Oblivion Remastered Switch 2 Review
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
If there’s one game series that has carried me through my entire gaming life, it’s The Elder Scrolls. Skyrim remains one of my favourite games of all time, but my journey with the series actually started a little earlier, with Morrowind. While I loved Morrowind, it was Oblivion that truly made me fall in love with The Elder Scrolls series. So, when Bethesda somehow managed to bring this sprawling RPG back to life in Unreal Engine 5, I was already excited, but bringing Oblivion Remastered to Nintendo Switch 2 was the icing on the sweet roll. What’s it like? Create your character, escape the Imperial City sewers, and be whoever you want to be, as we review The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on Nintendo Switch 2.
For the uninitiated, Oblivion Remastered features multiple stories and adventures, allowing you to pull at whatever narrative thread you see fit. The main storyline will see you briefly cross paths with Emperor Uriel Septim, who knows he’s about to be assassinated and tasks you with finding his illegitimate heir to the throne in order to shut the Gates of Oblivion. This setup is actually the first 20 or so minutes of the game, but the second you enter the open world of Cyrodiil, the world really is your oyster. You can be a powerful mage and join the Mages Guild, test your mettle with the Fighters Guild, become an assassin of the Dark Brotherhood, or, if you’re after fame and fortune, you can try your luck in the Arena, which is a not-so-subtle nod to the series’ more humble beginnings. There’s an entire world of stories about political corruption, murder mysteries, mad gods, holy relics, and even a bit of romance… and I’m not just talking about the Lusty Argonian Maid. For those who just want the sword-and-board action, you can simply explore ruins and make your own stories.
While the game might not be as unrestricted as Skyrim, Oblivion Remastered still offers an incredible amount of content. Skyrim players might have to spend some time adjusting to the levelling system, which is based on your class. Each major skill plays a much larger role in levelling you up, while minor skills have a much smaller influence in raising that level cap. That means a melee fighter will benefit from fighting with a sword and shield, while casting spells might slowly nudge that progression bar forward. Each level-up requires you to have a sleep and distribute skill points into Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Luck, and so on. The open world still harbours plenty of secrets to uncover, and despite sinking hundreds of hours into it back in the day on Xbox 360, I still found things I never discovered back then. Combat has been changed and now features a better hit-detection system, as well as combo attacks that make it feel more in line with Skyrim. The key philosophy behind the Oblivion Remaster is that Bethesda and remaster developer Virtuos wanted to preserve the feel of the game 1:1 in order to retain its core identity, and in terms of gameplay, it’s successful.
All this grandeur of epic quests, combat, and exploration seems to hit even harder when you can take this world with you on the go. I managed to sneak in some rounds in the Arena and some dungeon delving over the past couple of weeks while waiting for an appointment and sitting on my verandah under the gum trees. To me, despite some issues, which we’ll get to in a moment, Oblivion Remastered feels like one of those impossible ports, in a similar vein to Cyberpunk or Final Fantasy XIV. It’s a rather impressive feat.
Graphically, Oblivion Remastered is a huge leap over the original game. This is a world that has been completely reimagined in Unreal Engine 5, and there are moments where it looks incredible on Nintendo Switch 2. Cyrodiil is lush, detailed, and full of life, with everything from the environments to the textures receiving a significant overhaul. There’s still some soft pop-in here and there, but when you’re standing in the middle of the world and taking in the scenery, it’s hard not to be impressed by just how far this game has come. One of the biggest contributors to that is the lighting. Oblivion Remastered uses a global lighting system that gives the world a much more dynamic and atmospheric feel. Light plays an important role in how the environments look, from the way sunlight falls across the landscape to the darker, more dramatic moments as you explore. There are some scenes where the lighting really impresses, mostly in the wild. Leaving the Imperial City and looking out across Cyrodiil can be genuinely beautiful, while areas like Kvatch, with its red sky and ash-filled surroundings, create a completely different atmosphere. The lighting isn’t always perfect, though. At times it can dull some of the detail in character faces, but I think that’s a trade-off that ultimately works in favour of the world itself. The lighting gives Cyrodiil a sense of scale and atmosphere that the original simply couldn’t achieve.
There is, however, an interesting trade-off with this visual overhaul. While Oblivion Remastered looks undeniably better, I do feel that some of the original game’s visual identity has been lost. Everything now carries that distinctive Unreal Engine 5 look, and while that’s certainly impressive, there’s something about the original Oblivion’s aesthetic that feels a little less present here, which is a shame considering that core philosophy to preserve the identity.
Performance is probably where Oblivion Remastered is going to be the most divisive. On the one hand, the Switch 2 version appears to be a much more stable build than its console counterparts, with the extra development time and optimisation seemingly paying off. Bethesda has even acknowledged the outcry from players asking for these updates to be brought to the other versions of the game. But that doesn’t mean the Switch 2 version is without its own problems. The game targets 30 frames per second, but it’s the frame time where things can get a little messy. I recorded frame times jumping between around 33 and 77 milliseconds, and while the game generally sits around that 30fps target, those inconsistencies can create some noticeable jank. There’s also some loading hitching, particularly when moving between areas, and I found this could occasionally interrupt the otherwise smooth flow of exploration. Horseback travel seemed to make the hitching more noticeable, too. The important thing to stress, though, is that personally, I found all of this pretty tolerable. These issues didn’t really get in the way of me enjoying the game, and I’d happily put up with some of these compromises to have the ability to play Oblivion on the go. But it does raise an interesting question: would it have been better to make further visual downgrades in order to maintain a more consistent frame rate, or are these small hitches worth putting up with to preserve the visual fidelity we’ve been given? For me, I think the answer is the latter. The fact that Oblivion Remastered can look and feel like this on Nintendo Switch 2 is impressive in itself, and while the performance isn’t perfect, the compromises never stopped me from getting lost in Cyrodiil.
For my warriors and mages looking into accessibility, Oblivion Remastered offers several options to make your time in Cyrodiil more comfortable. These include scalable difficulty, aim assist, motion controls, mouse controls, the ability to remove screen clutter, the option to isolate several audio sources, text and subtitle size adjustments, and the ability to remap controls. As always, I recommend further research into whether Oblivion Remastered on Switch 2 suits your accessibility needs.
At just under $85 AUD, there’s a lot of content here. With Knights of the Nine and The Shivering Isles included, there are hundreds of hours of adventure here, making the asking price feel pretty reasonable for the amount of game you’re getting. It’s also huge that all of this is included on a physical cart. There’s no game-key code to worry about, which is another positive move for physical collectors.
So, after all these years, it feels amazing to return to Oblivion. This is still an incredible RPG, and Oblivion Remastered does a fantastic job of bringing this classic adventure into the modern era. On Nintendo Switch 2, there’s something special about being able to take that entire experience with you wherever you go. I’ve spent the past few weeks getting lost in Cyrodiil all over again, and despite the performance compromises, I’ve had an absolute blast doing it. But those compromises are worth keeping in mind. The frame-time inconsistencies and loading hitches can take the shine off what is otherwise an incredibly impressive port, and whether you can tolerate those issues will ultimately come down to how much you enjoy the game. For me, the ability to play one of my favourite RPGs on a handheld outweighs those compromises. This isn’t the perfect version of Oblivion, but it is still a fantastic way to experience one of Bethesda’s greatest adventures.
So, What’s it Like? Oblivion Remastered is like Oblivion with a fresh coat of paint, shrunk down into the palms of your hands.
In the interest of full disclosure, a review copy was provided by the publisher, but this doesn’t influence my score.
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