The Oblivion Remake is “Shadow Dropping” We’re all tired.
If you aren’t terminally online you may not have heard about the Oblivion Remake that is supposedly shadow dropping sometime in April. This information has been corroborated by multiple leakers like NateTheHate and Jeff Grubb and also news outlets like VGC and more. There are more reasons that we know this game exists, notably FTC documents and LinkedIn profiles, but I will keep this short.
The part of this news that’s killing me is that it’s dropping “imminently”. Every other day we are seeing unverified leakers making headlines and it’s burnt me out on the topic despite my excitement. This sentiment is clearly shared if you read comments on social media about the Oblivion remake, with people just wanting it announced so we can stop the madness.
Undoubtedly this has all generated a lot of buzz for the game, and I'm interested how well it will translate into game sales or “engagement” assuming it’s shadow dropped. There’s a lot of debate whether the shadow dropping of Hi-Fi RUSH and Ninja Gaiden 2 Black was beneficial to the sales of those games, but one thing that is certain is that those games reveals stuck with me, even as someone who hasn’t really played them.
What we know about the remake is that the visuals are made in Unreal 5, with the old engine running underneath. There are a few gameplay and UI changes also, such as blocking, archery, stealth and stamina all getting touched up.
My worries for this game come from not being sure what a modern oblivion would even look like. It may be pure nostalgia but Oblivions look and feel still strike a cord in me even to this day. If they removed the jank would it even have the charm anymore? Notably, Oblivion had extremely repetitive caves and the oblivion gates only had 7 variations. I would hope these would be expanded upon, but with how little we know about the game, it’s hard to be optimistic.
To summarise, I’m tired from hearing about this game constantly, with no signs from Bethesda. I believe the shadow drop information is true, and I’m excited. It’s been fun watching videos on the topic but this blog is where I’m finishing following the game, until it’s actually revealed. I sincerely hope Virtuos Studios take care with the game and give fans the remake they deserve, and not another Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition.
