10 Things Fallout 5 Should Learn From 1 & 2

10. Motivation: You're Doing It Wrong

Fallout 4 saddles you with a main quest to find the protagonist's child, but forgets to do absolutely anything to build an emotional connection to him. Family is personal stuff, and if you’re going to bank on it to propel a hero to action, make sure the hero (and more importantly, the person behind the controls) has at least a modicum of feeling toward said family.

Fallout 4 neglects this, instead trying to shove far-fetched motivation down the player’s throat. At this point any angst the Sole Survivor might display about their lost son looks implausible at best, and downright insulting at worst.

Look at Fallout 1 for contrast. The Vault Dweller is volunteered for the main quest, whether they want it or not, just because they drew the short straw. The game openly does a dick move on you – and doesn’t force you to play along.

Instead, it gives you a couple of opportunities to say ‘screw you’, resulting in gory - but extremely satisfying - alternative endings.