izigame.me

I know I know, the game came out in 2006. And?
Here's my take on it.
First I am biased. Oblivion is THE game that started my long and storied video game passion. I discovered this game when I was 17, and realized there was an entire world of undiscovered adventure in video games. I'm 35 now and currently on my umpteenth play-through of it haha. I've grown up, started a career in the military, got married, adventured IRL across the world, experienced so many amazing and epic things, got divorced, and am currently about to retire from the military in little under five years. The entire time, This game and so many more have been with me both while playing them, and in my mind as I have walked IRL. Games like Oblivion have helped shape me as a person in many fundamental ways. But enough sob story let's talk about Oblivion!
First, even for a game released in 2006, it still holds its amazing wonder and epic beauty. Yeah, it's older, its
NPCs and engine are dated. Even the dialogue is very dry sometimes lol. But it holds re-playable value quite well. It's a game I recommend any avid RPG lover play if they never have. 10/10 playable today for the first time and fully replayable.
Combat is very well done for the time and still is very playable today. It's dynamic, provides a cool third or first-person pov, and factors in all of your stats, both major and minor. 10/10
The story is definitely epic. So many amazing characters involved, with Sean Bean as the primary NPC voice actor, and the story provides a struggle that makes you fully connect with the world at play. 10/10
Graphics are definitely very good for the time and hold up very well on modern machines. I play it on a 3080 with the latest ram and processing power and so on. For its age, 10/10
Dialogue has always been a bit dry in this game. the voice actors are re-used across many NPCs and the conversations with most can become repetitive. At the time, Bethesda was a lot smaller with a smaller budget and thus it really showed in the dialogue play. 5/10 for the dialogue itself, 10/10 for the nostalgic feels.
Questing is vast and takes you across the entire world. If you play every major and minor quest, you will see every inch of Tamriel in all its glory. 10/10
DLC was always hit or miss. Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles are definitely huge additions to the game that really brought their stories into the fold well. The rest is just fluff to me personally. 7/10
Modding is very doable in this game. There are many many amazing mods that give new life to an already amazing game by so many modders. Many of them are absolute odes written and developed by gamers who clearly love the game and only wish to make it better than it already is. 10/10 for modability.
Overall, I give Oblivion a 9/10. It is an amazing game that is worthy of every gamer's chance to play through it at least once. I have countless hours on older machines lol. I've played it on every rig I've ever owned including PlayStation. RPGs truly are the root of all gaming, and Oblivion imo is one of the best of the best out there. I strongly encourage anyone who is interested in giving this game a run-through.
Happy gaming and if you do, good luck on closing shut the jaws of Oblivion!