The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is without a doubt one of the most nostalgic and original open-world action RPGs of the 2000s.
This is the game that brought forth some of the greatest features that were later enhanced upon in Skyrim and it practically innovated the formula that some of the greatest modern RPG games are still using.
As unique and special as this 2006 masterpiece is, sinking more than a few hundred hours into it may leave you asking for more of the same but from a different game. That’s why we wanted to show you our list of the top 15 games that easily feel like Oblivion’s ilk.
Elder Scrolls IV Game Features
 Release Date: | March 20, 2006 |
 Developer: | Bethesda Game Studios |
 Publisher: | Bethesda Softworks 2K Games |
 Platforms: | Microsoft Windows Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 |
 Genre: | Action role-playing |
 Setting: | Fantasy World |
 Game Modes: | Single-player |
1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
How better to start a list of similar games to Oblivion than by the timeless masterpiece that followed it? For obvious reasons, Skyrim is by far the most similar game to Oblivion on our list.
They are set in the same continent of Tamriel, with Skyrim taking place 200 years after Oblivion. They are also both fantasy open-world action RPGs that are famed for allowing you thorough character customization and exploration mechanics an<d a ton of freedom to set your own course in your playthroughs.
However, we chose to have Skyrim on our list for more profound reasons than that. While Oblivion didn’t fail to introduce a proper fantasy open-world RPG formula, it wasn’t perfect. It had its fair load of bugs and weak points in some of its mechanics, such as its leveling and combat systems.
But where Oblivion struggled, Skyrim shined. It wasn’t by any means bug-free, especially not at its initial release but the flaws in this game added to how much it attracted new members to its community. There’s a reason why you can find countless videos on Youtube that showcase hilarious in-game fails in Skyrim.
And we can’t forget about the quality execution of immersion and storytelling that Skyrim offers. The Elder Scrolls games have always been praised for their replayability as well and none more so than Skyrim. So much so that it wouldn’t be a surprise to me if Bethesda kept porting it to next-gen platforms for even another 30 years. It’s just that good.
This is the quintessential game of its genre and even with all of the mistakes and hardships we’ve had in it, we can’t have it any other way. This is not something that you can say about many games, especially of Skyrim’s scope.
- Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
- Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
- Release Date: November 11. 2011
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Nintendo Switch
2. Fallout: New Vegas
If you ever wanted to play a game like Oblivion but with a more sci-fi than fantasy approach, then look no further. In fact, New Vegas has always had a genre, thematic, and systemic parallelism with Oblivion.
Oblivion is known for its innovation and experimentation with many aspects and mechanics that it introduced to its respective genre and franchise, and the same goes for the Fallout series as a whole with the V.A.T.S mechanic, companions, and smoothly branched storylines as prime examples.
In addition to that, both New Vegas and Oblivion’s character creation processes and RPG mechanics are so often compared to each other. This is because of their perfect designs and implementation as opposed to most games of their era.
And even in terms of their settings, while the latter’s world is on the brink of destruction, in New Vegas you face a post-apocalyptic Mojave riddled with both mutated and human threats.
You can even go as far as to say that New Vegas’s world is richer and more diverse in terms of content and storytelling. It takes a great deal of team-based harmony and dedication to blur the line so thin between what is satirical and depressing, and Obsidian Entertainment spared no effort in perfecting the layout of this contrast throughout the quests and environments.
But make no mistake, New Vegas takes itself very seriously, and it is infectious if you pay the slightest attention to its very dedicated community.
In Fallout: New Vegas, you embark on a great journey for redemption and vengeance through a post-apocalyptic wasteland where almost everyone and everything is out to get you.
- Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
- Release Date: October 19, 2010
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS3, Xbox 360, and Xbox Cloud Gaming
3. Dragon Age: Inquisition
The Dragon Age and Elder Scrolls games have always been alike in terms of their genres, with only a few mechanics and dynamics to set the differences between the two.
They are both action RPGs that take place in fantasy worlds. They are similar as well in terms of providing different classes and races to create your character from, and of course, weapons and magic.
Inquisition is not open-world in the same sense as Oblivion. However, its world is rather divided into several free-roam areas where you can explore, fight, and interact with NPCs. rest assured, though, that these areas are huge and full of content in their own right.
Their points of comparison don’t end there though. In Inquisition, you play as the Inquisitor who seeks to save the continent of Thedas by sealing a mysterious tear in the sky called the “Breach,” while at the same time facing the circumstances of a civil war.
- Developer: Bioware
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Release Date: November 18, 2014
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Cloud Gaming
4. Fallout 4
We’ve already talked about how closely familiar the Fallout and Elder Scrolls games are, with the former being the sci-fi equivalent of the latter.
