Summary
The extensive newFallout 4mod,Fallout: London, is an impressive achievement, but not every quest in it feels fully finished.One side quest in particular is so frustratingly simplisticthat it’s hard not to feel cheated by its outcome. That isn’t to say the mod isn’t worth playing. There was clearly a lot of love and effort put into it, especially regardingFallout: London’s adaptation of British culture, andit really is a major accomplishment for a fan-made project. Still, moments like this can’t help but remind players that they aren’t playing a full new game.
Part of what makes this quest so frustrating is that it makes the experience less immersive.Worldbuilding is one ofFallout: London’s main strengths, from its coolnew factions like the Vagabondsto its new races like the Thamesfolk. It’s unfortunate, then, thatcertain quests feel far too shallowfor the deeply constructed world of the game.
Can You Play Fallout: London Without Fallout 4?
Fallout: London is practically its own game with all the content that it includes, but it is still a conversion mod.
Fallout: London’s “No More Heroes” Doesn’t Offer The Player Any Meaningful Choices
Players Have No Option To Pick A Side In The Conflict
Pretty early on inFallout: London,players may stumble upon the Prilladog Food Factory. It’s hard to miss, as players will be drawn in by a conflict between mongrels and a recruitable bulldog named Churchill. This is a great bit of environmental design, as players will naturally want to protect Churchill, which will then lead to the Prilladog factory and a quest inside. Unfortunately, that quest,“No More Heroes,” is an incredibly linear side quest.
Inside the factory, players follow the sounds of shouting to where an NPC named Allen is leading an effort to unionize the factory’s workers while the factory’s owner, Harvin, watches from a balcony above. This would seem to set up a conflict with two clear sides for the player to take. However, as soon as Allen is done speaking, players are prompted to only speak to Harvin. Even if players track down Allen and attempt to talk with him, they aren’t able to have a conversation.
After only a brief discussion with Harvin, the owner will request that the player kill Allen. The player is left with two options: accept, or use one of three different skills to try and find an alternative solution. While it initially seems like the player has a lot of choices, they don’t.All three of the skill options lead to the same outcome, telling Harvin to give Allen a new and undesirable position.
Players have no option of siding with Allen, a character who is much more likable. It’s a quest that only has a bad or worse outcome, and doesn’t offer the player a chance to find a creative solution. This quest is not only frustratingly shallow, but it is also indicative of how many ofFallout: London’s interactions go.
Many Of Fallout: London’s Conversations Seem Too Linear
Having a quest like “No More Heroes” is annoying, but it could be forgiven if it was a one-time incident. Unfortunately,there are a lot of conversations inFallout: Londonthat feel far too on-railsfor an RPG. One good example is an early conversation with Vagabonds member Blind Nelson, which has several dialogue choices that lead to the same responses, and the same quest to fix his broken radio.
Now,expecting an unofficial release with many hours of gameplay to have fully voiced in-depth dialogue trees is probably unfair, and it’s also worth noting that not every conversation or quest is this linear. Still, there are quite a few instances where it feels like dialogue choices are just a formality to advance the plot, instead of a meaningful decision.
Fallout: London Lacks The Complexity That Defines The Best Fallout Games
Previous Fallout Titles Offered Players More Creative Ways To Solve Problems
At one point in time, theFalloutseries was defined by its complex choices. Looking back atFalloutandFallout 2’s in-depth roleplaying options makes a quest like “No More Heroes” feel antiquated in comparison, which is ironic given how much newer it is. That said,the blame can’t fully fall onFallout: London’s Team FOLONwhen discussingFallout’s decline in complexity.
Except forFallout: New Vegas,most modernFalloutgames have struggled to make player choices feel meaningful.Fallout 3is perhaps the worst example, as players are locked into one main narrative, and simply watch NPCs make most of the big, game-defining choices. Though “No More Heroes” may not live up to the standard of the earlier games, it honestly doesn’t feel too far off something Bethesda might put in one of its titles.
At the end of the day, Team FOLON’s work onFallout: Londonshould be commended. The game is incredible in many ways, especially thanks to its setting and new factions. Still, it does occasionally fall victim to some of the same flaws thatFallout 4and other recent games in the series have been criticized for.
Fallout 4
Bethesda’s action RPG Fallout 4 puts players into the vault suit of the Lone Survivor, a pre-war soldier from an alternate future cryogenically frozen inside Vault 111. After their infant son is kidnapped, they venture out into the irradiated wasteland of the Commonwealth to scour the ruins of Boston for any sign of him. In doing so, they encounter various factions and companions and use an array of skills and abilities to navigate the apocalyptic remnants of society.
