In November, the exploration of the post-apocalyptic wasteland of the Fallout series returns. However, in Fallout 76, you are not the lone wanderer but share the post-apocalyptic areas with other players. Our author Andreas has his own opinion on this game principle.
Fallout and multiplayer? Can that work? And then also with open PvP? That surely won’t end well! What are they doing to my beloved Fallout series? Fans of the RPG series have been complaining like this since the announcement. Yet, not everything has to be bad.
Fallout Online – Can that go well?
Multiplayer desired in TES, but not in Fallout: One would think that the player groups of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout greatly overlap. After all, both series fundamentally offer very similar gameplay. However, while TES fans have been calling for a multiplayer mode since Morrowind, this is categorically rejected in Fallout. Why?
Fallout thrives on the atmosphere, where you, as the sole resident of the bunker, come into the wasteland and have to find your way in this post-apocalyptic world. The inhabitants react accordingly to this outsider who does not fit into the society that formed after the atomic war. You are the lone wolf who must survive alone. This would not be the case in a multiplayer mode, which makes it fundamentally problematic to include a multiplayer component in Fallout.
A suspicion proves true: For years I suspected that Bethesda was working on a multiplayer Fallout. However, as a fan of the series, I was clear that this wouldn’t be an MMORPG. Surrounded by hundreds or thousands of players, I believe Fallout could not work.
The entire background of a sparsely populated landscape, where the few survivors have to find a way to get by, would be destroyed by the “massively” aspect of an online game. There would be too many players, and it would no longer be Fallout.
But how could a multiplayer game in the series look? For me, it was clear that it would lean more towards survival with smaller player numbers. The construction aspect of Fallout 4 made me suspect that this could play a role in an online Fallout.
And thus the thought was born: “Fallout Online” will be a survival RPG for small groups of players who must build and defend settlements. How close I was with this assumption, I had no idea.
One may remain skeptical
A little skepticism remains: Just because I apparently foresaw this through my long apparently unnoticed clairvoyant superpowers, doesn’t mean that I was excited when Fallout 76 was announced. I admit, I was also skeptical. Not because of the multiplayer aspect itself, but rather because of the PvP.
On one hand, I am not a big fan of open PvP. If I want to compete with other players, I want fair conditions, whenever and wherever I prefer. Moreover, many online games with open PvP have shown that this leads to problems. For example, Ultima Online nearly had to shut down in the late 1990s due to open PvP.
A multiplayer Fallout can also work
New possibilities: However, I see the situation not as grim as some other Fallout fans who believe the series is rushing towards the abyss. In my opinion, Fallout 76 could bring many new possibilities into the game.
Looking at it rationally: Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Fallout 4 all play out very similarly. Already with Fallout 4, I had to force myself to continue playing at a certain point. I don’t know if I would have wanted to experience the same thing in green again with Fallout 76.
Video game series thrive on evolving. That with each additional title something new is offered. I remember the Ultima series. The leap from Ultima 5 to Ultima 6 and then to parts 7 and 8 consistently brought a new gameplay experience.
You could literally see how the series evolved. And that is exactly what is needed in Fallout. Now one might argue about the direction in which the games should develop, but what is a fact is: Fallout 76 is definitely an evolution of the series.
Fallout in multiplayer could be fun: I can well imagine that Fallout 76 is a lot of fun:
- You initially explore the wasteland alone and notice another player
- Is he friendly or will he attack me?
- With friends, you explore ancient ruins, fight mutants together, and collect loot
- You meet more players and form a group. Together you gather resources to build a fortress
- Eventually, raids occur and you defend the fortress – whether against monsters or other players
- In between, you set out alone and experience Fallout again as a lone wolf, just traditionally
The release will show if Fallout 76 was a good idea
Will this work? Of course, I can paint a pretty picture of Fallout 76 and make plans on how I proceed with friends. Ultimately, we will see at release – or during the beta – how the game plays.
- Are there many gankers who annoy others?
- How often do you encounter other players?
- Is it also fun to explore the game world alone?
- How do quests play out?
These are questions that can only be answered once you play Fallout 76. But until then, I remain optimistic. Yes, I also retain a bit of skepticism – especially concerning the PvP – but I am also excited. Experiencing Fallout together with others could be really fun. Let’s see how it will ultimately be implemented.
