If you’ve spent any time in the r/ElderScrolls or r/Gaming subreddits lately, you know the rumors about a potential Oblivion remaster or remake (often codenamed "Almagest" in leaked documents) have set the internet on fire. People are obsessed. It’s not just about seeing the potato-faced NPCs of Cyrodiil in 4K or finally having a version of the game that doesn't crash when you look at a butterfly too hard. It's about the writing. Specifically, everyone is terrified—and excited—to see how a modern Bethesda would handle the Oblivion remaster Dark Brotherhood questline.
Let's be real for a second. Skyrim’s Dark Brotherhood was fine, but it felt like a corporate retreat gone wrong. Oblivion’s version? That was a descent into madness. It was dark, it was funny in a twisted way, and it actually made you feel like a professional killer rather than just a guy with a knife and a map marker.
The Leaks and the Reality of an Oblivion Remaster
The rumors started with the massive Microsoft/ZeniMax leak back in 2023, which mentioned an "Oblivion Remaster" on a roadmap that was already a few years old. Since then, whispers from Virtuos Games employees and industry insiders like Jez Corden have kept the hope alive. The big question isn't just if it’s happening, but how it's happening. If they’re using a "pairing" system—running the original engine alongside Unreal Engine 5 for graphics, as some leaks suggest—we might actually get the original gameplay logic untouched.
That matters. It matters because the Oblivion remaster Dark Brotherhood experience needs that janky, unpredictable Radiant AI to work. Remember the quest "Whodunit?" where you're locked in a house with five strangers and have to kill them one by one? In any other game, that’s a scripted sequence. In Oblivion, because of how the AI schedules work, those NPCs actually interact, get scared, and start accusing each other based on their programmed personality traits. If a remaster loses that systemic chaos, it loses the soul of the guild.
Why the Dark Brotherhood in Cyrodiil Hits Different
Most RPG quests follow a pattern: go here, talk to X, kill Y, return for gold. The Dark Brotherhood in Oblivion laughed at that pattern.
Take "The Renovated Shack" or "Bad Medicine." You aren't just hitting a health bar until it empties. You’re swapping out a dying man’s medicine for poison or dropping a taxidermied head on an unsuspecting wood elf. It required a level of environmental interaction that Bethesda hasn't really topped since 2006. In a modern remaster, imagine the lighting engine of UE5 heightening that tension. Creeping through the shadows of a manor in Skingrad, watching the volumetric fog roll in through the window while you wait for your target to go to sleep. It’s a vibe that Skyrim never quite caught.
And then there's Lucien Lachance.
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Lucien is arguably one of the best-voiced characters in the series, thanks to Wes Johnson’s iconic, gravelly delivery. When he appears at the foot of your bed after you murder an innocent NPC, it’s a genuine "holy crap" moment. A remaster needs to preserve that audio. You don't re-record perfection. You just clean up the hiss and let that man whisper about the Void in high definition.
The "Whodunit?" Factor: A Masterclass in Design
If you ask any fan what they want to see most in an Oblivion remaster Dark Brotherhood playthrough, they’ll say Summitmist Manor.
The quest "Whodunit?" is basically Among Us before Among Us existed. You are tasked with killing five guests in a house, but the bonus reward depends on nobody seeing you do it. You can literally talk the guests into killing each other. You can convince the Nord that the Imperial is the killer, sit back, and watch the AI do your job for you.
This is where the remaster faces its biggest hurdle. Modern AAA games are often terrified of letting the player break things. They love invisible walls and "Quest Failed" screens if you don't follow the path. But Oblivion was a sandbox of glorious, broken systems. To remaster this questline properly, the developers have to resist the urge to "fix" the AI too much. We want the weirdness. We want the NPCs to panic in ways that feel unscripted.
The Mid-Point Twist That Broke Our Hearts
We have to talk about the Purification.
About halfway through the questline, you’re told that there’s a traitor in the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. Lucien Lachance orders you to kill everyone you’ve been working with. These aren't just random NPCs; they’re the people who gave you advice, sold you spells, and called you "Brother."
