Starfield vs The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
Bethesda's space sandbox versus a handcrafted classic — but only one got patched this year.
Updated 24d ago
Free Lanes finally fixed the space travel — you can cruise between planets now — but the procedural planets and the weak main story are untouched.
Shivering Isles and the Daedric questlines hold up 20 years on — but a stutter-riddled UE5 port and a year of dev silence make this one to wait for on sale.
By the numbers
Prices checked Sep 11; they move faster than we refresh, so confirm on the store page.
Recent-review figures are Steam's own last-30-days window, read Sep 11.
| Measure | Starfield | The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered |
|---|---|---|
| Value Too close to call | ||
| Price now | $35.99 −28% · Fanatical | $31.49 −37% · Fanatical |
| All-time low | $34.39 | $28.36 |
| Cost / hour | $1.51/hr $35.99 · 24 h main story | $1.81/hr $31.49 · 17 h main story |
| Off its low | +5% low was Jul 2026 | +11% low was Nov 2025 |
| Main story | 24 h | 17 h |
| Health Too close to call | ||
| Steam reviews | 57% 175k reviews | 75% 70k reviews |
| Recent reviews | 62% 418 votes · vs 57% lifetime | 47% 354 votes · vs 75% lifetime · souring |
| Peak players | 7,154 Aug 2026 · ↓ 2% MoM | 2,940 Aug 2026 · ↑ 12% MoM |
| Launch peak | 2% of Sep 2023 launch peak · as of Aug 2026 | — |
| All-time peak | 330,597 Sep 2023 | 140,837 May 2025 · now at 2% |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | 3 months ago | 15 months ago |
| Patch cadence | 0 in last 90 days | 0 in last 90 days |
| Steam Deck | Gold | Platinum |
Shared scale — same months across the bottom, same player-count axis up the side, so the two lines are directly comparable. A shorter line means a younger game.
What players say
Patterns from long-haul reviewers, taken from each game's verdict. Not live sentiment — each side is dated below.
Starfield
Long-haul pilots credit the ship builder and the mod scene with carrying exploration well past what the vanilla planets offer.
Reviewers with four-figure hour counts say the handcrafted content thins out fast and repeated points of interest turn planet-scanning into filler.
from our July 2026 verdict
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
The quest design and world charm hold up over 100 hours — the Shivering Isles and Daedric questlines are what veterans replay.
The stutter and crash-riddled UE5 port is the wall long-time players hit, made worse by a year of silence from the devs.
from our August 2026 verdict
Key differences
Which one is for you?
Pick Starfield if
- You love tinkering with spaceship modules for hours on end
- You're on PC and relish the mod ecosystem for fixes and additions
- You want a modern Bethesda RPG with looting and quest repetition that feels familiar
Pick The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered if
- You crave handcrafted dungeons and quests instead of procedural filler
- You can tolerate technical rough edges and will mod to smooth over stutters and glitches
- You're nostalgic for Oblivion's classic quest design and want a visual touch-up
Bottom line
Pick Starfield if ship building outweighs repetition; choose Oblivion Remastered for handcrafted quests, but wait for a deep sale given its lack of patches and performance issues.