The Elder Scrolls fans are celebrating "the unintentional comedy of Oblivion"
Absolutely surreal sights ahead
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is seeing a minor internet resurgence with fans celebrating the landmark game's signature jank and hilarious NPCs.
Twitter user NotRollingTim kicked off the trip down memory lane with a chaotic clip, embedded below, showing one character's unexpectedly enthusiastic call to arms and another's murder. Oblivion's knack for fever dream-type scenarios, powered by wonky physics and aloof characters, is perfectly encapsulated in the snippet.
Geniuenly the funniest thing ever https://t.co/GP3mxQdCpg pic.twitter.com/nJHs7T3dQAJanuary 16, 2024
But that post was just the tip of the iceberg, as longtime Bethesda players came out in droves to reminisce on the game. One of my personal favorites shows two villagers engaged in a riveting conversation, and by riveting, I mean they converse in circles with all the awareness of a concussed sloth and even bid each other farewell twice. Enjoy below.
I'VE BEEN BETTER https://t.co/lYdJnmWcMv pic.twitter.com/uiIBdZ1FjhJanuary 19, 2024
Speaking of NPCs that aren't quite present, another clip below has a quite rowdy battle break out in town. When the player character approaches one fallen villager, the camera does the classic Bethesda zoom, before she zips upright and remarks that people here are "very friendly." I wonder what other horrors she's seen.
like the lord of the rings trilogy is with movies, we sure as fuck ain't gonna get another game like this again. https://t.co/xvourGxxs5 pic.twitter.com/VB05cXV41WJanuary 19, 2024
Of course, the above clip is emblematic of Oblivion's most loveable quirk - the one where NPCs unexpectedly zoom upright and begin conversation immediately. I'll leave some of those examples below because they’re all must-watches.
Leaks from last year suggest that Bethesda plans to remaster or potentially remake Oblivion alongside Fallout 3. But having been reminded of the former's unintentional comedy, my question becomes: is it really needed? I imagine that a modern update would only smooth over the quirky edges and iron out the bugs that led to Oblivion becoming such a surreal romp.
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HAAA https://t.co/ndV6u1oKzw pic.twitter.com/gIgthF8aldJanuary 19, 2024
pic.twitter.com/ngHtlwzV13 https://t.co/Eo3WWCTrKDJanuary 19, 2024
Oblivion was a meme factory of a game. And we loved it for that. https://t.co/MNbN3TCfLW pic.twitter.com/CFbSs1Jz3NJanuary 19, 2024
Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.