"Ah, good, you're here. We've got a problem. A very big one."
- A recurring quote in the game's marketing, which is later said by multiple characters in the game itself
Fallout, also known as Fallout Retold and Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Remake, is a post-apocalyptic action role-playing game concept by Red-Verse-Writer, a remake of the 1997 role-playing game Fallout and a reboot of the franchise. The game is set within a post-apocalyptic, open world environment that encompasses a scaled region consisting of the ruins of Southern California and much of the countryside to the north and east of it, and is set in the year 2162, around 85 years after the Great War that destroyed all human civilisation. Players take control of an inhabitant of Vault 13, one of several massive underground cities created before the Great War to protect a few thousand humans each from the nuclear fallout. When the water-providing system of Vault 13 fails, the player, given the nickname "The Vault Dweller", is assigned to save their home by finding a new source of water, forcing them to venture out into the wasteland to find it. The gameplay of the game hybridises the role-playing, tactical gameplay of the original game and its sequel with the more action-oriented real-time strategy gameplay of the later instalments of the franchise to create a flexible and intense survival experience.
Gameplay[]
The gameplay of Fallout Retold is a hybridisation of the turn-based strategy and RPG gameplay of the original Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics, and the action-oriented real-time strategy gameplay of Fallout 3, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76, similar to a more refined, complex and in-depth form of Fallout New Vegas's gameplay. The player takes on the role of the Vault Dweller, a inhabitant of Vault 13 who is sent out to find a new source of water for the vault when their Water Chip fails. Returning features include a camera that can switch between a first-person and third-person perspective, fast-travelling between locations, a layered armour system, base-building, the V.A.T.S targeting system, travelling companions, and a crafting system which implements nearly every lootable object in the game.
Character creation and stats[]
Main article: Fallout (Remake)/Statistics
The protagonist of the game is governed by the Fallout franchise's staple S.P.E.C.I.A.L (an acronym for "Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck") system. The player begins Fallout at the birth of their playable character, customizing their appearance, gender, race, and name, before skipping to the age of four to choose their S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats and Traits and then to the age of twelve to decide their skills. Like in the original game, character development is divided into four categories: attributes, skills, traits, and perks. The S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats of Strength, Perception, Endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility and luck are the seven basic attributes of every character in the game. continually add bonuses to skills. This is done automatically, i.e. if the S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats change, the bonuses are instantly adjusted. Many coded events within the game require that the player has a certain level of a particular S.P.E.C.I.A.L stat before accessing it. Unlike in other games in the franchise, S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats are capped at 25 rather than 10. There are 20 different Skills in the game, ranging in value from 0 to 100%. The starting values for Level 1 skills are determined by the player's seven basic attributes, and most initially fall within the range of 0 to 50%. Every time the player gains a level, skill points are awarded, which can be used to improve the character's skills. The player is also required to "tag" three skills upon character creation, which will improve at twice the normal rate and receive a bonus at the start. Skills are divided into three categories: combat, active and passive. Books and comic books, although scarce in the early game, can be found throughout the game world and permanently improve a specific skill when read. Skills can also be improved by undergoing specific training programs under the tutelage of certain NPCs, finding collectibles such as toys and video games, or by finding and watching in-game films.
Traits are special character qualities that can have significant effects on gameplay. At character creation, the player will be required to choose up to three traits. Traits carry benefits coupled with detrimental effects - for example, the trait "Small Frame" improves Agility, but negatively affects maximum carrying capacity. Once a trait is chosen, it is impossible to change, requiring players to observe the effects Traits have and pick the ones that best suit their playstyle. When the player earns enough experience points to gain a new level, they can gain or upgrade a Perk. Similar to in Fallout 4 and 76, Perks are tied to S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats, and the higher a S.P.E.C.I.A.L stat is, the more abilities can be unlocked. Unlike in those games, however, gaining or upgrading Perks is also affected by the character's Skills. Perks grant special effects, most of which are not obtainable through normal means, such as increasing the amount the player heals when using medicine or the amount of damage they can survive. Unlike traits, perks are purely beneficial. Every five levels (or seven if the player has the "Gifted" trait or is playing on the harder difficulties), the player also gains a "Shock to the System", which allows them to permanently increase a single S.P.E.C.I.A.L trait by one point. S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats can also be permanently improved this way by collecting rare and hard-to-find bobbleheads scattered around the game world.