However, Fallout: New Vegas, as well-deserved as it is of being regarded as the best game in the franchise, is not exactly as modern as some people would like their games to be. Fallout 4, however, is quite the current-gen RPG.
Even though New Vegas’s graphics are quite impressive for their time, Fallout 4 is quite the visual upgrade from New Vegas’s 2010’s aesthetics. And the fact that there is only a five-year difference between the two goes to show how hard the design team at Bethesda has worked to make this game visually stunning.
The same goes for your character customization. From the beginning, you can add scars and makeup among other details that only enhance your character’s looks.
Speaking of customization, it doesn’t end there. Your character’s armor is truly yours since it consists of a combination of pieces instead of one whole undividable set.
And weapons themselves can be modified by different upgrade components to enhance or switch their damage type, add stealth factors, etc.
One more thing that Fallout 4 can say for itself is that it has base-building. You get to claim pieces of land as settlements and build your bases entirely from scratch. Despite the fact that it’s quite the grind and can be quite limited, it is considered to be quite impressive.
- Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
- Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
- Release Date: November 10, 2015
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Cloud Gaming
5. Fable 3
Fable is another franchise that should always be in the discussion when we’re talking about games like Oblivion. And there isn’t a more fitting Fable game to include on our list than its final installment to be considered an RPG playable with a controller.
Fable 3 is set on the fictional continent of Albion.
The “Hero of Bowerstone,” which you play as in the previous game, Fable 2, is installed as the new king of Albion and chooses Bowerstone as its capital.
You form alliances throughout the game to build up a revolution to overthrow the tyrannical king and restore peace to the continent.
Oh! Did I mention that the king is also your brother?
Even though Fable 3 is subjectively shorter than Oblivion, you do forge your own destiny. Everything you experience as a revolutionary – and perhaps even as a future king – has something to do with your own decisions in the game. The same goes for the fates of all characters that you interact with throughout the game, whose fates will be influenced by your actions.
- Developer: Lionhead Studios
- Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
- Release Date: October 26, 2010
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox Cloud Gaming
6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
It wouldn’t be appropriate to make a list of famous action RPGs without throwing The Witcher 3 into the fold.
This game practically revolutionized the industry and not just its genre, with it still being one of the elite benchmarks for graphics, gameplay, and non-linear storytelling, even 7 years after its release in 2015.
The same as Oblivion, The Witcher 3 is an open-world action RPG with a non-linear branching storyline and a ton of side-quests.
It takes place on the “Continent” where you roam the wilderness and travel to and from several cities and kingdoms.
As Geralt of Rivia, you are a witcher, meaning a “monster slayer,” and believe me when I tell you that there are a ton of monsters for you to slay, supernatural mishaps to solve, and mysterious individuals to either befriend or make enemies of.
The Witcher 3’s RPG elements are not traditional in the sense that the game doesn’t give you any races or classes to choose from. But there are several skills trees for you to manipulate however you like, weapons and magical abilities to enhance and upgrade, and armor to buy, find, craft, and customize.
As promising as all of that is – and trust that this game truly does live up to its hype – The Witcher 3 shines the brightest in its story. Its story is of a Geralt and his adoptive-daughter Ciri who – among other characters – are on separate journeys to save the world from the Wild Hunt and their plans to bring an apocalyptic phenomenon called the “White Frost” to life in their world.
You will also find that The Witcher 3 has up to 36 varieties to its ending and 2 DLC expansions that may as well be taken for their own games. One main campaign walkthrough could take you up to 50 hours. So, imagine the time you could squeeze out of this gem.
- Developer: CD Project Red
- Publisher: CD Project Red
- Release Date: May 18, 2015
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Nintendo Switch
7. Elden Ring
No game is by any means perfect, but Elden Ring is the perfect example of how a perfect game should look and feel, and play.
It hasn’t even been five months since Elden Ring was released and it has already cemented its legacy as arguably FromSoftware’s greatest creation.
So, if you came here looking for a once-in-a-lifetime action RPG that – just like Oblivion – takes place in a living, breathing open world that you can easily spend all of your time in without anything in it ever feeling repetitive or chore-like, Elden Ring is the right game for you.
- Developer: FromSoftware
- Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Release Date: February 25, 2022
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Series S
8. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Ever since Shadow of Mordor came out in 2014, it’s been at the forefront of almost every action-adventure games list due to its high standards for open-world content, excellently carried-out Nemesis system, and especially, its fine ways of telling a compelling story.
The Middle Earth games are without a doubt a greatly executed duology that tells just a small part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythology, and there’s not a better way to introduce you to them than by having the first of the two, Shadow of Mordor on our list.
Even though you can’t call Shadow of Mordor an action RPG in the traditional sense, you can’t deny that the powerful story of its tenacious protagonist, its vast world, and its convincing NPCs are not comparable to those of Oblivion’s.
