I wish I could consider this game complete because it's very special to me. My journeys through Tamriel throughout the early days of COVID is where I can pinpoint the cause of my infatuation with RPGs. The world doesn't just feel large, it's genuinely fucking huge, my world map is almost filled out at nearly 200 hours, but there remains hours of exploration worth of unreached corners, and a plethora of incomplete questlines. The Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, random city quests, the Arena, there are so many fun, interesting quests with often simple storylines, but distinct identities that make them uniquely "Oblivion" quests. It's hard to explain why they work so well, with so many reused environments and repetitive objectives, but the exploration that takes place during and between pursuing quest objectives is where the player's primary source of agency stems from. This game is not a good RPG in the pen-and-paper sense, builds are pretty homogeneous, as all skills can be maxed out and specialization is a choice, not a framework that players structure their character around. Where it excels is in adventure, atmosphere, combat, and creativity. All objectives may or may not be pursued for completion of the game, and if a questline is uninteresting to the player, they won't lose much by deciding to focus on something else. Open-world fans can find something they love in this game and focus on it, not compelled to fulfill the gargantuan task of completing everything unless their heart desires it. The voice of Bethesda's writers and developers shines through the charm of the NPCs, the uniqueness and depth of cities, and the mood established through the tranquil OST and sound effects numbing the sense of "epic adventure", a symbol of a bygone era of being a traveling adventurer, enjoying the journey. Unfortunately, the innate need for modding represented by the multitude of bugs and graphical shortcomings, supplemented by visual and gameplay overhauls (including one with Arthas' Lich King armor and Frostmourne) has caused my save to break. I'll have to retire this game, but I'll always be thankful for the joy and appreciation brought to my life while pretending to be a Breton saving Tamriel from the jaws of Oblivion.