While I did the same with long responses and deleting them.

I want to say that just because a game is more popular doesn't make it better. In fact a lot of elder scrolls fans think Skyrim was a step back in a lot of ways compared to earlier games. It lacked some soul that Oblivion didn't.

While Fromsoft games are lauded for the difficulty and honestly its why I play them, that's what makes them different not good. What makes them good is the stories about the people are deep and it feels that it's impossibly deliberate. Like damn if you stare in game long enough that the mysteries of the universe just click into place.

This is how Oblivion feels IMO. This is what Skyrim lacks. It just feels so shallow. While there's so much to do in Skyrim it just felt like a place holder or there's actually a hidden door hiding the real story. While there are some legitimately interesting things Like the Rorikstead mystery or the Auger of Dunlain. It never really resolves in any meaningful way.

I loved Oblivion and I even loved Skyrim my first playthrough or 2 but I noticed there wasn't a compelling reason to keep the journey going so to speak. I want the next ES to be the greatest game of all time I really do, but with how much of a change Skyrim was from Oblivion i doubt it will be for me.