A Little Slice of Madness
Shivering Isles presents a narratively focused, madly energetic alternative to Oblivion's open-world sprawl.
The expansion makes its distinct attitude clear as soon as you enter the Isles, see its bizarre landscapes, and greet its unhinged NPCs. These guys are nuts. And the introductory quests you get from those nuts - collecting bones from a garden, stealing a sorceress's tears - set the tone for your upcoming journey through even more weird environments, wild enemies, and wacky quest-givers.
The real star of this show, though, is Sheogorath. Once you reach his throne room and start taking his tasks to stop the Greymarch, the mad prince's candidly out-of-his-damn-mind personality becomes the center of the Shivering Isles storyline; his bonkers dialog is the narrative foundation that starts every quest, as well as the payoff for completing them.
Even despite Bethesda's continued reliance on the same voice actor forever, Sheogorath is written and acted incredibly, enchantingly well. (Which is why it's such a shame that the main quest ends
Not to say that Shivering Isles completely re-thinks Oblivion's approach to world-building: the expansion's world map, though satisfyingly contained, still includes lots of dead area; and there are several bland-and-dreary mushroom caves in place of the main game's bland-and-dreary Oblivion Gates.
But it's nevertheless an exciting counterpoint, an engaging and self-contained story that shows promise for ... well, for Skyrim and its own expansions.
Better than: Fallout 4: Far Harbor
Not as good as: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dawnguard, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn
I'm still not sure what I should expect: from The Elder Scrolls VI; hopefully more focused stories and more strong personalities, but if not, at least there'll always be plenty of these remasters!