Why does vanilla, mod-less Oblivion still feel this good to play after 16 years?

Right now we’re all sitting on our hands, waiting for The Elder Scrolls 6. Wondering what delights it might hold for us. Whether the NPCs will be able to simultaneously move, talk, and come off like something close to humans. Dreaming of a world full of undiscovered quests, un-plundered chests, pristine sweetrolls. But the human brain doesn’t sit well with incomplete information loops. It’s difficult to live with the uncertainty of the Elder Scrolls 6 – it might be a terrible pile of wre...