Highlights
- Fallout 4 fan questions the scientific accuracy of the game's introduction, pointing out that the Venturi effect would have prevented the characters from descending the elevator during the nuclear explosion.
- Bethesda may have taken liberties with the scientific accuracy in order to make the introduction more cinematic and dramatic.
- Other fans have also highlighted unrealistic aspects of Fallout 4, such as aid items, pre-war technology, and mutated creatures, but the game's science fiction nature allows for some suspension of scientific realities.
A Fallout 4 fan has pointed out that the explosion featured in the introduction would have killed the incoming Vault inhabitants. Like previous Fallout titles, Fallout 4 takes place in a nuclear apocalypse, and some details surrounding that theme may be less accurate than others.
The Fallout series has long focused on different locations of a nuclear landscape. The first two Fallout titles take place in California, while Fallout 3 is located in Washington D.C., and Fallout: New Vegas is in the Nevada Desert. With Fallout 4 highlighting the post-apocalyptic Boston, there are real-world locations like the Boston Public Library, Old North Church, and the Institute of Technology. With so many realistic aspects of the game, one Fallout 4 fan is questioning a strange detail in the RPG's intro.
Reddit user Johnny_Lang_1962 recently pointed out that the Venturi effect should have made an aspect of Fallout 4's introduction impossible. When the nuclear bombs start to drop, the protagonist and his family head to the nearby Vault 111. As a gear-shaped platform starts to lower the Sanctuary Hills residents into Vault 111, a nuclear bomb can be seen impacting the nearby Massachusetts landscape. Despite the Fallout 4 Vaults' proximity to the explosion, the characters are unscathed as a blast wave approaches. According to Johnny_Lang_1962, this would have caused the Venturi effect, resulting in the Fallout 4 Vault 111 dwellers getting pulled off the elevator and into harm's way.
The Venturi effect is related to fluid dynamics and pressure, specifically in pipes. Because the elevator shaft would act like a pipe in this nuclear bomb scenario, Johnny_Lang_1962 suggests that the overwhelming pressure would prevent the characters from descending the elevator. While the Venturi effect may have pulled all the characters into the shockwave, it likely would've resulted in their death, including Fallout 4's Sole Survivor. Given that the scene was part of the game's introduction, Bethesda may have taken liberties with the scientific accuracy to make it more cinematic. Other unrealistic aspects of Fallout 4 that fans have highlighted are aid items, pre-war technology, and various mutated creatures.
Though some Fallout 4 fans may see the intro as unrealistic, Fallout 3's Vault 101 may seem more scientifically plausible to them. Because Fallout 4 is science fiction, not every aspect of the game is tied to scientific realities. The Fallout 4 protagonist can notably be turned into an unrealistic human capable of insane feats of strength and brainwashing.
Fallout 4 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
