Bethesda’s Oblivion Remastered for Switch 2 Receives Unfavorable Update

It’s a familiar tale: Bethesda rolls out an update for one of its existing titles, and somehow, it ends up making things worse. This time, it’s the Switch 2 players of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered who are feeling the sting, as reports indicate that the game’s visuals have taken a hit following the latest patch.

Last week, Bethesda released the 1.1 update for Oblivion Remastered on Switch 2. Expectations were low for this minor update, and the patch notes reflected that with only a handful of minor fixes mentioned. Nothing alarming, or so it seemed. However, players who have installed the update are now noticing unsightly visual artifacts and an overall blurrier appearance, prompting some to seek ways to revert to the previous version while waiting for an official resolution.

As noted by various players on social media, complaints about downgraded visuals have been flooding in, with many sharing screenshots that highlight the significant drop in quality. One comparison image starkly illustrates the issue, showing grass and other in-game elements appearing smeared and less defined than before.

Additionally, players have documented strange lines appearing in-game, and ghosting artifacts seem to have worsened. Clips shared online demonstrate that after patch 1.1, Oblivion on Switch 2 simply doesn’t hold up as well as it did previously.

“It looks terrible! What did they do? Everything looks so blurry and crappy. They messed something up,” lamented one Reddit user post-update. A popular theory circulating among players suggests that the game’s use of DLSS on Switch 2 may have been inadvertently disabled or altered, leading to the blurred visuals and ghosting issues.

In response, some Switch 2 owners are disabling auto-updates and going offline to prevent their copy of Oblivion from updating. Others with physical copies are uninstalling the game and then reinstalling it offline using the cartridge, hoping to access a version that isn’t as blurry. However, Bethesda support has cautioned at least one player that this method could risk corrupting save files.

Numerous Switch 2 players have reached out to Bethesda support regarding the 1.1 update’s negative impact on the game’s visuals, and the company has acknowledged the issue, stating that it is working on a fix. Let’s hope the upcoming update doesn’t introduce any new, frustrating problems for Oblivion Remastered.