Oblivion Remastered Missed Out With It’s Unique Items

Summary

Oblivion Remastered attracted 4 million players in its first week thanks to updated controls and graphics, but missed out on a few changes.
Unique items in the game lacked distinct appearances despite their importance to the role-playing experience.
The absence of unique item models disappointed some fans and missed an opportunity to encourage meaningful exploration.

Oblivion Remastered has proven to be a massive hit with fans of The Elder Scrolls, logging upwards of 4 million players in its first week alone. For many Skyrim fans, it was the first time they got to explore Cyrodiil, and the sense of wonder that comes with that is almost the same as what they felt playing TES 5 for the first time. The updated controls, revamped leveling, and overall better accessibility has proven that two-decade-old games can be just as relevant in the modern gaming landscape.

The team at Virtuos did a great job with the game, and the most notable improvement has been the graphics. The original game has a very distinct look to it, if it can be called that, but Oblivion Remastered gave it a very welcome facelift, both figuratively and literally. The heartland of the Empire is rendered in such incredibly lush detail, and many aspects have been visually improved in a dramatic way. However, the remaster did miss out on a key way to differentiate itself from the original, one that could have really helped out the game’s roleplaying.

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By Christopher Norman Worcester

Unique Items Should Have Received Unique Appearances in Oblivion Remastered

It would take a very long time for a player to collect all the named items in Oblivion Remastered. With 16 Daedric Shrines, multiple guild questline rewards, and plenty of world quests, there are potentially hundreds of unique items spread across Cyrodiil. One of the first quests that many players will complete is protecting Odiil Farm from goblins, and if both his sons survive, Valus Odiil will give Chillrend to the player, an ice-blue, frosty shortsword. Even though it is a Glass Shortsword at its core, the different coloration makes it stand out from the pile.

However, Chillrend is an exception to the rule for unique items. Only it, the Daedric Shrine rewards, and a handful of other items, such as Dawnfang/Duskfang, have a one-of-a-kind appearance. The scores of unique items that Bethesda originally placed around Cyrodiil look identical to many ordinary, unenchanted items. While chests can contain randomly enchanted loot, Bethesda took the time to create distinct items with their own names and enchantments, and put them in places for players to find, but never gave them their own model.

A good example of this is at Dive Rock, far to the north-east.

A player can stumble across a camp once inhabited by two Nord hunters, Agnar and Svenja, their tent pitched precariously on a rock that gives beautiful views of Cyrodiil. Down the slope is the Uderfrykte Matron, a troll in full chameleon that the hunters failed to take down. At its feet it Agnar’s corpse, and in its inventory is Svenja’s skeleton, as well as the unique Frostwyrm Bow. Bethesda took the time to set up this scenario, telling the story of how Agnar and Svenja died to this unique enemy, yet the final reward resembles an Elven Bow with a couple of enchantments. There are plenty of other examples, from Umbra’s Armor, to the Blade of Woe, where unique items had ordinary aesthetics.

This has been a gripe among many Oblivion fans for almost two decades. In Morrowind, Bethesda took the time to place many unique items around the world, but in many cases, these items also had their own distinct appearance. While it isn’t necessary to give every single named item its own look, it does make them far more memorable, even if the thing in question is pretty useless. The Mace of Slurring from the Tribunal DLC is memorable for the monstrous face on it, despite the questionable utility of its effect.

The fact that the remaster did not update the look of Oblivion’s unique items with individual models is a shame. Many players love amassing a stash of artifacts in The Elder Scrolls games, and it could have provided a much greater incentive for players to explore the map for special items they can’t find anywhere else. It could have offered more role-playing opportunities, as someone making a Bosmer archer might want to take down the Uderfrykte for more than just a good bow, but one that better reflected its name. Hopefully Bethesda will double down on unique item appearance in The Elder Scrolls 6, but that might still be several years away.

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