Summary
Ever since the release ofFallout: New Vegas,fans have been clamoring for another Obsidian-led entry in theFalloutfranchise. This comes especially afterFallout 4was looked at by many hardcore fans as a somewhat concerning deviation from the norm.New Vegas, on the other hand, has only received more praise over time, with many lamenting the fact that Bethesda seemed to learn very little from its example.
Of course, modernFalloutgames do have improvements of their own, particularly in scale and gun combat. It would be great to see Obsidian make a return to the franchise and marry some of these improvements with their own design sensibilities, as well as open the door to other possibilities with the long-runningpost-apocalyptic seriesin the process.
5Bethesda’s Long Development Cycles
It’ll Be A While Before We Get News About Fallout 5
It’s no secret that Bethesda likes to take its time when developing games nowadays. While the difference betweenThe Elder Scrolls IV:OblivionandFallout 3was only two years, for example, the development cycle betweenFallout 4andStarfieldballooned to eight years. Worse still, the lastElder Scrollsgame,Skyrim,was released in 2011, while the next one is not expected to be released until the late 2020s if not the early 2030s. NoFalloutgame is slated for release from Bethesda any time soon, asthe sequel toSkyrimneeds to come out first.
Within this time frame, it would be wise for Microsoft to consider allowing other developers outside Bethesda to fill this gap and take advantage of the IP at least once within the next fifteen years at best. Given Obsidian’s history, not just as a developer famous for making sequels to beloved games but with theFalloutfranchise especially, it would be a no-brainer to let them have another shot.
4Continue the West Coast Storyline
The Mojave Express Postal Service Has More Work To Do
The last time players heard anything about the status of the western half of the former United States was inFallout: New Vegas.Fallout 3,4and76all take place on the East coast, which features a mostly separate storyline. The West Coast, however, is where the story ofFalloutbegan, when the first game was released back in 1997.
Fallout 1’snarrativearoundthe Vault Dwellerand Super Mutants led to the founding of the New California Republic, which would be a major force inFallout 2. ByFallout: New Vegas, the NCR has expanded into Nevada after having civilized most if not all of California and its neighboring states. This ongoing narrative has virtually never been touched by Bethesda. Obsidian, given that it is comprised partly of ex-Interplay and Black Isle developers (Fallout’screators), is the only real choice to continue this story in the foreseeable future.
3Experiment With Unique World Design
Into The Post-Post-Apocalypse
Falloutis obviously synonymous with the retro-futuristic post-apocalypse. Not only was the first game in the series iconic for this reason, Bethesda wisely tapped into this exact style upon resurrecting the series.Fallout, however, does have the potential to move beyond this, and Obsidian is the perfect developer to do this. Specifically, in continuing the story on the West Coast,Fallouthas a chance tomove beyond its post-apocalypse settingand feature games set in what is essentially a rebuilt society.
In the lore, it’s well known that NCR territory is no longerthe dangerous and untamed wastelandthat it once was. There are major cities like Arroyo, Vault City, New Reno, and others that aren’t just surviving, but thriving. The old games gave players a glimpse at this, but a modern 3D RPG could really expand on the idea. It’d almost be like doing aCyberpunk 2077-stylegame except it’s set in theFalloutuniverse.
2Revisit Classic RPG Roots
Obsidian Are Masters Of Deep RPGs
While Bethesda seems adamant about simplifying their game design, choosing instead to focus onsheer breadth of contentand the player’s ability to explore it, rather than mechanical depth or narrative choices. Obsidian, on the other hand, has always been known for making more mechanically complex games by comparison and for giving the player more agency in the narrative.
This can be seen inNew Vegas, which, compared toFallout 3,offered much more choice and expanded on virtually every major system in the game.The Outer Worldsis also considerably deeper thanFallout 4is (although it makes concessions elsewhere). A proper Obsidian-developed title would mean a return to this style of game, one that has more in common withFallout 1and2thanFallout 4.
1Normalize Outside Development
Give Other Studios The Fallout Reins
One of the hopes in allowing Obsidian to make anotherFalloutgame is that it will reopen the possibility of even more developers being given an opportunity to make games in the series. These don’t even have to be true RPGs either. There’s a multitude of genres theFalloutseries can be adapted for, almost like theWarhammer 40KorXCOMseries have been. Imagine a linear FPS game set during the Resource Wars, or aHearts of Iron-stylegame featuring the emerging nations of the wasteland.
With a diverse pool of developers at the helm, many new ideas are suddenly possible, and it gives a wider variety of players a chance to engage with the series. It all begins, however, with Obsidian (or some other developer) being given a shot in the first place.
