TheFalloutfranchise has never been short on interesting and unique world-building, but there’s one area that the series only recently started exploring in more depth. WhileFallouthas always been praised for its immersive gameplay, environments, and characters that offer plenty of player freedom, the setting itself is one of its best features. Compared to traditional post-apocalyptic media,Fallout’s unique 50s-inspired sci-fi world powered by nuclear energy helps it to stand apart from the crowdwith a distinct aesthetic.
With most apocalyptic media taking place in our own reality with slight differences,there isn’t much need to explore characters or the world before a world-ending event like the great war, withFalloutbeing an exception to the rule.While there were some loose ideas about what caused the great war that led toFallout’s endless struggle to rebuild civilization, the events leading up to it only recently started being explored in greater depth. DespiteFallout’s large time gap between the fall of civilization and the story of the games themselves, there’s plenty of room to uncover decade-old mysteries.
Fallout Is Finally Exploring Its Mysterious Origins
The Pre-War Era Holds The Keys To Fallout’s Greatest Mysteries
Despite civilization being beyond repair for so long,it’s clear enough that the powers of the pre-war era still have plenty of influence over the wasteland.Even the very first antagonist of the series was around before the bombs dropped, influencing his motives to evolve humanity using his grotesque mutations. While there are plenty of nods to the time before the wasteland, there aren’t many chances to experience it firsthand, aside from moments in simulations or the intro to Fallout 4.
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The world of Fallout is filled with complex factions, and while most utilize less-than-savory methods, some are much more irredeemable than the rest.
There is still plenty of mystery and ambiguous storytelling left up to interpretation, but it seemstheFalloutfranchise is finally getting some definitive answers over long-standing questions through the television show.Expanding upon highly speculated areas like the cause of the great war, the fate of the NCR, and Vault-Tec’s greatest secrets, the show seems to be setting up the perfect foundations for a futureFalloutgame.
Past entries in the franchise have shown there’s still room to fill in the gaps through playable segments or influential and iconic characters like Robert House.
While some of the official changes like the future of the NCR haven’t been received as positively as the rest, it’s always a pleasure to see ’s unique pre-war setting. With leaked set footage for the upcoming season hinting at aNew Vegas flashbackscene,I can’t help but wish the games were able to exploreFallout’s setting from a similar pre-war point of view. The apocalyptic setting will always be the bread and butter of theFalloutseries, but past entries in the franchise have shown there’s still room to fill in the gaps through playable segments or influential and iconic characters like Robert House.
The Pre-War Era Of Fallout Offers Some Of Its Most Iconic Moments
Providing A Stark Contrast To Fallout’s Grim Future
While the lengthy introduction sequence toFallout 4is a slog for anyone replaying the game, it provided a valuable connection to the Sole Survivor’s backstory. Rather than simply waking up from cryosleep after watching a short cutscene,being able to experience the moments leading up to the bombs dropping first hand made the contrasting devastation afterward even more impactful.Fallout 4itself is a prime example of how it’s still possible to incorporate pre-war stories and characters hundreds of years later, even through smaller moments like recovering Codsworth from the town’s ruins or encountering the ghoulish Vault-Tec rep.
Fallout 4itself is a prime example of how it’s still possible to incorporate pre-war stories and characters hundreds of years later.
It can be hard to incorporate these backstory elements outside a dangerously lengthy prologue, but there’s still room for moments similar to Kellog’s backstory flashback. The quest itself offered meaningful insight into the reasoning behind his horrible actions towards the Sole Survivor,leaving it up to players to decide if it partially excused his actions or not. While the gameplay section required very little input from the Sole Survivor themselves,the idea of actually getting to play through a pre-war flashback or memory while interacting with the world and characters could be a fantastic move for the series.
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This idea from the creator of the series didn’t make sense for the ending of Fallout 1, but Fallout 3 pulled it off in a much better way.
Flashbacks aren’t the only wayFalloutcan tie back into the pre-war period either, asseveral characters have been around since before the bombs dropped to offer a unique but often cynical perspective on the wasteland.Grizzled and stubborn characters like The Master, Robert House, and Ghoulish survivors provide interesting storylines, while further contrasting the Vault Dweller’s pre-war mindset. While some of these characters have managed to stick to their ideals over the centuries, most of them have become twisted versions of themselves that were changed drastically, or corrupted by the wasteland itself.
The Tranquility Lane quest from Fallout.3 is one of the best examples of giving players agency in a pre-war setting, even if it’s only through a limited simulation as a Vault experiment.
Even the most memorableterminal stories and holotapesoften catalog a location’s pre-ward events, offering an insight into what the world looked like before the bombs dropped while telling isolated yet compelling stories.The Vaults inFalloutthemselves are the best example of how iconic the pre-war influence is within the game world, from unraveling the ultimate fate behind a horrifying experiment over hundreds of years, to even playing as a vault dweller yourself. While vaults are a warped version of pre-war society pushed to its limits under horrific circumstances, there are still meaningful connections to what life was like before the great war.
Fallout 5 Should Have A Greater Focus On Its Pre-War Connections
Following A Complete Story 200 Years In The Making
After seeing theFalloutshow’s success by offering a unique take on the franchise in both its backstory and new storylines, it’s one of the many things I hope tosee represented inFallout 5. While it would be hard to fit the style of storytelling from film into an open-world exploration game likeFallout,there’s still plenty of potential for more iconic moments with a greater pre-war inspiration.
Choosing where your character came from could offer even more roleplaying and storytelling potential than before.
One way a future entry in theFalloutseries could achieve this is by offering the chance to explore a more customizable story-driven character,letting you pick separate backgrounds or life paths, similar toCyberpunk 2077. WhileFalloutalready has the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. and perk systems to make each playthrough feel more unique, choosing where your character came from could offer even more roleplaying and storytelling potential than before, letting you change the past to influence the post-war future.
With rumors that asequel to New Vegasora spinoff entry in the series might fall under a new studio,there’s plenty of room to take advantage of the success and failures of the past, while still innovating on the classic formula that made it so popular in the first place. While it will likely be a long wait until asequel to theFalloutfranchise makes its way into reality, it has all the time it needs to offer a revolutionary experience for the series, while exploring both new and vague stories of the past.
