Fallout's Recent Projects Show One Group is the Favorite…

Throughout the Fallout franchise’s universe, there’s no shortage of characters, factions, cryptids, and mutants that players can encounter. Some of these groups of characters have stolen the spotlight for particular entries throughout the franchise, generally by being one of the most commonly encountered characters in the respective game. In the most recent Fallout projects, one underrepresented group of mutants is finally getting their long-overdue turn in the spotlight.

Between the Fallout show’s first season and Fallout 76’s upcoming Ghoul Within update, Ghouls have stolen the spotlight among the most recent Fallout projects. With this particular group of characters seemingly being the franchise’s new favorite child, this might be a sign of what fans can expect from the future of the Fallout franchise, leading up to Fallout 5, and beyond.

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By LB Beistad

Fallout 76 and the Fallout Show Finally Put the Spotlight on Ghouls

The Fallout Show Sheds Light on New Ghoul Lore

While Super Mutants, Deathclaws, and Synths have been the character groups who received the spotlight in Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Fallout 4, respectively, these iconic character groups having little to no explicit appearances in the Fallout show so far have been quite a surprise. However, the absence of these iconic mutants and character groups has arguably been for the best, as it has allowed Ghouls to finally get their turn in the spotlight, revealing new lore for these underrepresented mutants in the process.

With the various Ghoul characters who appear throughout the first season of the Fallout show, longtime Fallout fans are getting to see plenty of new lore behind the Fallout franchise’s Ghouls. More specifically, the show finally sheds light on how Ghouls can prevent becoming feral, and that there are other ways for humans to become a Ghoul besides natural exposure to radiation. Considering that these are things that the games haven’t clearly defined by now, these revelations were long overdue.

Fallout 76 is Introducing the Franchise’s First-Ever Playable Ghoul Character

Fallout 76 is also putting the spotlight on Ghouls with the new Ghoul Within and Season 20 update, which will introduce the first-ever playable Ghoul character to the franchise, further exploring parts of Ghoul lore that were previously unknown. Players who transform their character into a Ghoul in Fallout 76 will have access to various new features when the update arrives, including:

New Ghoul-exclusive buildcrafting tools
Feral and Glow mechanics
Unique world and quest interactions

Fallout 76’s Ghoul Within update arrives on March 18 and is available free for all players who own the game.

Given how many different kinds of mutants there are in the Fallout franchise, it’s admittedly surprising that the first-ever playable mutant will be a Ghoul, especially considering how Super Mutants have been a central part of the franchise that arguably could have made for a good candidate for a new playable character all the same. Ultimately, Fallout 76’s playable Ghoul character and all the major lore drops happening in the Fallout show effectively prove that Ghouls are the current favorite child within the franchise.

What the Fallout Show and Fallout 76’s Ghoul Representation Could Mean for Future Fallout Games

While details of the next Fallout game are currently sparse, considering that Fallout 5’s distant release is still years away and there’s currently no news of a spin-off coming anytime soon, regardless, Ghouls could potentially remain in the spotlight for the foreseeable future. Given the franchise’s recent favoritism of Ghouls, Fallout 5 will have plenty of new Ghoul lore and a wider variety of playable characters to consider adopting. Otherwise, if Fallout 5 puts the spotlight on a different character group, fans can at least expect Ghouls to remain the franchise’s favorite child in future updates for Fallout 76 and upcoming seasons of the Fallout show.