THE ART OF ILLUSION IN THE ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION REMASTERED

Is it possible to survive in Oblivion with nothing but stealth, Starlight and misplaced self-confidence?

- By Matt Elliott

I've always had a problem with magic in the Elder Scrolls games. The first character I ever rolled was a knight in Morrowind, born under the Ritual birthsign. I picked that because I thought it would literally let me turn undead (as opposed to just frightening them away). I eventually did turn undead by accidentally contracting Porphyric Haemophilia, but that's a diary for another day. This avoidable and childlike misunderstanding instilled within me a deep distrust of the arcane arts. I've avoided magic ever since, instead always choosing to roll simple knights or stealthy archers. But that's about to change.

The sensible way to learn to love magic would be to create a character with a deep and compelling mastery of magic; a caster who showcases the most dynamic and exciting spells in the Elder Scrolls universe. But we're not doing that. Instead, we're going to use the most complex, superficial, and sporadically unhelpful school of magic there is: Illusion. An obvious confession, up front: this is not my idea. It's a naked rehash of Tom Francis' An Illusionist in Skyrim, first featured in PC Gamer in 2012. A lot has changed since then, however. We've had around 54 versions of Skyrim and a handsome remaster of the most disappointing Elder Scrolls game of them all, Oblivion. But it remains a wonderful idea. No weapons. No armor. No punching. No direct attacks whatsoever, in fact.