The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on Switch 2 is a competent handheld experience all things considered

Bethesda Softworks and Virtuos' The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered launched yesterday on Switch 2 worldwide following its debut on PS5, Xbox Series, and PC platforms. I will be doing a full comparison covering the Switch 2 port alongside the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions, but I wanted to focus on the handheld aspect for today in this initial impressions feature. Since I didn't have pre-release access to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, my impressions are a bit late, but I've been very curious about this port ever since it was announced given the technical mess it is in some aspects on other platforms. 

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered issues still present on all platforms

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, having launched back in April 2025, still suffers from multiple issues including memory leaks, glitches, performance issues relating to shaders, a poorly implemented 30fps cap, and freezing issues. It is a fantastic looking remaster / remake hybrid that has too many technical issues to recommend without big caveats. It also looks quite soft in its performance mode on base PS5 and Xbox Series X. After playing it at launch on those consoles and having a miserable time on Steam Deck and ROG Ally, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on Switch 2 is impressive, but also disappointing. 

To be clear, this is a great port (all things considered) of a game that has too many technical issues. My disappointment is mainly because Bethesda just abandoned every version of the game soon after launch and has shipped the Switch 2 version with the same issues, albeit with added optimization. Even with all the technical issues, I prefer the new remaster and will not go back to the original, but it is embarrassing to see a literal numbered Elder Scrolls release treated like this. While the console versions still have issues, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on PC handhelds is by far one of the worst PC releases I've played in years.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Switch 2 features

Before getting to my performance and other impressions, the Switch 2 port developers have done a lot right with this version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered outside the optimization. It has touchscreen support for menus, great HD rumble, mouse mode support, and motion controls. The text size option also helps with handheld readability. The last point to note is the game is fully on cartridge only on Switch 2. The PS5 version which I bought and the Xbox disc require a download for the full game to be playable. The Switch 2 version has a patch, but it is still playable off the card. I will be retesting the load times once I get the cartridge, but I've stuck to playing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered via the internal storage on Switch 2 for this article.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Switch 2 handheld impressions

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered made a great first impression on Switch 2 when I started a new character, but it froze after two minutes of playing after I pressed the home button and put the device to sleep for a minute to check something. This is with it installed on the internal storage fully, but thankfully I wasn't able to reproduce it. Resuming from an autosave in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered got me back and I was happy to see none of the immediate and regular UE5-related hitching I had on ROG Ally.  It actually looked competent with the upscaling used as well.

After spending a few hours with it, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered reminds me a lot of Star Wars Outlaws in how smart cuts below the PC version while utilizing DLSS (and all the Switch 2-specific features I covered above) elevate this above trying to run a poorly-optimized and demanding PC version on Steam Deck and ROG Ally. 

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Switch 2 handheld gameplay

The opening tutorial and dungeon area held up relatively well with decent performance and good image quality. I really love the rumble implementation here, but I was curious to see how the open world holds up. Getting out of the sewer was the real test and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered holds up well. 

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered's issues on Switch 2 right now are more to do with how much of a technical mess the game is in the first place and less to do with the Switch 2. As far as I'm concerned, the Switch 2 is a good handheld version all things considered. I haven't tried it docked yet, but this is a much better portable version than I expected given Bethesda's other ports with their performance targets and how demanding The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is. 

One final thing I want to note about playing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on Switch 2 handheld is the upscaling can't keep up with some aspects like distant character faces, hair, and even some trees. These are minor issues given how much better it holds up visually compared to my PC handhelds, but it is worth keeping in mind if you want to play it on the go.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Switch 2 vs Steam Deck and ROG Ally

I redownloaded The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on Steam Deck, ROG Ally, PS5, PS5 Pro, and Xbox last week to prepare for covering the Switch 2 version. The Steam release is nearly 120GB while the Switch 2 version is under 60GB even with updates. I'll cover the consoles later and wanted to focus on the handhelds right now. I also wanted to see if Bethesda would actually patch the game with the Switch 2 launch. It is "looking into" PS5/Xbox/PC patches but nothing has been dated yet. I don't expect much given how the game was abandoned more or less. 

With that out of the way, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on Switch 2 has some cuts below the PC handhelds in grass and trees in the distance with some other level of detail adjustments, but it excels above them in every other visual aspect. This includes better image quality, textures, and generally is the best portable version from the devices I own. As for performance, the Switch 2 wins on that front as well since the Steam Deck isn't as stable. The Switch 2 isn't even close to a locked 30fps experience and it suffers from frame pacing issues like every other console in the 30fps mode, but it holds up better than Steam Deck.

The ROG Ally (Z1 Extreme model) is miserable even now when it comes to how it feels thanks to the hitching and freezing. I could barely last an hour checking the early and mid game saves I had since launch month. It has not improved at all. If the hitching wasn't present, the ROG Ally can deliver the best visual settings and frame rate at 720p, but the Switch 2's upscaling delivers a better resolve overall. Like I said before, this feels like a Star Wars Outlaws situation in how smart cuts were made below what was possible on PC in some aspects, but it uses the Switch 2 features and DLSS to elevate it to the only portable version I'd consider playing. 

The big issue right now is that every single version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered still has multiple technical issues including the new Switch 2 port. The Switch 2 version is definitely impressive given how the game is on other platforms, but it still has many of the same issues including freezing, memory leak issues, frame pacing issues, and more. I'll have new recommended settings for Steam Deck and ROG Ally as I revisit it across consoles later this week.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Switch 2 load times compared to Steam Deck and ROG Ally

For this test, I installed The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered to the ROG Ally internal storage, Steam Deck OLED internal storage, and the Switch 2 internal storage. I measured the time taken to get to the title screen from the platform dashboard / Steam and also the time taken to load a save into the open world. The results below are in seconds. I will be adding more test cases when I compare Switch 2 with PS5 and Xbox in the future.

Note: My ROG Ally Z1E is the non X model so I get a warning about memory when booting it up that adds 2-3 seconds on top to load. This might not happen on other ROG Ally models. 

As you can see, the Switch 2 holds up well against the Steam Deck with it being a bit slower than Valve's handheld, but is slower than the ROG Ally. I'm curious how this compares to the physical Switch 2 version. 

Oblivion Remastered Switch 2-specific issues that need to be fixed

Aside from the freezing issue I had pop up early on and once later during gameplay, the Switch 2 also appears to not stop the in-game clock in sleep mode. If you care about the time played when suspending a game and not quitting it, keep this in mind.

Beyond those issues, I hope Bethesda continues to update this port and fix it because it is already my favorite portable version despite the issues. It would be good if we even get an uncapped option for handheld play where VRR can potentially sort out some of the annoying drops, but that remains to be seen. I will revisit The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on PS5, PS5 Pro, Xbox, and Switch 2 docked in the near future. Until then, the Switch 2 release when played handheld is a solid port of a remaster that still has too many technical issues for its own good.