Despite a much-maligned launch, the West Virginia hills of Fallout 76 have rebounded to reach new heights since then, with content in recent years being well-received by the community. Fallout 76 season 13 and the Once in a Blue Moon Update seem to be just as well-received as past content too, with many fans excited about the addition of new Cryptids.
Notably, Fallout 76 leans more heavily on the franchise’s love of strange creatures and Lovecraftian influence than the single-player entries, giving players glimpses of Appalachia’s monsters like the Mothman, the Flatwoods Monster, and the Snallygaster. These cryptids connect with the more mystical elements of the franchise like Fallout 3’s Point Lookout DLC or Fallout 4’s Dunwich Borers.Fallout 76’s art director Jon Rush spoke to Game ZXC about the central role cryptids play in the game and the process of designing one
The new update, Once in a Blue Moon, adds two more cryptids to the mix: the giant turtle known as the Ouga and the werewolf-like Blue Devil. The "real" world story says that Ouga was a 20-foot long, 500-pound, two-headed alligator/snapping turtle hybrid, first "spotted" in 1745. Meanwhile, the Blue Devil is said to have killed tons of West Virginian livestock between 1939 and 1940, with it described as a blueish, doglike creature bigger than a pony. Obviously, Fallout 76 takes some creative liberties with these interpretations, making them a lot of fun to design, according to Rush.
“‘Cryptids’ is a concept I hadn’t fully been aware of until we had started working on Fallout 76 . I knew of the Mothman, Sheepsquatch, etc… but what I didn’t realize was how many more there were out there, even in the West Virginia area alone. It almost goes without saying that researching the variety of local cryptids was a lot of fun and presented many viable options. We wanted to zero in on the cryptid additions that would offer a distinct experience from our current cast.”
Mechanically, the Blue Devil and the Ouga borrow from two of the game’s larger-scale world bosses unlocked by nuclear blasts in specific areas–Erle Williams and the Ultracite Titan, respectively. The Blue Devil, encountered at the Blue Ridge Caravan’s pit stop in the mountains of the Savage Divide region, has Erle’s ability to terrify players, forcing them to run away from it. The Ouga, fought at a cultist camp in the Cranberry Bog, can make itself immune to damage for a short time as Fallout 76's Ultracite Titan does.
That isn’t to say these encounters are recreations of their predecessors. Both come at the end of a protracted event taken at the behest of the Blue Ridge Caravan Company, and both are less imposing and more mobile enemies than their nuclear counterparts.
The Ogua had been on our Design teams’ radar for a while, so it was only a matter of time before it crawled out of its shell.
The Ouga and Blue Devil join other cryptids like the Megasloth, the Sheepsquatch, and the Beast of Beckley in Fallout 76, which has massively expanded the franchise’s lore on these creatures. Whether they be a case of irradiated life imitating legend like the Wendigo or something more otherworldly is open somewhat to player interpretation, but Fallout 76 connects the Mothman in particular to its ongoing Lovecraftian mysticism through a series of cryptic clues about a mysterious being called “the Interloper.”
On a conceptual level, the Blue Devil felt in line with the type of mythical creature that would terrorize our unsuspecting Blue Ridge Caravan, eliciting a similar sense of dread as a werewolf.
As Bethesda leans more heavily on the more otherworldly elements of Fallout, players might get to know more about the mysterious Interloper and the broader supernatural themes of the games, but even if they don’t, it’s a safe bet that more cryptids will be coming over the years to tease, taunt, and terrify players more.
Fallout 76 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
