Pocket Realities

RPS Time Capsule: the games worth saving from 2006 | Rock Paper Shotgun:

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Developer:Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
From: Steam, GOG, Humble, Game Pass

Ed: I am convinced Oblivion’s fantasy setting of Cyrodiil is the closest you can get to a waking lucid dream. Break out of jail and you’re in this lush landscape, with golden hues and soft textures and warm strings that accompany your wanderings. I like how it frames its world through its mundane, little details, too. Dirt paths may simply lead to quaint huts in the middle of the woods or moss-covered ruins pocked with red mushrooms. There’s a sense that you’re exploring somewhere that makes sense for its inhabitants, rather than a showroom for achievement hunters.

Skyrim is in many ways more fun to jump in and play, its certainly more stable, but of the 5 mainline Elder Scrolls entries I think Oblivion was the one that most found the perfect balance of narrative, customization, and control… At the expense of being a bit buggy and wierd.