Summary
There has been a bit of a lull in theFalloutfranchise lately, but with the impending arrival of the live-action adaptation for Amazon Prime and continued evolution ofFallout 76, the series still has a bright future ahead of it.Fallouthas become one of the most popular franchises in gaming, and as hope forFallout 5continues to grow, Bethesda will want to steer clear of previous mistakes.
The release ofFallout 4back in 2015 saw the franchise getting one of its biggest installments yet, and future expansions released for the game brought forth a variety of fun new missions.Nuka-World was one of the best DLCsadded to the game, but one major mistake made with the expansion should be avoided in futureFalloutgames.
The Next Fallout Can’t Repeat A Nuka-World Mistake
Nuka-World added an exciting new story to the base version ofFallout 4, as players are brought to the Nuka-World amusement park where they become the leader of three groups of Raiders. The basic story of Nuka-World is that players are tasked with assigning specific sections of the amusement park to these three Raiders gangs, then aiming for the Commonwealth. However, if players wish to playthe entirety ofFallout 4as a good guy, this gets in the way of truly experiencing Nuka-World’s story.
Future Fallout DLCs Shouldn’t Punish Players For Moral Alignment
One of the biggest issues with Nuka-World is that if players want to play the game as a good guy, the true essence of the DLC is completely missed. Even choosing the technically “good” path offered in the DLC contradicts what a good guy would actually do. Playing as a good guy in Nuka-World ultimately makes the DLC a waste, since some players can completely miss the more interesting parts of the story, and Bethesda should avoid making these same mistakes when developing future expansions forthe nextFalloutgame.
When players arrive at Nuka-World, it’s possible not to join the Raiders. However, if this is the path chosen, then players must kill the Raiders, and that’s not exactly good guy behavior. Of course, there are moments inFallout 4when there’s not really any choice but to engage in combat, but showing up to a Raider base just to eliminate them makes the player the aggressor. Being given the choice tojoin or kill the Raiders in Nuka-Worldgives gamers wishing to play as a good guy a lose-lose situation. However, killing Raiders also frees the slaves in the Nuka-Town market, so there is at least an incredibly good deed in eradicating the Raiders. This means that wiping out the Raiders is the noble choice overall, andFalloutis known for its moral gray areas, but choosing the immoral path offers far more story and rewards. Players shouldn’t be punished for wanting to do the right thing, and this is the biggest problem with Nuka-World.
The Future of Fallout
There currently isn’t any concrete informationwhen it comes toFallout 5, but there is a lot of anticipation surrounding the eventual reveal of the next game in the franchise. TheFalloutseries has given life to one of the most compelling worlds in gaming, and seeing the story continue would be great. However, when Bethesda seeks to expand the nextFalloutgame, it may be best to not gatekeep stories, content like raider camps, and useful rewards based on a player’s morality. Of course, a player can do multiple playthroughs, but not every gamer is interested in taking that approach. All players should be able to enjoy a DLC’s content, and barring some fans from new storylines because of moral choices is something to avoid repeating.
