Fallout 4 Vs The Witcher 3: Which Is The Best RPG Of 2015?

4. The Protagonist

RPGs with protagonists that have been in any way pre-written or prescribed tend to have a tough time making them into interesting characters. It's an awkward compromise between offering the player a degree of freedom in going about their actions, and imbuing the protagonist with convincing motivations and goals in the world. With The Witcher 3, Geralt asserted himself as a bonafide video game icon. Sure, he's been criticised in the past as being a bit of an uber alpha-male, humping women left and right like some kind of horny husky dog, but in The Witcher 3 he tones down on that a bit, and actually has moments of genuine humanity shining through his gruff, cynical facade.

Fallout 4 took something of a BioWare approach with the protagonist, giving him or her his own personality while allowing you to choose their appearance and name. But Bethesda didn't quite get things right on this front, as no matter what actions you carry out throughout the game, the way in which the hero expresses himself always makes him sound like a reasonably nice but dull guy. While Geralt feels like he's specifically been crafted as a morally ambivalent character who can swing either towards good or evil, Fallout 4's hero just feels like a bit of a dullard, and if you choose to play the relentless badass it seems at odds with the slightly Ned Flanders vibe he gives off. I don't feel particularly invested in his personal story, nor compelled to empathise with him. On the other hand, I want nothing more than for Geralt to finally settle down and live out his days in happiness (or at least as close as a sulky witcher can get to happiness).