- Developer: Monolith Productions
- Publisher: Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment
- Release Date: September 30, 2014
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One
9. Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
This rerelease of Dragon’s Dogma has everything you want out of the ageless classic and more.
This is a huge, open-world hack and slash RPG experience where you play as the Arisen who – along with his three companions – seeks to slay the dragon Grigori and stop it from bringing the world to an end.
Dark Arisen has all of the original content of Dragon’s Dogma, including all of its DLC. Plus, it has an expansion in the form of whole new quests, locations, and bonus features.
- Developer: Capcom
- Publisher: Capcom
- Release Date: April 23, 2013
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch
10. Two Worlds 2
Two Worlds 2 is an action RPG that takes place in a fantasy world full of magic, mythical creatures, and conspiracies.
You play as the Hero, an unnamed protagonist who seeks to rescue her twin sister, Kyra after being betrayed and kidnapped by Gandohar, a powerful dark wizard who uses her as a power source for his magic.
This is a story of good vs evil where you seek to rid the world of a truly mischievous antagonist of an emperor who wipes out entire races and cities.
Expect the unexpected, though. You will find this game not lacking in terms of plot twists and surprising turns of events. And everything about it brings about the same vibe as Oblivion.
- Developer: Reality Pump
- Publisher: TopWare Interactive
- Release Date: November 12, 2010
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS3, and Xbox 360
11. Greedfall
This is a fantasy action RPG inspired by 18th-century colonial Europe.
And albeit seemingly more modern looking, GreedFall does capture similar vibes to Oblivion. It was even once described to be on the same premises as The Elder Scrolls and The Witcher series, even though it is admittedly, of a smaller scale.
GreedFall takes place in a world plagued not only by the disease called the Malichor, but also by overpopulation and pollution. Teer Fradee is an uncharted island that remotely sits with the promise of riches, food, magic, and most importantly, a cure.
You must look for the cure to the Malichor as you explore this mysterious island faced with the dangers of mercenaries, treasure hunters, monsters, and the magic of the island itself.
- Developer: Spiders
- Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
- Release Date: September 10, 2019
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S
12. Horizon Zero Dawn
With only two installments out, the Horizon series is already on par with the likes of God of War and The Last of US.
Playstation exclusives have always been considered the elite interactive experiences in the industry and the same goes for Guerrilla Games’s post-apocalyptic masterpiece. It’s truly a blessing that this game has also been ported to PC back in 2020.
The story of Aloy (The Main Protagonist) is one of pride, and discovery and an instant-classic tale of an innocent heroine who seeks to save her world from the looming doom planned to be revisited upon her world.
Horizon Zero Dawn’s open-world adventure is one of exploration, crafting, and mystery.
- Developer: Guerrilla Games
- Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Release Date: February 28, 2017
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS4, and PS5
13. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
It would’ve been shameful if we didn’t have Breath of the Wild on this list of great games that seem akin to Oblivion. But wouldn’t it be video game sacrilege if you weren’t aware of it yourself?
You’re probably thinking how absurd it is that this game is so famous but there’s a good reason why this game was on so many “greatest games of all time” lists.
The charming visuals, the world content and mysteries, and the way they’ve executed its non-linear paths were a collective of mechanics that gave us a very special experience by Nintendo.
The Zelda games gave us so many gems throughout the years. But really, Breath of the Wild is Zelda at its peak.
- Developer: Nintendo
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Release Date: March 3, 2017
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Wii U
14. Dark Souls 3
The Dark Souls series will always be unquestionably regarded among the toughest games to play in the RPG scene.
And while Oblivion isn’t exactly famous for being tough to beat, the replayability value that it shares with the Dark Souls game, especially DS3, is reason enough to put the latter on our list.
The satisfaction that comes with finishing this classic is unparalleled.
Should you take up this challenge, brace yourself for some of the most celebrated RPG mechanics, spectacularly gloomy settings, and absolutely no peace of mind until you defeat the Nameless King in Archdragon Peak.
- Developer: FromSoftware
- Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Release Date: March 24, 2016
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS4, and Xbox One
15. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
Bloodlines is an action RPG that takes place in a fictional 21st-century Los Angeles where society is infested with supernatural beings.
The player (Fledgeling) gets to choose his own name, gender, and clan (out of eight) in Bloodlines.
Bloodlines is a punk-dystopian iteration of how a modern L.A. and its society would cope with the existence of the likes of demons, werewolves, and especially, vampires.
- Developer: Troika Games
- Publisher: Activision
- Release Date: November 16, 2004
- Platform: Microsoft Windows
Conclusion
And that’s our list, folks! I hope you get to check out some of these games as they are really fun RPGs, each with its own special qualities.
1 Comment
Lilium is inspired by Oblivion. Check it out if you’re interested.