The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is considered by many to be one of the finest open-world western RPGs of all time. This game features a lush and diverse world coupled with some groundbreaking mechanics — for its time, at least — that have helped it garner a stellar reputation ever since its widely anticipated release. That being said, there's no denying the fact that the game hasn't really aged all that well, with most people using this title as a way to churn out memes and nothing else.

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However, that's not to say that Oblivion is completely unplayable; in fact, there are several ways in which this title can be rendered playable, mainly through the use of mods. Keeping this in mind, here are ten of the best mods for people who want to enjoy Oblivion to its fullest.

10 DarNified UI

The first thing that most people would notice about Oblivion is the fact that the UI of the game is extremely ugly and really hard to ignore at times. This UI was integrated in order to make it easier for console players to try out the game, but PC players ended up getting the short end of the stick as a result. Thankfully, modders have identified this issue and fixed it in the best possible manner.

DarNified UI reduces the size of most of the horrendous UI elements, making for an excellent interface along with an updated HUD that doesn't feel all that intrusive either.

9 Alternate Start — Arrive by Ship

The manner in which people started off their game in Morrowind was so engrossing that people wanted to start off their Oblivion game in the same manner as well. This can be achieved in this Alternate Start mod.

With this mod, players can now start off on a ship — albeit without being a prisoner — and fill out immigration forms to define their character race, class, and everything else along the same lines. It's a unique mod that manages to freshen up the intro of Oblivion without breaking immersion either.

8 Natural Environments

The environments of Oblivion might be gorgeous in their own right, but they can't help but show their age. In a bid to improve these locales, the Natural Environments mod can prove to be quite a boon.

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This mod ends up augmenting and modernizing the look of Oblivion to quite an extent. It adds new weather effects, makes the water of the game less ugly, improves the celestial effects in the game, and also ends up adding ambient insects to uplift the game's atmosphere as well!

7 Better Dungeons

While Oblivion might be a blast to explore, some of the caves in the game feel extremely drab and boring in comparison to the rest of the title's exploratory opportunities.

With the Better Dungeons mod, this irksome trait of the game will become a thing of the past. Each cave will be more unique and feature a number of novel encounters and puzzles as well to make the act of exploring these places less annoying.

6 Oblivion Character Overhaul

The characters of Oblivion are easily the worst part of the game. One need only look at the horrors that can be created in the Oblivion custom character creator to realize just how poorly these faces have aged.

Thankfully, with the Oblivion Character Overhaul mod, NPCs in the game end up getting a facelift that makes them less of an eyesore without featuring too many drastic changes that can take away from the overall immersion of the title.

5 Midas Magic Spells of Aurum

Using spells can be a blast in Oblivion, but it can be argued that there aren't really that many ways to diversify one's spellcasting arsenal, given the limited schools of magic in the game.

With the Midas Magic Spells of Aurum mod, this issue will become a thing of the past. With more than 290 unique spells and types, being a mage in Oblivion becomes all the more viable — and enjoyable — as a result.

4 Companion Vilja

There are various companion mods available for Oblivion that end up making these partners more of a joy to interact with. Out of all these mods, Vilja is easily the most fleshed out and enjoyable of the lot.

The script and voice acting of this companion are second to none, making for a unique and memorable experience as the player travels the vast expanse of Cyrodil with Vilja the Nord.

3 Qarl's Texture Pack II

Oblivion might be a great game, but the fact that it was released all the way back in 2006 is something that most players will be painfully aware of when they boot up the game. At least, that will be the case if they don't download the appropriate mods to modernize the experience.

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Perhaps the best mod to hide Oblivion's age has to be Qarl's Texture Pack II — a mod that increases the resolution of almost all the textures in the game to allow for a sharper and clearer image. This mod should be able to satiate fans who can't deal with the muddy textures of the base game.

2 Better Cities

The cities of Oblivion might be one of its most entertaining aspects, but these locales could definitely do with an update that can make the act of traversing these urban expanses all the more immersive.

This can be achieved with the Better Cities mod, which adds more NPCs, buildings, and even new questlines to the cities of Oblivion. This allows for a unique and well-realized experience from start to end.

1 Unofficial Oblivion Patch

If there's one mod that's pretty much a necessity to play most — if not all — of Bethesda's games, it has to be the unofficial patches that have been released for all these titles.

The Unofficial Oblivion Patch is no exception to this rule, featuring a wealth of patches and bug fixes to ensure that a gamer's experience with this title isn't marred by a slew of avoidable and annoying bugs.

NEXT: The Elder Scrolls 6: 5 Lessons It Can Learn From Skyrim (& 5 It Can Learn From Oblivion)