This should go down in history as one of gaming's greatest achievements and worst failures. 18 months to make a sprawling open-world RPG with branching paths, moral choices, secrets to find, enjoyable characters, and all contained in a world that feels lived-in and authentic? That's just unfair, and a complete failure on Bethesda's part. But then f*ck me if they didn't do exactly that. Obsidian has proven time and again they may be one of the best writers in gaming today. Not always the most thrilling/compelling when it comes to gameplay, but I'll be dead and dust before you convince me the simple wordplay of Big Empty (if you get the reference, you know what I mean) is 100x more clever/interesting than anything Bethesda wrote for Fallout 4. The amount of creativity contained in the "Old World Blues" DLC alone, should humble any writer on Fallout 4 and beyond. So combining this level of writing talent, with Fallout's drop-in-and-go open world style, is just the perfect blend of things that were just "meant to be."

In an era of looking back and remaking/remastering older games for modern standards, this will always be at the top of my list of hopes/wishes/dreams (I know about Fallout 4 New Vegas, that doesn't count.) But even if it probably wasn't a logistical nightmare, Bethesda has proven over the years just how much love they have for this franchise, and its not nearly as much as the fans'. I will be forever grateful for the modding community though, who keeps this game looking decent over a decade later, so I can replay it every couple years and re-immerse myself in the story of the courier and their journey through the Mojave.

Mojave, Mo-Problems.

This should go down in history as one of gaming's greatest achievements and worst failures. 18 months to make a sprawling open-world RPG with branching paths, moral choices, secrets to find, enjoyable characters, and all contained in a world that feels lived-in and authentic? That's just unfair, and a complete failure on Bethesda's part. But then f*ck me if they didn't do exactly that. Obsidian has proven time and again they may be one of the best writers in gaming today. Not always the most thrilling/compelling when it comes to gameplay, but I'll be dead and dust before you convince me the simple wordplay of Big Empty (if you get the reference, you know what I mean) is 100x more clever/interesting than anything Bethesda wrote for Fallout 4. The amount of creativity contained in the "Old World Blues" DLC alone, should humble any writer on Fallout 4 and beyond. So combining this level of writing talent, with Fallout's drop-in-and-go open world style, is just the perfect blend of things that were just "meant to be." In an era of looking back and remaking/remastering older games for modern standards, this will always be at the top of my list of hopes/wishes/dreams (I know about Fallout 4 New Vegas, that doesn't count.) But even if it probably wasn't a logistical nightmare, Bethesda has proven over the years just how much love they have for this franchise, and its not nearly as much as the fans'. I will be forever grateful for the modding community though, who keeps this game looking decent over a decade later, so I can replay it every couple years and re-immerse myself in the story of the courier and their journey through the Mojave. Mojave, Mo-Problems.