, from the quest journal to the lockpicking and persuasion minigames, have been refreshed. The original leveling system, often criticized, has been replaced with a more logical hybrid of Oblivion and Skyrim's approaches, and players can now sprint. With such extensive visual and gameplay enhancements, it's easy to wonder if we're indeed in remake territory.

If I had seen Oblivion Remastered before the rumors, I might have believed it was The Elder Scrolls 6. The challenge here lies not in technology or game changes but in semantics. There are no clear industry standards distinguishing remakes from remasters, and publishers often use these terms loosely. For instance, Rockstar's "Definitive Edition" remasters of the Grand Theft Auto trilogy merely upscale textures and apply modern lighting effects, still retaining the blockiness of the PlayStation 2 era. In contrast, the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, also labeled a remaster, features entirely new graphics that align with modern games. The term "remake" becomes even more ambiguous: Bluepoint's Shadow of the Colossus and Demon's Souls rebuild their games from the ground up but remain faithful to the originals, while Resident Evil 2 redesigns the interaction with the game's world while keeping the structure intact. Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth significantly alter the design, script, and story of the originals. These examples all fall under the "remake" umbrella but vary widely in their approach.

At one point, the consensus was that a rebuilt game in a modern engine was a remake, while remasters were limited upgrades within the original technology. However, this definition is becoming outdated. A more fitting modern definition might be that a remaster is a graphical overhaul preserving the original game's design with some quality-of-life gameplay upgrades, while a remake redesigns the game entirely. This would classify Demon's Souls and Metal Gear Solid: Delta as remasters, reserving the "remake" term for games that offer new interpretations of old ideas.

New lighting, fur, and metallic effects are just the tip of the iceberg of Oblivion Remastered's changes. Image credit: Bethesda / Virtuos

Given these definitions, Oblivion Remastered is aptly named. Despite the new assets and Unreal Engine 5 ray tracing effects that make it look brand new, the core gameplay remains rooted in the 20-year-old design, a testament to Bethesda's philosophy: "We looked at every part and carefully upgraded it. But most of all, we never wanted to change the core. It's still a game from a previous era and should feel like one."

The essence of that previous era is evident in every aspect. It's in the loading screens that appear behind every door, the baffling persuasion minigame that remains disconnected from conversations despite its interface upgrade, and the simplistic city designs reminiscent of theater stage sets. The NPCs still wander awkwardly and converse with the charm of a basic AI. Combat, even after upgrades, feels detached and unwieldy, and a plethora of bugs and glitches are preserved, maintaining the original's quirky charm.

The granular details of Oblivion are unmistakably aged. Recent games like Obsidian's Avowed showcase the future of the genre with more fluid combat and rewarding exploration, making Oblivion Remastered feel like a relic. Yet, Oblivion still offers much in 2025. Its world remains enchanting, filled with mysteries and oddities, and its ambitious elements, such as dynamic goblin wars and engaging quest structures, stand out even two generations later. Its old-school approach to player freedom feels refreshing in an era dominated by hand-holding game design. However, the dialogue lacks finesse, the systems lack elegance, and the level design feels ancient. A remake would modernize these elements, but Oblivion Remastered is about reliving the past. Thus, it remains a remaster.

What do you think the new Oblivion is? --------------------------------------

It's a remake. It's a remaster. It's a different thing and we need a new word for it.

AnswerSee ResultsVideo games often borrow terminology from other media. In film, remakes are new productions with fresh casts, crews, scripts, and sets, while remasters enhance existing films to meet modern picture quality standards. Yet, an old film remains an old film; the 4K restorations of *Jaws* and *The Godfather* look incredible but are clearly products of the 1970s, evident in their direction, delivery, and effects. *Oblivion* is akin to these Blu-ray restorations of classic films. It pushes visual quality to its limits, recreating its "exterior" in a new engine, but beneath that, it remains a product of the 2000s. Alex Murphy, executive producer at Virtuos, likened it to the game engine being the brain and Unreal 5 the body: "The brain drives all the world logic and gameplay and the body brings to life the experience that players have loved for almost 20 years."

Oblivion Remastered is precisely what its name suggests, and this should not diminish its achievements. Rather than debating whether it's a remake, we should recognize it as the benchmark for remasters from major AAA companies. This is the standard Mass Effect Legendary Edition should have reached, not just a cleaned-up re-release. This is what Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy should have been, not a cynical cash grab. Oblivion Remastered is a testament to passion and dedication, looking like a remake but playing like a lovingly preserved remaster.