The Elder Scrolls is a franchise with several games under its belt. It's not surprising that some fans disagree on which game in the series is the best. Skyrim and Oblivion especially have put fans at war for nearly a decade now.
While many of the key elements of the series are represented in both games, there were some major changes to Skyrim that cost it some points with fans. Many people feel that the content in Skyrim is much more shallow then what was available in Oblivion. Below are ten ways that many fans believe Oblivion is the superior title in the franchise.
10 Dark Brotherhood
The Dark Brotherhood from Oblivion is an extremely popular questline and involved some of the most notable assassins in franchise history. Many fans loved how the brotherhood put them in the position of the silencer and the role of Lucien Lachance as a failing leader to the Black Hand.
The quest even took players into the crypt of the Nightmother.
9 Thieves Guild
The Thieves Guild is similar to the Dark Brotherhood in featuring a legendary character from the series, Gray Fox. In Oblivion, the thieves guild were a lot more guarded than they appear in Skyrim. This grants them an additional air of mystery that makes the player want to search them out.
The guild feels like a mysterious alliance of thieves instead of just a back alley organization like seen in Riften.
8 Dialogue System
The dialogue system had a major revamp between games, that many players didn't take kindly too. Oblivion's dialogue system was a lot more in-depth and, at many points, had more dialogue options. The dialogue options also usually had a more complicated sentence structure, then what is seen in Skyrim.
There are even several mods that update Skyrim's dialouge.
7 RPG Elements
It's no secret that Skyrim didn't have as deep of an RPG system. Many of the skills were taken out, and leveling for skills like acrobatics got cut out. This made some builds harder to make, which disappointed fans who loved to make incredibly specific builds of characters.
The level-up system also felt much more watered down to fans of the series.
6 Humor
Skyrim had a much darker tone than Oblivion, and most of the NPCs seemed depressed. The NPCs in Oblivion seemed to be much more willing to joke around with players. Some of this humor can especially be seen in the quest Staff of The Everscamp in which you become plagued with four weak scamps that follow you wherever you go.
The only way to rid yourself of the staff's weight and your useless entourage is by exploring a nearby cave.
5 Deeper Quests
A lot of fans have noted that the quests in Oblivion didn't rely on fetching as much as they do in Skyrim. Many of the quests in Oblivion have you unlocking unique dialogue, locations, and lore about the world around you, whereas, in Skyrim, it retrieves this item from a dungeon.
Players felt much more involved in the world of Oblivion. This combined with the massive amounts of mods keeps the game still alive even today.
4 Diverse Towns
Skyrim pretty much looked the same no matter where you ventured to. The whole region is blanked by snow and filled with mountains. In the series predecessor, however, there were several diverse landscapes, and every town you entered into had a much different feel than the last.
Even the landscapes surrounding the towns felt much more unique. Many players can still easily name many of the towns in the game.
3 NPC Interaction
NPCs in Oblivion felt alive, they all had there on schedules, strong opinions, and many even had more diverse facial reactions. In Skyrim, the NPCs kind of just wandered around aimlessly and didn't really stand out from each other as much, many of them you can't even talk to.
This made many players feel as if they couldn't get as immersed in the world.
2 The DLCs
The DLCs for Oblivion are much more plentiful and have some very interesting locations. In fact, there are ten DLCs for the game, whereas Skyrim only had three DLC released. Out of those ten, The Shivering Isles has to be one of the most popular add-ons ever released for the series.
Many players were taken back by how little support Skyrim received after it's initial release.
1 Harder Gameplay
Many players consider Oblivion to be a much harder game. The combat system is made much simpler in Skyrim, whereas its predecessor is known for being brutal to players. The combat is much more difficult, and it's possible to fail quest much easier, just by making a small decision.
Many players feel like Skyrim didn't offer much of a challenge at first, and some even believe that legendary is a breeze.