Summary
- Oblivion Remastered enhanced beloved visuals and quests without sacrificing the game's soul.
- GreedFall offers intricate faction relationships and a unique 17th-century-inspired setting.
- Dragon Age: Origins provides intense roleplaying and layered narratives with brutal decision-making.
When Oblivion Remastered dropped on April 22, 2025, it didn’t need to rewrite the story or reinvent the world to grab attention. It just needed to polish what was already beloved—those sprawling forests of Cyrodiil, the janky but charming character models, and the quests that ranged from epic to wonderfully bizarre. Now that the classic has a modern coat of paint, it’s got players itching for more of that sprawling open-world, choice-heavy RPG goodness.
Oblivion Remastered: 7 Biggest Differences From The Original Game
Compared to the original, Oblivion Remastered changes much of the visuals and gameplay – but these differences don't sacrifice the game's soul.
However, Oblivion’s appeal goes deeper than Daedric shrines and glowing Nirnroots. It’s about immersion, exploration, and feeling like the world reacts to every step taken. These similar games try to capture a little bit of that magic, whether it’s through deep worldbuilding, meaningful roleplay, or just a really well-timed Mudcrab ambush.
7 GreedFall
Where Muskets Meet Magic
GreedFall
- Released
- September 10, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Spiders’ 2019 surprise hit GreedFall doesn’t immediately scream Oblivion until the conversations start. That’s when things click. Players are constantly choosing allegiances, navigating faction rivalries, and making decisions that actually ripple through the narrative.
Set in a 17th-century-inspired fantasy colony, GreedFall offers a refreshing change of scenery—think tricorn hats and musket pistols mixed with tribal magic and mythical beasts. The game world isn’t gigantic, but it’s cleverly designed with interconnected zones that reward exploration and curiosity. And while it’s a bit clunkier than bigger-budget RPGs, it makes up for it with meaningful quests and companions that react to player choices.
Much like Oblivion, GreedFall encourages players to carve their own path. Diplomacy, deception, or brute force—each approach is viable, and none of them feel tacked on. There's even a “Disguise” mechanic that lets players dress up in enemy uniforms to infiltrate camps, which feels like something a Thieves Guild dropout would definitely do.
6 Dragon Age: Origins
BioWare’s Crown Jewel Still Holds Up
Dragon Age: Origins
- Released
- November 3, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content
- Genre(s)
- RPG
There’s a reason Dragon Age: Origins still gets brought up in every RPG discussion: few games commit this hard to roleplaying. Set in the grim, plague-ridden continent of Ferelden, it’s a game where every origin story changes the world’s response to the player, and every major decision might just kill someone important. Or worse, crown them.
Unlike Oblivion, the world in Origins is broken into large zones rather than being one seamless map. That said, each location—be it the besieged dwarven city of Orzammar or the cursed, werewolf-infested forest of the Brecilian—feels layered, both narratively and geographically. There’s no shortage of moral ambiguity here, either. The choices are often brutal, the politics cutthroat, and the companions have opinions that can lead to them leaving—or dying—if pushed too far.
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What makes Dragon Age: Origins resonate with Oblivion fans is that same feeling of “this world is bigger than me.” And just like in Tamriel, every big moment is followed by a dozen smaller stories tucked into the corners of the map, waiting to be found.
5 Kingdoms Of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
A Cult Classic That Refused To Die
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
- Released
- September 8, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- RPG
When Kingdoms of Amalur first launched in 2012, it felt like an RPG that had been smuggled out of an alternate timeline where Oblivion and Fable had a hyperactive child. Its world, the Faelands, is absolutely drenched in lore thanks to Forgotten Realms author R.A. Salvatore penning the game's lore, but what stuck with most players was the satisfying, combo-heavy combat.
The 2020 Re-Reckoning remaster refined the experience, tweaking the balance, fixing bugs, and making the sprawling questlines easier to navigate. There’s a staggering number of side quests—almost too many—but buried within them are entire story arcs filled with political intrigue, cursed villages, and tragic character beats.
