Summary
WhileSkyrimhas more sales andMorrowindproved the now popular RPG series can work on a home console with its release on the original Xbox, it wasOblivionthat madeTheElder Scrollsseries a success on all platforms. Its approach to freedom and open-world mechanics, dynamic NPCs, and quest design are major influences on multiple open-world RPGs.
After its success, numerous games started incorporatingOblivion’sapproach to game design and its open-ended, create-your-own-adventure-style gameplay thatThe Elder Scrollsseries offers. Here are some RPGs that were influenced byOblivion’sdesign and mechanics.
After Bethesda acquired the rights to make more of the beloved post-apocalypticFalloutgames, the series adoptedOblivion’sfirst and third-person approaches to open worlds instead of the classic isometric style of the first twoFalloutgames developed by Interplay Productions.
Several mechanics fromOblivioncarried over intoFallout 3’ssystems, like its map design, quests, and interactions with NPCs and their reactions to the player’s character based on moral choices. However, Fallout 3’s VATS combat system, which incorporated a tactical targeting system, made it feel like more than just anotherElder Scrollsgame with guns.
TheTwo Worldsgames are often compared toOblivion.The publisher, Zuxxez’s Dirk Hassinger, claimed that the first game was “meatier thanOblivion” as part of the title’s marketing campaign and justifiable comparisons to Bethesda’s RPG. While the first game’s reception was mixed at best,Two Worlds 2was a much better game and far more worthy of comparison toOblivion.
There are differences in tone with its approach to humor and character design. However, the quest designs and structure, and the way the missions branched together, are similar toOblivion. Two Worlds 2also features a dynamic world that feels lived in. However, differences that helped it stand apart fromOblivionwereanonline co-op mode, more action-based combat, and a deeper and more complex magic system.
Elden RingandThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivionare significantly different in theirapproaches to combatand storytelling. However, there is an undeniable sense of exploring the unknown and environmental storytelling that both games share. Discovering a hidden cave inObliviononly to find it filled with enemies, treasures, secrets, and monsters is one of the game’s best experiences.Elden Ringcaptures the same feeling of delving into the unknown.
Elden Ringfeels like an adventure that’s unique to the player and how they approach the world. FromSoft’s Hidetaka Miyazaki citedThe Elder Scrollsasone ofElden Ring’s influences, along withThe Legend of ZeldaandThe Witcher 3.LikeOblivion, Elden Ringis an enormous game with endless potential for escapism and replayability.
The Witcher 3: Wild Huntmoved away from the BioWare-style mechanics that influenced its predecessors and embraced the open-world structure by creating a world that felt real to the player. In an interview with IGN, CD Projekt Red citedSkyrimas the title they wanted to surpass. And of course,Oblivionis the game that laid the groundwork for its immediate sequel.
LikeOblivion, The Witcher 3became one of the most influential games of all time, with many developers now viewing it as the new benchmark forimmersive open-world RPGs.The Witcher 3incorporates and improves on many features that madeObliviona beloved RPG: a dynamic world, engaging NPCs, environmental storytelling, consequences for player actions, and branching questlines influenced by player decisions.
WhileLarian Studiosis better known for the massive success ofBaldur’s Gate 3,they created their own fantasy world of Rivellon with theDivinityseries. WhileDivinity: Original SinandDivinity: Original Sin 2follow a similar structure to the CRPG style used inBaldur’s Gate 3, Divine DivinityandDivinity 2have more in common withThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. Divinity 2: The Dragon Knight Sagais a compilation ofDivinity 2: Ego DraconisandFlames of Vengeance.
Divinity 2is built on the same engine asOblivion,known asGameBryo. However, it is more linear thanOblivionand features smaller, semi-open zones, similar toDragon Age. Despite this linearity,Divinity 2still offers a sense of freedom and exploration, thanks to its environmental storytelling and abundant lore to uncover. Several unique mechanics distinguish it fromThe Elder Scrollsseries: improved combat, a predetermined character known as the Dragon Slayer, and the ability to transform into a dragon and take flight.
Although it features a more fairytale-like aesthetic and hack-and-slash gameplay mechanics similar to those of theGod of Warseries,Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoningwas developed under the guidance of Ken Rolston, the lead designer ofOblivion.His expertise in creating immersive worlds is evident in the world structure ofKingdoms of Amalur.
It is not as wide open and as seamless asOblivion,butKingdoms of Amalurfeatures densely packed and beautifully designed semi-open areas where players can wander off the beaten path and freely explore its world, taking on side quests and fighting monsters. There are moral dialogue choices, branching quests, and multiple ways to play based on the player’s style, whether it’s magic, stealth, or pure combat.
One of the best examples of modernizing theOblivionstructure and approach to freedom is in a game that doesn’t feature magic, dragons, and elves.Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2is a historical medieval RPG with harsh and realistic simulation mechanics. It shares the same sense of freedom, quirky characters, extensive lore, and exploration asOblivion.In aninterview with GamesRadar,senior designer Ondrej Bittner acknowledgedOblivionas having a huge impact on the Warhorse Studio’s designers.
The freedom to explore a beautiful world and shape the player’s character to their liking will resonate with fans ofOblivion,despite playing as a predetermined character, Henry, the son of a blacksmith. The progression system is similar, where repetitive actions train a specific skill toimprove Henry’s stats.KCD2is a more polished experience, and in many ways feels like the evolution of the systems and groundwork laid byOblivionandSkyrim.
