Summary
Fallout 5can be the most immersive game in the series to date, but it will need one mechanic that didn’t make the cut forFallout 4. WhileFallout 4did have some good ideas, such as removing weapon durability and adding the settlement feature, the game wasn’t perfect. The nextFalloutgame can take elements from all across the series to form the best version of the post-apocalyptic RPG. Just because a mechanic was dropped at one point, that’s no reason not to bring it back later, and that’s particularly true for one roleplay-heavy feature.
One could considerFallout 4the series' black sheepdue to a few key differences in the game. Most controversially, it was the first game to feature a protagonist with a defined voice and backstory. This wasn’t a change that could be easily ignored either, since the search for the protagonist’s son is their main goal throughout most of the game, and is cited in many pieces of spoken dialogue. Several other features were changed too, such as the aforementioned removal of weapon durability, makingFallout 4distinctly different from past titles. However, in some cases, these changes weren’t about new features, but rather mechanics left out of the game.
Reputations in Fallout 5 Could Have a Rippling Effect Across the Game
Reputation appears in severalgames in theFalloutseries, but its implementation inFallout: New Vegasis likely the most notable. Reputation is a mechanic that tracks the negative and positive things that a player does to a specific faction or settlement and uses that to gauge their opinion of them. There were even mixed reputations, for when characters mixed good deeds with crimes. Some features of this system include:
The reputation mechanic ended up being one of thefeatures missing fromFallout 4. That seems like a particularly odd decision, considering the number of active factions in the game, as well as how many faction-based endings it has. Over the course of the game, the player will make enemies out of some factions while befriending others, but the game doesn’t take advantage of the possibilities that come with it. It’s surprising, sinceNew Vegashad a solid reputation system, andFallout 76brought reputations back in its Wastelanders update. Ironically,Fallout 4could have found more use for that mechanic than either of those games.
The reputation mechanic was also missing fromFallout 3, but with factions having less of a central role in that game, the impact wasn’t as noticeable.
There could potentially be a major upside toFallout 5continuing the traditionof the reputation system afterFallout 4dropped it. In addition to unlocking companions and discounts through reputation, other features could become available as well. For example, players could get free residences in towns with high enough reputations, or unique weapons or armor sets as gifts, incentivizing players to do more quests. The game could even have alternate ending plans depending on which factions the player has good reputations with outside their chosen faction. The reputation system could be put to good use if it gets resurrected inFallout 5.
Fallout 4may have cast the reputation mechanic by the wayside, but it’s onescrapped feature thatFallout 5should bring back. In addition to being useful for roleplaying, letting players forge rivalries and friendships with different factions, it helped the game world feel more interesting and alive. Players' actions had consequences in most cases, rather than more or less happening in a vacuum. The reputation system is a feature with a lot of potential, andFallout 5would have plenty to gain by adding it back to the series.
