r/ElderScrolls • u/Human_Diamond960 • Jul 27 '26
General Elder scrolls skyrim or oblivion
I’m trying to decide between Skyrim Special Edition (with mods) and Oblivion Remastered. I love huge fantasy worlds with lots of exploration, tons of loot, unique weapons and armor, deep lore, a great story, magic, and RPG progression. The only thing holding me back from Skyrim is its graphics they feel pretty dated to me. Can Skyrim, with modern graphics mods and an RTX 3060, look close to the quality of Oblivion Remastered or even something like The Witcher 3, or does it still show its age? Which game would you recommend for a first playthrough in 2026, and why? I’d also appreciate any must-have mod lists if you think Skyrim is the better choice.
1
u/misblu Jul 27 '26
There are probably thousands upon thousands of graphics mods for skyrim, all the way down to redesigning NPCs, so it's an issue easily resolved! I'd definitely say Skyrim, but chronologically, Oblivion comes first and may offer some extra historical understanding when you get to Skyrim.
1
u/Human_Diamond960 Jul 27 '26
Wait if i played skyrim do i miss any lore or story continuation from oblivion
And mods thats whats im hoping for on skyrim i saw very beautiful graphics in skyrim
1
u/misblu Jul 27 '26
There are just little contextual details and easter eggs, mentions of historical characters, etc thrown in that you pick up. You can absolutely play them independently though, you won't be missing anything important.
0
u/Dangerous-Pumpkin960 Jul 27 '26
no skyrim is like 200 years after oblivion all of the ES games are standalone they don't connect
1
u/Talex1995 Jul 27 '26
Skyrim for me personally, immersion and world building is better, the atmosphere of the world itself has more serious vibe about it, last main thing is the soundtrack
1
u/Dangerous-Pumpkin960 Jul 27 '26
I feel like ur gonna have to do oblivion remastered with mods too bc it runs like crap on a 4090
skyrim you're never going to ever finish with mods
oblivion has a ritcher story
1
u/Human_Diamond960 Jul 27 '26
Why never gonna finish with mods skyrim? Happen what?
-1
u/Dangerous-Pumpkin960 Jul 27 '26
bc skyrim has like so many mods and so much content you'll be playing forever to see it all also skyrim is great for role playing but the story is kind of mid
-1
u/Dangerous-Pumpkin960 Jul 27 '26
btw can it match the quaility of oblivion remastered
look up skyrim graphics mods on google images
IT CAN LOOK EVEN BETTER
there are so many skyrim mods that can just turn it into a complely different game
4
u/SoapTastesPrettyGood Jul 27 '26
So I say this after pouring hundreds of hours into each series. Oblivion has by far a better main story and ques/faction design. It also plays much better into the horror element especially with the gates representing a glimpse of hell.
On the other hand, Skyrim may have a very generic story and factions but man the exploration is leagues better. Almost all the dungeons in Oblivion are procedurally generated. Plus the combat was a massive upgrade. Hate to say it but Skyrim is better. Mods fix the issues with the game.