Fans tuning into Shroud’s stream of the newly released Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster got more than just updated visuals – they witnessed Bethesda’s infamous bugs in all their glory within minutes of gameplay.
Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek had barely started his adventure in the remastered version when the game’s opening sequence ground to a halt. The key NPC Baurus, essential to progressing through the tutorial dungeon, became stuck outside the player’s cell door, completely unable to follow the scripted path needed to advance the story.
“I’ve already had to restart after the first conversation because Baurus locked himself outside my jail cell and I can’t move,” Shroud explained to his viewers as he was forced to quit and restart the application entirely.
The irony wasn’t lost on longtime Bethesda fans. Despite the remaster’s shiny new Unreal Engine 5 graphics overhaul, the underlying game systems remain essentially unchanged from the 2006 original. This unique way of updating the game – blending modern visuals with legacy code – seems to have kept the authentic Bethesda experience, bugs and all.
This technical hiccup shows off the unusual way the remaster was made. While Virtuos (the studio that worked with Bethesda on the project) rolled out cutting-edge visual improvements, the core game logic hasn’t been touched, so nearly two-decade-old bugs have made it into the new version.
The $50 base edition includes all original DLC, with a “Deluxe” edition offering additional cosmetics and quests at a premium. Xbox Game Pass subscribers can access the remaster as part of their subscription.
Bethesda has built a reputation for launching games with technical quirks, from horses climbing vertical mountains in Skyrim to NPCs with bizarre AI behavior in Fallout. For many fans, these oddities have become an expected—and sometimes endearing—part of the Elder Scrolls experience.
