I Have the Perfect Fallout Idea

I am a huge fan of the Fallout video game series, and have been for quite some time. My earliest and probably fondest memories of playing it were as a child, desperately attempting to kickstart a YouTube channel by filming myself playing New Vegas on my digital camera. I have a lot of cherished memories exploring New Vegas, DC, and even Boston, which is why it pains me that we’re still so far from getting a new entry into this iconic and often messy series.

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The next Fallout game is a long way away, and I’ve somewhat made peace with that. There is the impressive Fallout: London to keep me busy and offer me a whole new experience within this wonderfully weird universe, and the Fallout TV series is a lot of fun, even on a rewatch. However, even with these sustaining me during my free time, in literally any other moment, I find myself thinking about potential avenues for future Fallout games to take. Now, after spending a considerable amount of time thinking about it, I think I’ve come up with the perfect Fallout spin-off game idea.

Fallout Needs To Focus On The Vaults

I personally believe that the greatest aspect of Fallout is the vaults. It is why, in the Bethesda releases, you always start in one (aside from New Vegas), why they’re a central theme in the Fallout TV series, and why the best side quests feature them heavily in some way. Exploring each vault, uncovering its twisted and dark backstory, or indeed fascinatingly fun quirks, is always the highlight of the Fallout experience. I frequently find myself wondering what vaults the next Fallout game will include, and what bizarre and inhumane experiments will have been conducted there.

Which is why I strongly believe Bethesda needs to make a spin-off game centred entirely around them. Enter Fallout: Vault Hunters (working title), a game that sees either a solo player or up to four players delve deep into mysterious vaults in search of loot and resources, only to come face to face with their dark secrets. You’ll have to scavenge for weapons, ammo, and potential loot, all while attempting to figure out a way out, a way to survive, and perhaps even uncover the mystery at the heart of each vault. It’s a horror, co-op survival game with a central mystery tying all of the vaults together. Or, at least, something along those lines.

I am not, of course, implying that this would be the best Bethesda video game or even a phenomenal Fallout spin-off game, but it would certainly allow Bethesda to flex its storytelling muscles and deliver some truly haunting insights into new vaults we’re yet to discover. I also love the idea of a co-operative Fallout adventure, something somewhat explored in 76, but frankly poorly implemented. It would also allow Bethesda Game Studios to explore the more horrific side of the Fallout series, something that is criminally underutilized despite the potential for it around every corner of this terrifying post-apocalyptic nightmare.

Most importantly, something akin to this would be perfect in our current industry, which is quickly becoming dominated by what many affectionately name friend slop. It would join the ranks of Content Warning, Lethal Company, and Phasmophobia, games with absorbing atmospheres, great co-op gameplay loops, and the perfect amount of horror. Considering the currently unknowable state of modern Fallout games, a spin-off like this would deliver an engrossing experience to tide over fans as we await the seemingly enormous Fallout 5. While perhaps not a perfect example, it could follow in the footsteps of FBC: Firebreak, a game that helps bridge the gap between Control and Control: Resonant while further fleshing out the lore of the former game’s interesting location.

Fallout Needs More Spin-Off Games

Frankly, I believe the most crucial lesson to take from this is that Fallout needs more spin-off titles. Whether it is my idea, a turn-based strategy game (does anyone remember Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel), or something entirely different, spin-off media within this universe feels sorely needed right now. The Fallout TV series has proven there is a hunger and desire for more stories to be told within its captivating post-apocalyptic world, and the likes of Fallout Shelter aren’t going to cut it, even if they do, indeed, fall under the purview of spin-off media.

It isn’t as if this series is a stranger to spin-off games, nor is it uncommon for Bethesda to offer differing experiences within a series. While I appreciate that ballooning budgets have facilitated a reduction in projects, smaller, lower-budget games that utilize even a sliver of an IP can still work. Something that hyper-fixates on an aspect of Fallout’s world, an idea that doesn’t need to expand into being open-world, but rather can be linear and focus on replayability rather than quest-heavy storytelling, would still deliver the atmosphere, gameplay, and world that players like without needing the same level of budget.