We know that Fallout 5 is in the works, we know it’s arriving a few years from now, but we now also know the five things we want to see thanks to the hugely successful Fallout TV series.
Listen up, Vault Dweller, we get to crawl out through the fallout, baby, at least one more time. Bethesda’s Todd Howard has already confirmed that Fallout 5 is coming, but only once The Elder Scrolls 6 makes its long-awaited debut.
Until then, the Fallout TV show should serve as a more than acceptable addition to the franchise’s iconic history, and with the first season doing so well, and season 2 already locked in, it’s got me thinking about the things we need to see in Fallout 5.
A main character that talks
RPGs tend to go one of two ways: The main character is mute, or they are very talkative. It’s hit and miss, and Bethesda titles tend to lean toward the former. Personally, I like it when my character talks, as it’s more immersive, and their voice, tone, and demeanor add much-needed characterization.
Imagine if The Witcher‘s Geralt of Rivia didn’t talk, Horizon‘s Aloy didn’t speak a word, and God of War‘s Kratos was a voiceless barbarian keeping his gruff, commanding brute of a speaking voice absent? It may be harder on the developer and require more work, but Lucy MacLean’s happy-go-lucky approach metamorphizing into one of realization, acceptance, and disdain is a prime example of why a talking lead is so important and effective.
Pre-Great War gameplay
One of the most surprising qualities of the Fallout TV series is how much it leaned into the pre-war lore and really dug into the dirt of how the war came about, why the bombs dropped, and how we ultimately got here.
As it’s all canon, I think we need to expand upon this further with Fallout 5. Even if it’s just a few non-combat situations, Bethesda needs to tap into events and life before the Great War to flesh out the Fallout universe more. Then, when we return to the present, it will underline just how harrowing the modern day is.
Be more than just a surviving human
Fallout‘s TV show highlights there’s more to life than just humans: Ghouls, Super Mutants, and Marauders are just some examples of life outside the Vault. To distance Fallout 5 from the rest of the pack and breathe new life into the franchise, why be a Vault Dweller at all?
Like any classic RPG, let’s choose a class. Imagine being a Super Mutant with enough emotion to humanize you but enough strength and health to become an absolute tank of the Wasteland.
New factions
The Brotherhood of Steel, The Railroad, the New California Republic, and The Institute are all examples of key factions in Fallout. However, as vital as they are to the overall framework of the games—and TV show to an extent—we need new blood.
If you go to the well one too many times, it eventually dries up—quite apt for the Wasteland. It’s another area where Fallout 5 can stand on its own two feet and show how its world is evolving. Given Fallout 5 is likely to take us into the 2300s, there’s no reason why new groups aren’t trying to stamp their authority on the world.
A Vault outside of America
The idea of the Fallout TV show being canon and changing what we know about the franchise got me thinking. If we can suggest that it’s actually Vault-Tec who dropped the bombs leading to the cataclysmic chain of events that destroyed most of the world and killed billions, then why stop there? Let’s go further than this canon controversy and reveal that Vault-Tec—or another company—privately built Vaults around the world.
After 30 years of Fallout games, I think it would be great to see how the morbid atrocity of the Great War has truly afflicted other nations. A rusted, battered Eiffel Tower, or even the Tower of Pisa, is more an eyesore than a tourist attraction.
With the Fallout: London mod still in development, there’s certainly potential to make Fallout 5 the most ambitious entry in quite some time.
