The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion’s Shivering Isles Is One Of The Best DLCs In Gaming

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is considered one of, if not, the best titles in the series, and its influence in modern RPGs is undeniable. The game received a myriad of DLCs and expansions. Terrible Horse Armor DLC aside, Oblivion has some excellent expansions like the Thieves Den and Knights of the Nine, alongside one that even lets players own a wizard tower on top of a mountain.

I must have sunk hundreds of hours in all of the DLCs and expansions The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion had. However, out of all the DLCs, the Shivering Isles expansion stands out as the absolute best.

When Shivering Isles was first released in 2007, I don’t think either the players or the developers could have imagined it would be so beloved. The DLC added so much to the already amazing Oblivion that I think the main game is incomplete without it. Adding so much to the beloved Elder Scrolls RPG, I’d go as far as to say Shivering Isles is one of the best DLCs in gaming.

The Huge Area And Inticing Story Of Shivering Isles

It’s normal for most DLCs to simply add new quests, NPCs, and items to create a simple expansion. This way, the developer doesn’t have to work much on it while adding good extra value to the DLC. Shivering Isles differs from this significantly and this is what makes it one of the best DLCs in gaming. As the name implies, Oblivion’s huge expansion adds a whole new island to the game. That isn’t all, as players can venture into two other realms called Mania and Dementia.

The DLC also adds a completely new and immersive storyline that revolves around the Daedric Prince of Madness Sheogorath. The quests allow players to traverse the land, explore unique dungeons, kill new enemies, and potentially obtain the Prince’s throne. The mysterious storyline ensures the players are constantly on their toes guessing what’s next.

The Daedric Prince of Madness starts by sending the player to a dungeon where they can torture a team of adventurers. With this mad quest starts the players struggle towards the throne of Sheogorath. The more the player delves within the Madness of the world the more the beauty of the place becomes apparent.

Convince me I’m wrong: Shivering Isles is the best DLC to any game ever…
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The thing I like the most is how the player can eventually opt to replace Sheogorath to become the new Daedric Prince of Madness. That’s right, some fans speculate the God players see in Skyrim is our character from Oblivion. That one line about being the Hero of Kvatch gives this theory more merit, and I miss when Bethesda added such details to its games.

Memorable NPCs And Cool New Items To Obtain

Possibly the biggest reason why the Shivering Isles storyline is so captivating and immersive is the NPCs the DLC adds. They differ significantly from the NPCs in Cyrodiil and Sheogorath is arguably the best NPC in the game. The dressing style of the Deadric Prince, his dialogues, and the charisma he exudes are maddening.

Players loved Sheogorath so much that multiple mods on the internet allowed players to play as the Daedric Prince. There were other NPCs, but Sheogarath has to be the most iconic one. If it isn’t because of his way of dressing then it’s his infamous “Who cut the cheese?” line. Don’t worry, real ones will know what I’m talking about.

It can’t be a proper RPG DLC without new gear and weapons for players to collect, and Shivering Isles was no different. Alongside the beautiful golden armor players likely eventually got bored of seeing, the DLC added some of the coolest spells that perfectly fit into the DLC’s narrative. Naturally, there were some awesome weapons too.

My personal favorite new weapon was Dawnfang, which deals fire damage and offers health absorption. While it’s a regular strong sword during the day, it turns into Duskfang at night, dealing frost damage and offering magicka absorption.

All in all, Shivering Isles has to be one of the best DLCs in all of gaming. I think it can even compete with Witcher 3’s Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine DLCs and Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree. However, unfortunately, it seems to go under the radar of most gamers even though I wish more people gave it a shot.