19 years later, Oblivion Remastered has renewed my interest in walking into people’s houses uninvited
Opinion | Visiting random NPCs’ houses in The Elder Scrol🤪ls 4 was a favorite pastime of mine, an💝d Oblivion Remastered has re-enabled me

I may not always roll a thief or assassin in Elder Scrolls games, but I’ve learned over the years the rogue types are my favorites in Bethesda’s fantasy series. In the case of Oblivion, my first-ever character was a Nightblade, so it only made sense to break the law and go back to the beginning when 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:The 𒅌Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered was shadow-dropped last month.
This decision also reignited a stuꦏpid💞 pastime of mine while playing Oblivion back in my high school days: sifting through random houses’ objects and breaking into dwellings just to learn about the peculiarities (if there are any) of each NPC and their lives. Even 19 years later, The Elder Scrolls 4 excels – general AI silliness and jank included – at selling the illusion of a living and breathing fantasy world, and sometimes, I just find it more entertaining to let Cyrodiil continue to exist beyond my interactions with it.
This doesn’t mean that I won’t steal valuable goods while I’m at it (I need to get into the Thieves Guild’s good g🐽races after all), but believe me, I’m just curious. I want to learn about A Fighting Chance’s stock, and check whether First Edition’s Phintias also has a personal room full of books. How much thought went into each NPC and their surroundings? That’s something that’s always fascinated me about Bethesda’s RPGs; these characters don’t just stand there. Their schedules may seem invisible, but that quickly changes if you pay attention.
Touring Imperial City
I’ve come to accept that Imperial City is one of my favorite video game locations ever. It’s no sprawling metropolis. It’s barely distinct when compared to other fantasyꦡ game locations. But it feels like home. Perhaps it’s just the result of spending so many hours fast-traveling in and out of it, but I know it like the back of my hand and its streets are always welcoming (unless you’re going through the main quest’s final stretch).
Its circular and district-based design also helped it become memorable. In fact, it made it perfect for one of The Elder Scrolls Online’s best content packs. Me, personally? I’m all about the Market District. Everything is close by, making it easy to sprint through all the shops that you need to take weight off your inventory (and gold into your purse) in a few minutes. The robust architecture – all about chunky blocks of stone – is perfect for the heart of the Empire, but it also turns almost eve🙈ry interior in the city into pretty convincing and modern-ish houses and establishments that I’d be happy to rent in real life.
Sneaking into Amantius Allectus’ house as part of ‘May the Best Thief Win’ was meant to be a quick visit. Grab his diary and get out. Instead, I just let Methredhel win (it’s not the end of my career) and walked around, soaking up t🐻he refreshed atmosphere thanks to the Lumen-powered lighting and the overhauled assets. Even the dullest rooms can𒐪 now look fantastic, so that’s a nice bonus.
This experience during my early hours with this iteration of Oblivion is what made me rethink my ‘optimized playthrough’ strategy. My best times in Cyrodiil in the past were tied to simply inhabiting the world and marveling at the little details, so I’ve become a nosy ‘tourist of interiors’ again. A personal favorite? The Tiber Septim Hotel and its tiny study. I also have a soft spot for finding new trap doorsꦍ leading into the Imperial City Sewers because I’m a freak.
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Local flavors
Move up to the very north of the map and you’ll find Bruma, which has a Skyrim-ish flavor but not quiteꩲ. That huge church sticks out like a sore thumb when everyone lives in Nord-styled houses or small depressing cabins. Almost every house I’ve visited has a pretty cozy sparkling fire in its center and a modicum of decorations, but it seems poor Ongar is just wasting all his Thieves Guild money in drinking at ꦚOlav’s Tap and Tack, another dreadfully dull place.
Bethesda excels at environmental storytelling, and Oblivion is no exception, but I guess the point I’m trying to make is that a lot of the game’s ch𝔍aracter comes from what you find inside each home and store, sometimes hidden away from prying eyes, sometimes just in plain view. Dig deep enough and you might even trigger a quest in a surprising way. Randomly walking into a crime scene is funnier than being told about it and then preparing an improvised Horatio Caine act. What’s t💝hat noise? Ah, yes, a pack of chill scamps surrounding a lady stuck with a cursed staff inside her house. Nice decorations though.

Fran Ruiz is that big Star Wars and Jurassic Park guy. His hunger for movies and TV series is only matched by his love for video games. He got a BA of English Studies, focusing on English Literature, from the University of Malaga, in Spain, as well as a Master's Degree in English Studies, Multilingual and Intercultural Communication. On top of writing features, news, and other longform articles for Future's sites since 2021, he is a𝕴 frequent collaborator of VG247 and other gaming sites. He also served as an associate editor at Star Wars News Net and its sister site, Movie ⛎News Net.
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