The game also tracks the moral quality of the player character's actions using the returning Karma statistic, as well as a series of reputations. Karma points are awarded for doing good deeds and are subtracted for doing evil deeds. The player character will also receive one of a number of Reputations in each of the different settlements across the wasteland, which act similar to Traits - a player's standing with a faction or settlement can change depending on how they interact with them and what decisions they make. Actions vary in the level of karma change they cause - for example, theft of minor items, such as a bottle, produces less negative karma than murder. Karma can have tangible effects to the player, beyond acting as flavour for the game's events, in that it can affect the ending the player gets, alter quests and dialogue with NPCs, or give off unique reactions from other characters. However, the player's relationships with the game's factions are distinct, so any two groups or settlements may view the player in contrasting ways, depending on the player's conduct. Reputation also affects how a faction will react to the player - a good reputation will make completing some quests easier, provide discounts with the faction or settlement's vendors, and cause faction members to offer gifts, while a bad reputation may lead to the faction refusing to help the player, attacking them on sight, and even sending assassins to gun them down.
Items[]
Main article: Fallout (Remake)/Weapons and Ammo
Main article: Fallout (Remake)/Food, Drink and Ingredients
Main article: Fallout (Remake)/Medicine and Drugs
Main article: Fallout (Remake)/Clothing and Armour
Main article: Fallout (Remake)/Tools and Upgrades
Main article: Fallout (Remake)/Key and Miscellaneous Items
Storyline[]
Main article: Fallout (Remake)/Storyline
Main article: Fallout (Remake)/Characters
Voice Cast[]
| Voice Actor | Character(s) Voiced by Actor |
|---|---|
| Anairis Quinones | Vault Dweller (22-29, female, voice option #1) |
| Ashley Johnson | Vault Dweller (16-21, female, voice option #1) |
| Benjamin Diskin | Vault Dweller (22-29, male, voice option #1), Tycho |
| Brad Garret | Harry |
| Britt Baron | Vault Dweller (16-21, female, voice option #2) |
| Bryce Papenbrook | Vault Dweller (16-21, male, voice option #1) |
| Clancy Brown | Vault Dweller (30-35, male, voice option #1), Ian, Garl Death-Hand, Rhombus |
| Claudia Black | Vault Dweller (22-29, female, voice option #2) |
| Cree Summer | Vault Dweller (16-21, female, voice option #3), Tandi |
| Jeremy Shada | Vault Dweller (16-21, male, voice option #4) |
| Jim Cummings | Vault Dweller (30-35, male, voice option #2), Gizmo, Set, Richard Grey, Brotherhood of Steel member (Make, voice option #4) |
| Laura Bailey | Vault Dweller (22-29, female, voice option #2), Gwen |
| Kyle Herbert | Vault Dweller (22-29, male, voice option 3) |
| Mark Hamill | The Lieutenant (New voice clips), Vault Dweller (30-35, male, voice option #3), Brotherhood of Steel member (Male, voice option #5) |
| Sonny Strait | Vault Dweller (22-29, male, voice option #5) |
| Stephanie Ann Nadolny | Vault Dweller (16-21, female, voice option #5) |
| Tabitha St. Germain | Vault Dweller (30-35, female, voice option #6), Agatha |
| Tony Jay (RIP) | The Lieutenant (Recycled voice clips) |
| Xander Mobus | Vault Dweller (16-21, male, voice option #5) |
| Yuri Lowenthal | Vault Dweller (16-21, male, voice option #6 and 22-29, male, voice option #6) |
Mods[]
Main article: Fallout (Remake)/Doctor Who Mod
Trivia[]
- The game is notably the first game in the Fallout franchise to:
- Be set in an entirely new continuity
- Allow the player to use some psychic abilities
- Feature parkour and drivable vehicles
- Have all S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats capped at 25 rather than 10
- Feature in-game animated cartoons and live-action recordings
- Allow the player to actually read books
- Refer to addictive substances such as Buffout and Jet as "Drugs" rather than "Chems"