Bethesda Softworks releasedFallout 4in November 2015, withFallout 76launching three years later. However, whileTodd Howard confirmedFallout 5is on its way eventually, it’s not coming until some point afterStarfieldandThe Elder Scrolls 6. With the latter game still years away, it will be quite some time before the next single-playerFalloutgame. Fortunately, it’s not as ifFallouthas a monopoly on retro-futuristic dystopias. Mundfish’sAtomic Heartreleases next week, and while the upcoming game owes more toBioShockthanFallout, there are certainly parallels.
Beyond being sci-fi first-person shooters, both games depict their own versions of an alternate universe Cold War.Falloutis steeped in Americana, whileAtomic Heartdepicts a hypothetical Soviet utopia, but 1950s retrofuturism is at the core of both their identities. Therefore, Bethesda might want to look closely atAtomic Heartwhen designing the nextFalloutgame.
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What Fallout and Atomic Heart Have in Common
TheFalloutseries is one of the few examples of an alternate history, taking place in a timeline that diverged from reality in the late 1940s. While American culture remained more-or-less locked in the 1950s, technology advanced much more quickly, but not in the way it did historically. Robots, laser rifles, and nuclear-powered cars share a world with vacuum tubes and computers from the 1970s.Fallout’s version of the 21st century drew more from what people in the 1950s thought it would look like than it did from anything that could exist in reality.
Atomic Heart, meanwhile, almost seems like it could take place in theFalloutuniverse’s version of the Soviet Union. Set in an alternate 1955,Atomic Heartdepicts a world where technology advanced much more quickly but also quite differently after World War Two. Aesthetically, it draws from how the Soviets of the era imagined their country’s future. While the ideals promoted by each culture were vastly different, both imagined utopian futures enabled by technology.
In retrospect, these visions might seem quaint, naive, or even propagandistic, which may be whyFalloutandAtomic Heartseem dedicated to deconstructing them.Fallout’s 21st centurywas hardly a utopia, showing a world where the Cold War never ended and powerful megacorporations acted with impunity under the protection of an authoritarian state. Ultimately, this failed utopia destroys itself in the fires of nuclear war.
Atomic Heartisn’t out yet, so it’s hard to make strong statements about the game’s themes. However, it’s similar in that it also takes place in a failed utopia inspired by how people in the past envisioned the future. The game also draws inspiration fromtheBioShockseries, whose stories are built on critiquing and satirizing the worlds they depict. Based on the trailers,Atomic Heartseems to be more about technological dependence in general than the Soviet Union in particular, but the basic idea is similar.
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Atomic Heart Could Inspire Fallout 5
There are a couple of ways thatBethesda’s far-offFallout 5might draw inspiration fromAtomic Heart. The most obvious might be if Bethesda sets aFalloutgame outside the United States. WhileFallout’s alternate Cold War was between the US and China, the USSR existed until the Great War in 2077. In fact, one ofFallout 1’s preset player characters, Natalia Dubrovhsky, is the granddaughter of a Soviet diplomat who took shelter in Vault 13.
This does not necessarily mean that Bethesda needs to make aFalloutgame set in Russia. However, one set at least partially in post-apocalyptic China might be interesting. Chinese propaganda of the 1950s was quite similar to that of the Soviet Union, embracing many of the same aesthetics. While the PRC and USSR were never precisely the same,Atomic Heart’s visual design could be a good model for a hypotheticalFalloutgame set in Chinaor the Soviet Union.
Atomic Heartis also a good reminder that the United States isn’t the only place that can be seen through retrofuturism. People from all around the world have their ideas of how the future will look. Exploring a post-apocalyptic France or Brazil with a unique aesthetic identity might be interesting. Something like this could hit the mark too, asFalloutfans have talked about potential overseas games for some time. There are also fan-made projects like theupcomingFallout: London, a massive total conversion mod forFallout 4that lets players explore a post-apocalyptic England.
Granted, there are reasons thatFalloutworks best in the United States. While the gap is closing, the US is still estimated to be the biggest gaming market based on revenue, so many players are automatically familiar withFallout’s cultural inspirations. America’s status as a Cold War great power also drives home the themes of hubris playing a significant role in its destruction. However, that arguably only works with the US, Russia, and China.
Fallout 4 and the Shi
Still, even ifFalloutstays committed to its American setting, there are other ways that some Soviet-inspired futurism could sneak in. One example is the Shi, a faction introduced inFallout 2. Based inFallout’s version of San Francisco, they are one of the most technologically advanced groups in theFalloutuniverse, resembling a less-evil version ofFallout 4’s Institute. Descended from shipwrecked Chinese submariners, the Shi’s aesthetics and society seem more influenced by Imperial China than Communism. However, its founders would have grown up surrounded by Communist propaganda. That would probably leave some lasting effect, which may influence the Shi’s design philosophy if they ever decide to start rebuilding their part of the city.
Given the references to the Shi inFallout 4and the presence of their Hubologist rivals inNuka World, Bethesda may be planning areturn to San Francisco inFallout 5. If so, that’s a good opportunity to introduce some 1950s Communist aesthetics, perhaps spiced up with a bit of traditionalist Chinese flavor.
Atomic Heartreleases for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on August 01, 2025.
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