Oblivion represents the first step in a depature from the immersion that really made prior games so special. Deciding to voice characters was a mistake given how little budget they had for voice work after paying Patrick Stewart for his 15 minutes of time alive. The inability to kill certain "essential" NPCs makes sense for a modern game design perspective but it's still very jarring to throw a giant fireball at a room and have everyone die except Jeff the Essential Character who wakes up like it was nothing.

The story was fun, the side quests entertaining with a special shout out to the Dark Brotherhood showcasing just how much they wanted to try with the game engine. Things in the world tended to start to feel more samey with the exception of the Shivering Isles. Truly it seems like this game needed a bit more time in the oven.