The game world isn’t as reactive as Oblivion Remastered’s, and the NPCs don’t exactly remember the player's crimes, but what Kingdoms of Amalur nails is the joy of discovery. Hidden caves, ancient ruins, secret factions—it’s got that same “just one more marker on the map” energy. Furthermore, the Destiny system, which lets players swap classes mid-game, scratches that same experimental itch as chugging a bunch of skooma and seeing what happens.
4 Fallout: New Vegas
War Never Changes, But Dialogue Wheels Do
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- RPG
It’s hard to overstate how much Fallout: New Vegas owes to Oblivion—and vice versa. Both games share Bethesda’s open-world DNA, but New Vegas, developed by Obsidian, brought a sharper pen and deeper player agency to the post-apocalyptic Mojave.
What makes it such a great follow-up for Oblivion Remastered players is the sheer range of narrative outcomes. Siding with Caesar’s Legion, the New California Republic, or going full anarchist with Yes Man turns the endgame into a reflection of dozens of earlier decisions. The writing is razor-sharp, the factions are morally murky, and the world is filled with tiny environmental storytelling details that reward players who wander off the beaten path.
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While the Mojave Wasteland lacks Oblivion Remastered’s lush greenery, it makes up for it with personality. Whether it’s stumbling across a solar-powered cult or chatting with a cowboy robot named Victor, New Vegas proves that immersion isn’t about realism—it’s about coherence.
3 Kingdom Come: Deliverance
History Nerds Eat Well Here
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
- Released
- February 13, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- RPG
No elves. No magic. No glowing swords with names like Frostbane. Just mud, steel, and a relentless commitment to 15th-century Bohemia. Kingdom Come: Deliverance takes everything players remember about wandering the wilderness in Oblivion and strips it of fantasy, leaving something that feels raw and lived-in.
The combat system is punishing but precise, based on real medieval swordplay. Every fight feels like a duel, and every wound matters. There's hunger, fatigue, and reputation to manage, and guards won’t just forget crimes after a fine—they'll remember the player’s face, and so will the villagers.
The story follows Henry, a blacksmith’s son thrust into political chaos, and while his path is a bit more fixed than the Champion of Cyrodiil’s, there's still room for roleplay. Players can focus on reading and alchemy or become a knight with a questionable moral compass. Quests often spiral out in unexpected directions, and conversations can end in diplomacy or duels depending on player preparation. It’s not for everyone, but players who appreciate Oblivion Remastered’s slower, systematic pace will find something deeply rewarding here.
2 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Side Quests Better Than Most Main Quests
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
When The Witcher 3 came out in 2015, it raised the bar for open-world RPGs so high that even now, a decade later, it still gets name-dropped in every GOTY discussion.
Unlike Oblivion, Geralt is a set character, but that doesn't limit player choice. Conversations, investigations, and even contracts can go sideways based on how well players prepare. However, it’s the side quests that really shine here. From helping a disgraced witcher deal with the consequences of his past to tracking down cursed dolls in the middle of a swamp, these aren’t filler—they’re often more affecting than the main story.
The Continent is grim, yes, but it’s also full of bizarre humor, deeply human characters, and mysteries hidden in abandoned shrines and monster dens. Players who liked looting Ayleid ruins in Oblivion Remastered will feel right at home diving into ancient crypts filled with wraiths and forgotten scrolls.
1 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
The Sequel That Stole The Spotlight
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
Skyrim might be Oblivion’s younger sibling (or older when Oblivion Remastered is taken into account), but it quickly became the poster child for open-world RPGs. There’s a reason it’s been re-released more times than there are Daedric Princes.
While Skyrim streamlined some of the original Oblivion’s mechanics, it expanded the world in other ways. From shouting dragons out of the sky to joining (or destroying) entire factions, players could lose hundreds of hours just picking flowers and fighting trolls.
What makes it the perfect follow-up to Oblivion Remastered isn’t just familiarity—it’s the evolution. The visuals might not be as pretty, since Skyrim is nearly 15 years old at this point, but mechanics like the Radiant Quest system, which ensures things are always happening, along with the well-established modding community, make it the perfect game to follow up Oblivion Remastered with.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
- Released
- April 22, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Action, RPG, Open-World, Adventure