It seemed like the best idea in the world. I love Skyrim, and I’ve spent weeks struggling to replicate that feeling in other games. Between Scarlet Nexus, Legend of Mana—even a brief fling with the dating sim, Roommates—I’ve had no such luck. Replaying Skyrim has been so tempting, but I’ve already replayed the damn game more times than I can count. That’s when someone recommended that I give Oblivion a go.
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Why hadn’t I played Oblivion yet when I’ve been so in love with Skyrim? I’m not sure. Part of me was afraid it would be a downgrade, somehow. I feared that perhaps I would spend the entire time simply comparing it to Skyrim and it wouldn’t measure up. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much exactly how it played out. I’m not interested in explaining how Skyrim is better than Oblivion, though. Oblivion looks like a great game, if only I’d given it a chance to shine.
I don’t always feel the need to play games in order. There have been plenty of other series I’ve played more recent releases of and then gone back and still enjoyed previous entries. My first Persona experience was with Persona 5 Royal. While I’d still argue it’s the best out of the three Persona games I’ve played so far, I still enjoyed my time with Persona 4. Then there was Final Fantasy, where I started off with Final Fantasy 10, yet I enjoyed Final Fantasy 7 significantly more when I played it afterwards.
Obviously, as I have not finished Oblivion, I can’t assess the game as a whole. But even just based on the beginning of the game, it looked like it would have been groundbreaking back in 2006. Honestly, had I not already played Skyrim, I think it would’ve been a pretty formative game for me, too. For just a few hours, I explored Oblivion’s Cyrodiil, and there was already so much I could see as endearing back in the early ‘00s. Between the massive open world and overarching story, I think I would have been quite smitten with it back then myself. The music and scenery also created a pleasant ambiance to boot. I quickly became upset with myself for not being able to enjoy what, on the surface, looked to be a great game.
The similarities between Skyrim and Oblivion are simply just too many for me to enjoy going back. From what I experienced of Oblivion, it felt like everything Oblivion did, Skyrim did better—and the problem is that they pretty much did all the same things. The combat is smoother in Skyrim (though, it still has its issues), the music is better, the graphics blow Oblivion out of the water, the map is easier to use—I could go on. I think earlier games in a series can nevertheless be enjoyed after playing newest entries if the older games still bring enough unique content to the table. It’s possible Oblivion would’ve brought more, had I been able to get past the feeling that I was playing a downgraded Skyrim and put more hours into it.
Ultimately, I still think I may have missed out. I never got around to some of Oblivion’s cooler bits, like spellcrafting, and it sounds like that could have been one of the major ways that Oblivion would’ve out-performed Skyrim. That element of customization in crafting your own spells sounds like a brilliant feature, and Skyrim discludes it entirely. But at the end of the day, I likely won’t get the chance to find out, because I just don’t have the patience for Oblivion now. So, for anyone on the fence about getting into The Elder Scrolls, I beg of you—give Oblivion a good shot first before you pick up Skyrim.
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