Summary

  • Fallout 5 may be able to explore new areas, factions, and weapons if it abandons one feature from Fallout 4.
  • Moving away from settlement building in favor of new features like monster companions could bring exciting gameplay possibilities. Additionally, it could free up resources that can be dedicated to factions, choices, and other core aspects of the series.
  • With Fallout 76 continuing to get support for the foreseeable future, fans of settlement building would still have somewhere to enjoy that kind of content.

With Fallout 4 pushing ten years old and the Amazon show emerging as a massive hit with audiences, a fifth installment seems more likely than ever. There’s still so much more for Bethesda to explore in the wasteland, including different areas of the former United States, new factions and enemies, and plenty of new weapons. With there being more than enough for a potential Fallout 5 to chew on, it may be worth freeing up some time and resources to explore more possibilities instead of dedicating too much effort to a divisive Fallout 4 mechanic.

Of course, Fallout 4 isn’t the most recent game in the franchise. Fallout: 76 was released back in 2018 to less than thunderous applause, but has gotten a second wind following years of quality updates and the success of the show. Thanks to the continued support of Fallout: 76, a fifth game in the mainline series might be able to take a break from one of the series’ more recent innovations - settlements - in order to return to form in a key and introduce something entirely new.

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Why Fallout 5 Needs to Move on From Crafting and Settlement Building

Fallout 4 leaned heavily into the settlement building mechanics and to excellent effect. It was the first time the series really challenged the player to craft equipment to survive and thrive in the wasteland, doing so by creating a series of small communities across the Commonwealth. This really gave the impression the Sole Survivor was helping the people of the area get back on their feet and start to recreate a cohesive post-war society.

Fallout 76 took this concept to its logical conclusion by ramping the crafting/building up to 11, and it still works perfectly to this day; players continue to have fun creating their own settlements in the title’s vision of an apocalyptic Appalachia. Considering this, there’s an argument to be made that Fallout 5, whenever it may materialize, can ease up on, if not sunset, this feature to focus on something new or even revitalize a gameplay element from a previous Fallout title.

Fallout 5 Should Return to the Writing Style of Fallout: New Vegas

One of the biggest critiques longtime fans had for Fallout 4 was the lack of meaningful decisions that were present in titles like Fallout 3 and especially Fallout: New Vegas. Those games saw players interacting with a richly written world and characters that would respond in very tangible ways to the decisions they made through their playthroughs. By rolling back developer focus on the crafting/settlement building system, more attention can be given to creating more decision-making that reshapes the world, as well as some of the more thought-provoking writing of the more classic games.

Fallout: New Vegas features a lot of morally gray decision-making. The decision on whether to side with House is an excellent example of the game essentially making players pick what they feel is the lesser evil. House is more or less the Institute equivalent of that title, but where the Institute's reasons for their synth replacement schemes are flimsy at best, House makes relatively compelling justifications for himself that players can actually understand, if not agree with outright. No faction in the wasteland should be morally ironclad, and earlier Fallout titles like New Vegas were much better at getting that across.

Developers should shift their focus from crafting/settlement systems to writing and making players' choices much more impactful.

Less development time spent on the crafting/settlement systems can see a return to the same style of storytelling that struck such a chord with players back in 2010. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland like the Fallout franchise, factions should not be too morally good, as is the case with many of Fallout 4’s factions like the Railway or the Minutemen. Bethesda taking more development time to flesh out its faction writing, worldbuilding, and decision-making that would give players less binary “good-evil” options and more shades of gray that better suit such a mature setting. Deeper factions would help the world feel much more lived-in and ultimately make player choices regarding the factions much more impactful.

Fallout 5 Could Replace Settlement Crafting with Monster Companions

In terms of brand-new features the next Fallout can bring to the table, it would be a lot of fun to tame and control wasteland wildlife as companions. In fact, Wasteland Workshop, one of the crafting DLCs from Fallout 4, may have already laid the groundwork for it. The DLC allowed players to catch and effectively domesticate pretty much any wasteland monster in the game, from mirelurks to the infamous deathclaws.

Wasteland Workshop Out Now

After effectively turning these mutated monstrosities into zoo animals, Fallout 5, featuring a high-charisma beastmaster skill to turn them into full-fledged non-sentient companions would be the next logical conclusion. Having a deathclaw as a companion would mechanically function a lot like having Dogmeat as a follower, only meaner and much, much scarier. Even if complex additions like this would mean losing an in-depth settlement system, being able to tame and choose animal companions would be an exciting addition that opens all sorts of doors for gameplay and emergent storytelling. Plus, fans of settlement building would still have an avenue to enjoy that kind of content, thanks to Fallout 76.

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Fallout 4 Tag Page Cover Art
Fallout 4
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9 /10
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Released
November 10, 2015
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WHERE TO PLAY

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DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
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Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, invite you to the ambitious open world of Fallout 4. Do whatever you want in a massive Commonwealth with hundreds of locations, characters and quests.
As the sole survivor of Vault 111, only you can rebuild and determine the fate of the Wasteland. Join multiple factions vying for power or go it alone - the choices are yours.
From a Power Armor-toting soldier to the charismatic smooth-talker, be whoever you want with the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Character system and develop your own playstyle from hundreds of Perks.
Experience exciting first- or third-person combat with the dynamic Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, or V.A.T.S., targeting enemies for maximum tactical advantage (and cinematic carnage!) Collect, upgrade and build thousands of items with Fallout 4's crafting system. Weapons, armor, food and with the right materials, even entire settlements are possible. Welcome home.

ESRB
M FOR MATURE: BLOOD AND GORE, INTENSE VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, USE OF DRUGS
Developer(s)
Bethesda
Publisher(s)
Bethesda
Engine
Creation
Franchise
Fallout
Genre(s)
RPG, Action