10 Things Fallout 5 Should Learn From 1 & 2
Never before has a return to the roots been more called for.
The Fallout franchise is up there with the best RPG titles of all time. Developed by Interplay and its division Black Isle, the first two games were an immense breakthrough in the late 90s, injecting some adult storytelling into a genre dominated by swords and sorcery. Two games in the franchise were, in fact, officially recognised as works of art: the Smithsonian American Art Museum featured it as part its Art of Video Games exhibition in 2012.
Sadly, Bethesda’s later instalments have abandoned much of the game’s classic legacy, and it’s about time that legacy was revived. And while the move away from third-person isometric was inevitable, such change swept away a lot of elements fans came to love about the earlier games.
A lucrative franchise like Fallout is unlikely to get abandoned – which means the devs still have plenty of opportunity to appease nostalgic fans – and show the newer ones what a true old-school RPG is like.
From writing to mechanics to locations to pacing, there are quite a few things Fallout 5 could learn from its once-acclaimed ancestors.
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.