9. The Introductory Pacing
After all the allusions to spending time in the pre-detonation world of Fallout - a wondrously interesting period in the mythos that still remains fully explored - Fallout 4's opening sequence resigns you primarily to your house, before jumpstarting the plot and covering what could've been a good hour's worth of exposition in around 15 minutes. Honestly, it feels way too rushed. You go from mild-mannered ex-military chap (or chappette), to answering the door to a salesman who suggests the Vault on the hill would be a good place to go. Then the bombs suddenly/randomly hit a few seconds later - putting the onus on the exact conversation you just took part in through happenstance - and you say goodbye to the entire time period. You're hurled into the Vault and locked into cryo-sleep, to which you're forced to watch as your wife/husband is killed and your baby is taken by an unknown force. It's a very immediately emotional moment, but the reaction from your own character is resigned to an immediate "I'll find who did this!" revenge-kick, rather than anything that feels relatable considering your previously idyllic marriage and conversations. Put this down to being militarily desensitised if you like, but the entire sequence I've described rockets from place to place, eventually calming down when you exit the Vault again. There's no real pathos to what's happening, and thus, aside from the immediacy of wanting to avenge your partner and find your son, it's a very strange way to begin, especially in contrast to the 'missing parent' dynamic of Fallout 3.