Oblivion Remastered is not only a mess on Steam Deck, but PC users on Windows have been experiencing severe performance issues and bugs. It is noted by many that the code of the game is the exact same one that the one from 2006, which is quite the spaghetti. The only big change this remaster has is the graphics, which are all side loaded by Unreal Engine 5, an engine hated by many due to optimization issues. It is terrible to see many of these bugs still present in a 2025 release. We at Infinite Start will cover some of the most glaring ones.
Oblivion Remastered in trouble
As kids, people loved to laugh at all the bugs in Skyrim, in fact, it seems that Youtubers from the past have encouraged us to accept them as part of the game. This is of course dangerous, as it lead to the current state of the industry we have today. From erratic character behavior, to items floating mid air, Oblivion keeps everything from the 2006 original, including the flaws. However, a new issues has been introduced on this new version.
With Unreal Engine 5, the game becomes a behemoth both in size, and resource hogging. You can play the 2006 game in almost any hardware, however, good luck running the remaster on anything modern. If what the remaster does is make the original experience feel more bloated and generic, without fixing anything, then why play it in the first place?
Remasters are meant for fixes and improvements upon the original, having the ability to climb paint brushes like in 2006 does not sit right. For all the claims the triple A industry does about being cutting edge, it is funny to see them get attached to old things. Like some sort of internal conflict between rejecting modernity or accepting it. This title feels like the worst of both worlds, and the original experience is far better on the performance side.
No need for realism or other marketing thingamajigs, people want to see real games happen for once. Bethesda isn’t the company to get them from unfortunately, but indie games are there for us to enjoy.
