π’ NOT A REAL FALLOUT GAME! NOT A REAL FALLOUT GAME! π’
π Shut up, you - Oh, forgive that slap. I was just disciplining a mindless internet user - you know the type. Yes. We will in fact be talking about Fallout 4, yes.
Safe to say the least Fallout, Fallout game. But what even is a Fallout game? Every installment thus far has been drastically different than the last. With some flimsy throughline running between them. The fourth installment is no different.
ThuslyβοΈ In this edition of Through the Lens π, we'll be taking a look at Bethesda Softworks's post-appocalyptic, find-your-son simulator RPG from 2015: Fallout 4, Roll it! π½
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πΆ UP TOP πΆ
Is with every Through the Lens (trademark pending) I suggest ya'll take a listen to the original soundtrack while reading this piece. The soundtrack stays true to the 1950/60's theme of the previous installments, with some new bells and whistles thrown in for good measure. πΆ
What is that? You need a handy-dandy link? *Look no further, mortal. I give to you...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy9La6YXNqI
I'll be frank with my people (that's you) I've played very little of this entry in the series. And by "very little" I mean around 40h. Which for some might seem outrageous that I'd say 40h is very little, but to anyone that has played Bethesda's open-world RPGs that would sound like I was still in the tutorial area. π
Regardless, I played it one year after its release, and am sufficiently aware of the game's systems and whatnot to create this very concise, very thoughtful (π€£) article for you all!
Now... let me not hold your hand... onto the Wasteland!
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πΆ LUDONARRATIVE DISSONANCE πΆ
But before that! A little lesson in video-game terminology, hmmm? Observe!
Ludonarrative dissonance is the conflict between a video game's narrative told through the story and the narrative told through the gameplay. Ludonarrative, a compound of ludology and narrative, refers to the intersection in a video game of ludic elements (gameplay) and narrative elements.
I personally never consider this as a fault of the game, but it is worth pointing out when it's egregious - and I believe that here it is just that. π
Stories are important to me. Even more so when the game is an RPG. And Fallout 4 has, IMHO, the worst writing in the franchise. π― And this was done by design. Multiple Bethesda devs have said in interviews that Fallout 4 is the least RPG, RPG game, they've ever made. And it shows.
First and foremost, the main throughline of the campaign is finding your son. That in itself is ab ad idea. π It's the post-apocalypse... And you as the player don't really connect with your newborn son before you have to spend hundreds of hours searching for them. Meaning, it's hard to take the story seriously after you've cleared out your tenth bandit camp.
There's a clear disconnect that doesn't help the game at all. For instance, you're telling me that this guy is so desperate to find his son that he has enough time to build three settlements? Or help out random NPCs? For me this takes me completely out of the mindset that my character needs to be in.
You may ask - but what about the other Bethesda games? They aren't much better than Fallout 4 in this regard either. But they are better. You can always do the ol "I'm doing side activity to get stronger" line of thinking. But even that is absent here.
Not to mention that since there is little to no characterization of your main character, your attachment to their quest is even more lessons. Again, this is a problem with the Bethesda game in general, but even more so in Fallout 4.
And again, all of this was by design, they wanted this outcome. Let's expand...
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πΆ RPG WHO? πΆ
A lot of people got mad when they saw Fallout 4's dialogue system. With good reason! For one thing - the playable character doesn't say what you'll think they'll say. And that's not even the worst of it.
Dialogue has always been a cornerstone of the Fallout franchise. I know I had some fun in the opening about "what truly makes a Fallout game". But until this installment, I would've said the dialogue. Welp, not anymoreβββ
Here, the options are too few and too opaque.
Bethesda's conscious decision of making Fallout 4 more of an action/exploration game, did the legacy of the franchise no favors. Bethesda knows what they're doing, don't trip, they did to the Fallout series what Skyrimg did for the Elder Scrolls series. The simplifications of RPG systems are what casual mass-market audiences want.
It might not be Fallout, but have you thought that what Fallout is, or rather was, is not all that profitable? π€·ββοΈ
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πΆ RADIANT πΆ
The radiant quests in Fallout are... def a thing. π
The focus on these quests ensures that the game will forever have content. On the other hand if you've played five Radiant quests - you've played them all. π π π
For those that don't know what I'm talking about, Radiant quests are basically procedurally made quests that serve to populate the world with content. Because they are procedural, there is only a limited amount of variations they can go through and still be viable. Therefore we are left with a bunch of uninspired quests.
There are other aspects we could talk bout, such as the settlements, the not-so-defined factions, the lackluster endgame, etc. All of these could have been a section in itself, but I decided to focus on the core of the game instead.
And last time I checked this was my article. π€·ββοΈ
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πΆ LEGACY πΆ
Fallout 4 is the most successful Fallout game yet. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Fallout fans. π And don't worry, Fallout 76 is up next. π
Many would argue that the success of this tile is directly linked with the success of Skyrim. And while that might be true for the initial boost, I think the casual nature of Fallout 4's design is the primary reason it was such a success.
The less Fallout there is in a series, the more successful it becomes. π So what even is Fallout anymore? I think the releases of 76 muddied those waters even further. And judging by Bethesda's release schedule, I doubt we'll be getting a new Fallout game in the near future.
So what will be Fallout 4's legacy? The best-selling Fallout game to date for one, and the last RPG, RPG, Bethesda has ever made. A good game, not sure if I said that once in the article, but a different kind of game to what everyone was expecting.
Thank you for reading, you rock! (and maybe roll) πππ
Shout-out to the πPIZZAπ gang, π€ gang. π€
Ok, another one bites the dust! Next one up we gotta do Fallout 76 π and that article is gonna be a fun one for sure. π
π Follow me on my HIVE blog π
Have a great start to your week! And watch out for them tactical nukes (I guess)! πππ
Return from Fallout 4 π½ Through the Lens to ΠΠΎΡΠΊΠΎ's Web3 Blog
