Oblivion Remastered Looks Incredible—But Its Difficulty Settings Need Work
Oblivion Remastered revives the classic RPG with stunning visuals and nostalgic charm, but its wildly unbalanced difficulty settings leave combat feeling either too easy or frustratingly punishing.
The long-awaited and often-rumored Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is finally here—and for the most part, it delivers. Shadow-dropped with little warning, the remaster leans closer to a full-on remake, with a major visual overhaul powered by Unreal Engine 5. Cyrodiil has never looked better, and the newly polished presentation makes the 2006 classic feel right at home in 2025’s gaming landscape.
Old-school fans will be glad to hear that much of Oblivion’s original charm—including its iconic jank—is intact. It’s still that weird, wonderful sandbox of knights, Daedra, and awkward NPC conversations. But it’s been given a modern facelift that elevates the overall experience, especially for players who were previously put off by the aging visuals.
Still, even with all the visual glow-up and nostalgia-fueled adventuring, Oblivion Remastered stumbles where it really counts for RPG fans: gameplay balance. The difficulty settings in particular feel like they’ve been lifted directly from the original game—warts and all.
The Difficulty Gap in Oblivion Remastered
Out of the box, the game runs on Adept difficulty, and honestly, it feels a little too chill. Enemies drop after just a few swings, and your character can tank hits like a medieval Superman. It’s fun if you’re in the mood for a power trip, but it renders much of the game’s deeper RPG systems—gear upgrades, skill trees, stat investments—basically pointless. There’s little incentive to experiment when brute force works so easily.
So, you crank the difficulty up, right? Seems reasonable—until you try it.
On Expert, the game jumps to the opposite extreme. Enemies suddenly become massive damage sponges, drawn-out battles drag on forever, and you’ll find yourself dying way too fast from the same hits you shrugged off before. There’s no gradual ramp-up—it’s either a cakewalk or a meat grinder, with very little in between.
This imbalance is made worse by Oblivion’s still-divisive level scaling system, which makes it difficult to “out-level” areas or enemies to find a sweet spot. No matter where you go, the game adjusts its difficulty to you—so you’re often stuck in this awkward balance limbo.
A Missed Opportunity for Combat Improvement
This difficulty seesaw highlights an ongoing problem in Bethesda’s RPGs: combat has never really been the main attraction. Exploration, storytelling, and world-building are the real stars here—and that’s okay. Many longtime fans are more than happy to accept clunky combat in exchange for the rich lore and immersive worlds.
But it still feels like a missed opportunity. With Oblivion Remastered being such a big release, it would’ve been a great moment to rework the difficulty curve and finally make the combat more satisfying for those who care about build crafting and tactical depth. A few tweaks to the way damage is calculated or how enemy scaling works could’ve made a world of difference.
Oblivion Remastered is a love letter to the original, and for the most part, it nails the tone and presentation. But if you were hoping for a more finely tuned gameplay experience, especially when it comes to combat difficulty, prepare for some frustration. Hopefully Bethesda—or the community—steps in with updates or mods to smooth things out. Until then, be ready to choose between steamrolling everything or feeling steamrolled yourself.
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