Oblivion Remastered: Is Level Scaling a Game-Changer or a Major Flaw?

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Experiencing ‘The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered’ can offer a captivating journey. The newly revamped game appears as if it belongs among today’s polished, high-end AAA titles, boasting sophisticated visual effects, meticulous textures, and trendy graphical techniques like ray-tracing. Despite maintaining some characteristic flaws typical of Bethesda RPGs, such as awkward animations and less than optimal PC performance, it generally performs well visually and technically.

Beneath its sleek visual upgrades lies the classic, quirky RPG from 2006, giving Oblivion Remastered a peculiar blend of old and new. It sports a style that could easily be mistaken for a recent release (it bears a striking resemblance to Avowed, another Bethesda game), but its combat, exploration, level design, and advancement mechanics are largely at odds with what modern gamers anticipate from contemporary titles. This discrepancy is particularly noticeable in the game’s level scaling systems, which, while outdated, warrant discussion in light of current RPG trends.

Oblivion Remastered’s Level Scaling Is a Complex Subject

Level Scaling Undermines Oblivion Remastered’s Progression

Among the fundamental elements that shape the role-playing game (RPG) genre, perhaps none is more prevalent and influential than the phenomenon known as power progression and creep. This concept, even the greenest of gamers should recognize: defeat adversaries to gather experience points, use these points to enhance your abilities, then face stronger opponents for additional experience points, and so on. Although some innovative RPGs might forgo this traditional approach, it’s a staple in almost every popular title within the genre, from games like Final Fantasy 7 to Dark Souls. In a similar vein, Oblivion adopts this classic formula—to an extent.

In Oblivion, similar to other role-playing games by Bethesda, there’s a level scaling system where enemies adjust their levels based on your progress, also equipping stronger gear as you advance. While this system does have its advantages (which we’ll discuss later), many gamers find it problematic for several reasons. The primary complaint about level scaling is that it takes away the joy of becoming more powerful because the gap between player and enemy levels remains constant; there’s no chance to revisit low-level zones while being overpowered. On the other hand, there’s no opportunity to take on tougher challenges for better loot, experience points, and so forth.

Critics of the level scaling system in Oblivion argue that it lacks immersion and consistency with the game’s lore. For example, it seems illogical for an ordinary bandit to possess high-level, rare equipment simply because the player has reached a certain level.

Level Scaling Gives Oblivion Remastered a Consistent Cadence

A compelling point for Oblivion‘s level scaling could be that it provides a stable framework for gameplay, shielding players from their own impulses. In Oblivion, the expansive open-world can bring up challenges regarding difficulty: how does Bethesda balance high-level and low-level enemies? Will there be any indication of the difficulty level in each open-world area? What if a player accidentally ventures into a tough dungeon unaware of its difficulty, resulting in the need to revert to an earlier save and potentially lose progress?

In a game like Elden Ring, challenging areas and subtle restrictions help players navigate the open world, acting as both a warning and guide. However, Oblivion, another RPG, handles open-world exploration differently, so these methods can’t be directly applied to its remaster. Instead, Oblivion uses level scaling to maintain a consistent difficulty and reward system across the game, whether this is beneficial or detrimental.

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2025-05-01 17:10