One Fallout 76 Creature Should Come Back in Fallout 5

Summary

Fallout 76's atmosphere thrives on the tension created by encountering monsters, and Fallout 5 should include some of the game's impressive selection of enemies.
The Yao Guai, a mutated bear enemy in Fallout 76, should make the jump to Fallout 5 due to its iconic status and the challenge it presents to players.
Fallout 76's effective use of the Yao Guai as a memorable and fearsome foe makes it a creature worth including in future Fallout games like Fallout 5.

Fallout 76 brought back a recurring monster from the Fallout series, and Fallout 5 should consider doing the same. Fallout 76 thrives on its atmosphere just like any other Fallout title, and a big part of that atmosphere is the tension created by the monsters. Even when the player isn't in any danger, encountering a monster for the first time ensures that they can be anywhere else in the wasteland. This is especially true for Fallout 76 due to its huge list of monsters, and among them are some monsters like the yao guai that simply cannot miss out on Fallout 5.

There wouldn't be much use for Fallout 76's event weapon rewards without enemies to fight, and the game provides those in abundance. In addition to a wide variety of animals, monsters, and human enemies, Fallout 76 goes the extra mile and creates several varieties of them as well. As a result, the game's wasteland is teeming with encounters just waiting to happen. From the weakest of basic bloatflies to the absolutely deadly deathclaws, the game has something to provide a fair challenge to players of any level. With Fallout 76 having such an impressive selection of enemies, Fallout 5 will have a high bar to clear, and it should borrow a classic creature to help itself get over it.

The Yao Guai Should Make the Jump Into Fallout 5

What Are Fallout's Yao Guai?

The yao guai is one of the scariest monsters in Fallout 76, and not for the same reason as many others. It's not a hulking monstrosity like a super mutant, nor the zombie-like nature of feral ghouls. Instead, what makes them scary is how well they incorporate a real-world threat. Yao guai are bears that became mutated due to intense radiation. Although their bodies have changed, they are still unmistakably bears, and carry the same level of danger. They're frighteningly powerful beasts, and many variants can deal more damage than Fallout's infamous deathclaws. Underleveled players should avoid yao guai at all costs.

The yao guai have several strong arguments for being included in Fallout 5's new setting, the first of which being tradition. Even since yao guai were introduced in Fallout 3, they have appeared in some for in every main series title since. If anything, its return in Fallout 76 was less surprising than it being absent from Fallout: New Vegas until the Honest Hearts expansion was released. They may not be as famous as super mutants or deathclaws, but they are still a rather iconic high-level monster in the series. Fallout 5 may not feel complete without the familiar sight of yao guai roaming the wasteland.

Fallout 76's Good Use of Yao Guai is Worth Copying

Fallout 76 also provided another argument for the yao guai beyond them being a staple of the Fallout franchise. As mentioned previously, Fallout 76 has a lot of enemy variety, with many enemies either being high-level threats themselves, or having variants that are. However, even among this large field, the yao guai is still one of the most frightening foes that one can face. It's just a bear that swipes at the player with its claws, but its sheer presence makes it memorable despite its simplicity. To put it bluntly, the yao guai is a cool, scary creature to encounter, and a challenging test for Fallout players.

Fallout 76 should be far from the last time that players see a yao guai. Whatever path Fallout 5's story takes, its wasteland is going to need to be populated with threats for the player to overcome. While new creations are always welcome, such as Fallout 76's own fog crawlers, it's good to have a few series standbys at the ready as well. The yao guai is simply too good of a creature to leave behind after Fallout 76, so hopefully players will be able to find yao guai once more in Fallout 5.