BothSkyrimandOblivion Remasteredhave outrageously detailed worlds, full of those little details that show just how much those who crafted the worlds care about them. They’re testaments to what you’re able to create when you’re making a game, and the connection that those games can make with people.
But if one day I wake up in a much less comfortable bed and find that I’m suddenly in one of these worlds, my choice is clear. I’m crossing my fingers, hoping that I end up in the northern peaks of Skyrim, rather than the center of Tamriel, Cyrodiil.
8I Would Rather Fight Dragons
Than Fight Hell Itself
Both Skyrim and Cyrodiil are experiencing their own unique challenges when we get to visit them. Cyrodiil has Oblivion Gates unleashing hell, while Skyrim has giant winged lizards breathing fire and ice and all manner of chaos and destruction.
Look, I’m not saying that I’m going to walk gladly into either of these situations, but if I’m tasked with fighting a dragon or fighting the forces of hell, I’m going with the lizard. Sure, I’m probably going to end up a burned-out husk or being partially digested, but I’ve seen people in cages in Oblivion, and I want no part of that.
7I Prefer The Cold
Much More Than Being Hot
Both Oblivion and Skyrim have cold regions, but Skyrim is certainly the colder of the two. To some, that may be a drawback, but to me, it’s a feature. I love the cold. I love walking out the door and feeling like the weather outside is mad at me.
Skyrim has that in spades, but because the people here are so used to it, they seem pretty well-prepared for the cold, too. Fires abound as a central focus in many inns, heavy fur clothing is everywhere; all the tools I’d need to make the cold palatable, I’d have.
6Lower Guild Qualifications
I’d Rather They Didn’t Have Standards
I’m not saying that I’d absolutely want to join any of the guilds, but let’s be honest; in real life, if you wanted to join the Mage’s Guild, would you rathertravel across the countrycompleting menial tasks for people that you mostly dislike, or would you rather throw a fireball with your hand and be welcomed in with open arms?
For me, the choice is clear. The Guilds in Skyrim seem to be hurting for people, and that means that the ladder is going to be a little easier to climb. This is one of those rare cases where arguably worse quest design works in a game’s favor.
5"I Want To See Mountains Again, Gandalf"
-Bilbo Baggins TA 3001
Yes, both Oblivion and Skyrim have mountains. But, for the most part, Cyrodiil is a bowl, with the mountains acting as the outer edge of the map. You can climb a bit of them, and there is some interesting stuff up there, but they (understandably) aren’t as central here.
But I’m looking to become a mountain person. I want to look out my window and look down at the rest of the world, in a less evil way than that sounded. I live in a comically flat area, with an ever-encroaching sea threatening my doorstep. If I get an opportunity to get above things for a while, I’m taking it.
4I Want To Be Serenaded
Or At Least Pretend To Listen
Picture this: you’ve just had a back-breaking journey carrying two hundred pounds of dwarven armor that you’ve just pried off of a cave full of enemies, and you mean to sell it. It’s cold, dark, and wolves have been biting at your heels the entire journey. But just ahead, you see it: the beautiful beckoning light of an inn.
Sitting down in an inn next to the fire and eating something hot and relaxing just isn’t the same in Oblivion, where you don’t have a bard serenading everyone as you eat. Your mileage may vary here, but I am going to have an easier time awkwardly avoiding conversations with strangers if I can pretend I’m listening to the music.
3Maybe I Want To Be A Werewolf
It Probably Wouldn’t Be So Bad
I’m not saying that I definitelywant to be a werewolf. All I’m saying is that no one has ever asked me, so I’ve never had to really stop to consider it. Maybe it would be great, prowling the night looking for prey, especially if you pointed yourself in the right direction.
Minor spoilers for Skyrim abound in the next paragraph. While I realize Skyrim is more than a decade old at this point, Adam Sandler spoiled The Sixth Sense for me and I’ll never forgive him. I will never Adam Sandler you.
The Companions in Skyrim could give me that choice, were I to brave all of their challenges and gain their trust. While there are quite a few great and respected guilds in the world of Oblivion, none of them can turn me into a werewolf, and quite frankly, that’s a problem.
2Skyrim’s Guards Have Major Knee Issues
I’ll Take Any Advantage I Can Get
If I were, purely hypothetically, of course, looking to commit a crime, I’m going to commit that crime where I have the greatest likelihood of escaping. And while guards certainly aren’t pushovers in either of these worlds, only one group of guards consistently complainsof their knee problems.
My youthful knees still work mostly fine, so if I’m on the run from some kind of petty (or not so petty) bit of thievery, I’m taking my chances against the people I can probably beat in a marathon. Not the guards who seem to appear the moment that I even consider doing something less-than-legal.
1I Prefer Skyrim’s Aesthetic
Skyrim Just Has My Kind Of Vibes
Both Skyrim and Cyrodiil have their own vibes. They have their own architectural styles, their own unique craftsmanship. They’re different enough that they’re clearly their own distinct places, but similar enough that they both make sense as part of the same world.
But Skyrim’s architecture and its ruins have this Norse-fantasy element to them that I enjoy. I want to wake up in Riverwood and see Bleak Fall’s Barrow through the mountain fog. I want to look out at the view of the ocean from the frozen College of Winterhold. While Oblivion’s world is beautiful, for me, it isn’t the same.
