Weekly Notes (April 21–27): A Great Week for RPG Fans

Niklas Borglund

Author

2025-04-28

🛠️ The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered — Bethesda Game Studios

Bethesda surprised everyone with the release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. When people expected a reveal or teaser, they dropped the game immediately instead.

It’s a move only studios with a massive following can pull off, using their reach to push aggressively across channels. Recently, we’ve seen similar surprise launches with RuneScape: Dragonwilds and Haste.

Players are thrilled to revisit a classic RPG—nostalgia and the remaster’s improvements are heavily praised. But, as expected, there are considerable complaints about bugs and performance issues.

🛠️ Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Sandfall Interactive

Two days after Bethesda’s surprise, Sandfall Interactive launched Clair Obscur: Expedition 33—a more traditional release with reviews, hype-building, and a set date.

I wondered if Oblivion’s drop would overshadow them, given the shared RPG space. But they’ve done more than alright—over 1 million copies sold in under a week and a 90%+ positive rating.

Players rave about the story, visuals, and combat. Some mention performance issues and frustrations with the combat system, but overall, it's a huge success.

Safe to say—players still love grand single-player RPG experiences.

🛠️ The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- — Too Kyo Games & Media.Vision Inc.

Kazutaka Kodaka (creator of the Danganronpa series) and Kotaru Uchikoshi (of the Zero Escape series) teamed up for The Hundred Line.

Described as "the ultimate adventure game," it’s sitting at 94% positive. Players praise its engaging gameplay, strong characters, and intriguing story, though some note translation issues.

🛠️ Early Access Graduates This Week

Several notable games exited Early Access:

• Dinkum: Cozy town-building in an Australian-inspired setting. Players enjoy the vibe but mention grindy mechanics.
• Survivalist: Invisible Strain: A zombie apocalypse colony sim. Loved for replay value and dev commitment, but some find it brutally difficult.
• SpellRogue: A turn-based strategy roguelike. Addictive gameplay, though critiques include translation issues and balancing concerns.

🔥 Full List: Top Releases for April 21–27, 2025

Note: Tempest Rising appears in both this week’s and last week’s lists—likely due to its release timing at the week’s crossover. I’ll adjust this for future recaps.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it — or support me on Patreon to help make this site sustainable and unlock exclusive features!