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I remember the first time I did this. I didn't want to kill Vicente Valtieri. I liked the vampire guy! But the game forced your hand. It was a brutal narrative pivot that shifted the tone from "fun assassin adventures" to "cosmic horror conspiracy." The later half of the questline, where you're finding "Dead Drops" and inadvertently dismantling the entire organization, is some of the tightest writing Bethesda has ever produced. Emil Pagliarulo, who was the lead designer for this questline, has talked about how he drew inspiration from the "Thing" and various noir tropes. It shows.
What a Remaster Needs to Fix (And What to Leave Alone)
Look, Oblivion isn't perfect. If we're getting a remaster, there are things that need help:
- Sneak Mechanics: In the original, sneaking was... let's say "generous." You could be wearing full Daedric armor and, as long as your Sneak skill was 100, you were basically invisible in broad daylight. A remaster should probably lean closer to the Skyrim or Starfield detection systems while keeping the "invisibility" feel.
- The Leveling Problem: If you do the Dark Brotherhood at level 30 in the original game, every forest bandit is wearing glass armor and your targets have 5,000 HP. It ruins the fantasy of being an efficient killer. A remaster needs to rebalance the world scaling.
- The Rewards: The Shrouded Armor is iconic, but the enchantments were always a bit static. Adding a bit more utility to the rewards—maybe some unique poisons or gadgets—would go a long way.
But the writing? The dialogue? The quest structure? Don't touch it. Don't add "modern sensibilities" to the Brotherhood. They are a death cult that worships a literal void. Keep it messy. Keep it dark.
The Legacy of the Black Hand
When you look at the state of RPGs today, everything is very "hero-centric." Even when you're a "bad guy," you're usually a misunderstood anti-hero. Oblivion's Dark Brotherhood didn't care about your feelings. You were a tool for Sithis.
The rumor of an Oblivion remaster Dark Brotherhood return is so potent because it represents a time when Bethesda took massive risks with their quest design. They weren't afraid to make the player feel uncomfortable or to let them fail a bonus objective because they weren't paying attention to the environment.
Whether the remaster ends up being a full-blown remake or just a "4K/60FPS" coat of paint on the old engine, the Dark Brotherhood will be the litmus test for its success. If they can capture that feeling of stepping into the Cheydinhal abandoned house for the first time—the smell of decay, the red glow of the candles, the sound of the Black Door asking "What is the flavor of fear?"—then it’ll be a hit.
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Moving Forward: How to Prepare for the Shadows
If you’re planning on jumping back in when (or if) this remaster drops, there are a few things you should keep in mind to get the most out of the Brotherhood.
First, don't rush the main quest. The best way to experience the Dark Brotherhood is as a side-story that slowly consumes your character. Start early. Murder a random innkeeper in the middle of nowhere just to trigger Lucien's visit.
Second, pay attention to the environment. Oblivion’s quests often had "hidden" ways to complete them that weren't explicitly stated in the quest log. If a quest tells you to kill someone in a specific way, look around for loose chandeliers, poisonable food, or balconies with "accident" potential.
Finally, keep an eye on the official Bethesda channels and reputable leakers like Tom Henderson. While the "Almagest" project hasn't been officially revealed with a trailer yet, the mounting evidence suggests we’re closer than ever to a return to the Imperial Province.
Actionable Insights for Fans:
- Monitor Porting News: Keep tabs on Virtuos Games; they are the primary studio rumored to be handling the Unreal Engine 5 integration for the remaster.
- Review the "Whodunit?" Mechanics: If you haven't played the original in years, look up the AI interaction tables for the Summitmist Manor guests to see how deep the systemic design actually goes.
- Check Compatibility: If the remaster uses the "Dual-Engine" approach, be prepared for a heavy CPU load. It’s an ambitious way to preserve the original game's logic while upgrading the visuals.
- Save Your Murder for the Right Time: In the original game, killing certain essential NPCs could break quests later. Even in a remaster, it’s best to trigger your Dark Brotherhood entry by killing a non-essential, "low-impact" NPC like a beggar or a lonely farmer to avoid locking yourself out of major content.
The Void is calling. We just have to hope Bethesda remembers the password.