20 Years Later, Oblivion Still Has the Best Side Quest in History

On this day, 20 years ago, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was released, and one quest in particular stands out as my absolute favourite.

When Bethesda released The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on 20 March 2006, it instantly became an all-time favourite. From the moment you wake up in a prison cell, escape and venture into Cyrodiil in the continent of Tamriel, millions of RPG explorers were instantly won over across the world.

Cyrodiil was bright and colourful, its music was mesmerising, and we stopped in awe, curious about what glorious adventures may await. Then that moment was probably ruined by a Mudcrab attack, but it was an epic memory nonetheless that we can look back on and wonder to ourselves, where has that time gone?

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Has Some Amazing Quests

Other than some amazing main story missions, this entry in the popular Bethesda series had a plethora of amazing side-quests, such as ones that involved that adoring fan (who returned in Starfield), a mysterious painting that took us to an alternate dimension (or so it seemed) and a vampire cult, to name a few.

However, my favourite side quest in Oblivion involves another cult, the infamous Dark Brotherhood. If it wasn't fun enough having a list of names to kill (I know that sounds very maniacal) across Cyrodiil in inventive ways, this particular quest had an element of murder mystery, and it's this quest that has stayed with me after all these years.

Summitmist Manor in Oblivion, Bethesda Softworks/UESP Wiki

Put Your Agent 47 and Among Us Skills to the Test

The quest in question is called “Whodunit?” and it involves the aforementioned Dark Brotherhood. Located in Summitmist Manor, Skingard. You’re tasked by the sinister brotherhood with killing five targets, but with a twist.

Sure, you can brutally murder each of the five targets in the locked manor in front of witnesses, which would be fun, but there’s a far more sneaky way to go about it. The best way to approach this mission is by channelling your inner-Agent 47 and Among Us skills without raising suspicion by using poisonous apples to kill the targets, or at least, that’s how I approached it.

If the mission goes well, the guests will even get paranoid and will turn on each other, all while you snigger to yourself, twiddling your fingers like Mr Burns from The Simpsons. Simply put, this mission is a blast, and it could be replayed in a number of ways.

If you’ve never played this classic Bethesda fantasy RPG, then you might be pleased to know that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered launched in 2025 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. So, what are you waiting for? You’ve got a manor to attend to.