Fallout 76's upcoming expansion has a chance to reintroduce one of the details that made Fallout: New Vegas so great. The series has seen players through various parts of the post-apocalyptic wasteland since the beginning, and Fallout 76's upcoming update will be filling out yet another part of the world's map. At the same time, there are a couple of touches that have been missing from several games in the series that New Vegas managed to capture. With Fallout 76's Atlantic City giving off a similar vibe to New Vegas, there's a chance that it could bring back that approach.
Although many fans remember Fallout 76's buggy launch and the controversies surrounding it, the game has managed to survive for several years, and still maintains updates. An online spinoff of the Fallout series, Fallout 76 allows players to team up with a group of friends as they travel through the ruins of what was once West Virginia. In th wasteland, players can encounter new characters and questlines, as well as some familiar factions such as the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave. It still retains the feel of the Fallout series, but is unmistakably its own unique game.
Fallout: New Vegas' Design Choices Could Influence Fallout 76
One of the more notable aspects of the expansion-turned-installment Fallout: New Vegas is the way that its world was designed. Just like the rest of the series, the Mojave Wasteland in New Vegas is an irradiated, ruined world crafted from what was left of the aftermath of a nuclear war. As usual, communities were created by various wastelanders joining and cobbling together what shelters they could out of the scrap that they had on hand. New Vegas took its own approach to this tradition, though. In a lot of cases, the buildings of New Vegas seemed to be rather well taken care of.
One thing that sets New Vegas apart from most of Fallout's desolate, unforgiving wasteland is the look of many of its buildings. A lot of areas in the Fallout universe are old buildings that have been repurposed, with Fallout 4's Nuka-World being a prime example. However, many parts of New Vegas really sell how effectively these areas have been converted. For example, the houses in Goodsprings are kept in very good shape, and feel like they're actually lived in rather than abandoned since the bombs fell. Likewise, the casinos are practically pristine compared to the state of the wasteland outside, living up to the game's Vegas theme.
Since Fallout 76's Atlantic City is likely to draw on several traits from the still replayable Fallout: New Vegas due to the similarities between their cities of inspiration, the level of care given to the buildings could also follow suit. The trailer made it likely that the player will see some casinos in Atlantic City, bringing a likely revival to the gambling mechanic. Since New Vegas' casinos looked so impressive, it would be a bit disappointing if Atlantic City's weren't as well. If Atlantic City is a similar sort of destination, this could be a chance for Fallout 76 to repeat its aesthetic.
Fallout 76's Atlantic City expansion sounds exciting, particularly since it may be the closest thing to the still unconfirmed Fallout: New Vegas sequel fans could find. With Atlantic City, bringing a polished-looking area to the game would be fairly fitting if it intends to replicate the same sort of glitzy appeal seen in The Tops Casino and the Ultra-Luxe. While it makes sense for a lot of the wasteland to be ruined due to the nature of the series, an old building could be revitalized by the arrival of an old community. Fallout 76 could take some design ideas from that aspect of Fallout: New Vegas.
Fallout 76 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
