Fallout 5: everything we could see in the next Bethesda RPG review

Although its release is still far away, this is what we can expect from the long-awaited Fallout 5.

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Despite not having a trailer or an official release date, Fallout 5 is a reality. Todd Howard, creative director of Bethesda Game Studios, has reiterated on several occasions that the game is in their future plans, although there is still a long way to go. The studio’s priority is to finish The Elder Scrolls VI, which is currently in the early production phase, leading us to think that the development of Fallout 5 will not really start until several years have passed.

The renewed interest in the saga, driven by the success of the Fallout series on Prime Video and the continuous improvements in Fallout 76, has raised expectations. The question is not if it will arrive, but how this new chapter will be in one of the most iconic franchises in the western role-playing game genre.

Bethesda wants Fallout 5 to live up to its legacy

If something has characterized Fallout since its reinvention in 3D with Fallout 3, it’s its ability to mix black humor, post-apocalyptic atmosphere, and moral decisions with a deeply interactive open world. In Fallout 5, it’s likely that Bethesda wants to surpass the technical and narrative limits that marked its previous games.

Everything points to the use of the same graphics engine as Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI, the Creation Engine 2, although with improvements specifically designed to represent a world devastated by nuclear war. This will allow for the representation of ruined cities, radioactive storms, mutated fauna, and collapsed structures with a level of detail never seen in the series.

Additionally, one of the aspects that players most desire is a deeper and more branched dialogue system, with choices that have long-term consequences and multiple ways to complete missions, recovering part of the spirit of Fallout: New Vegas.

Theories about its location and setting

One of the great unknowns is where Fallout 5 will be set. So far, we have visited Washington, Las Vegas, Boston, and areas of western Virginia. The most persistent rumors point to cities like New Orleans or Chicago, although there are also speculations about a possible jump to an international region, such as Canada, Mexico, or even Europe, which would offer a different vision of the Fallout universe.

Another possibility is that Bethesda wants to explore a story set in the first decades after the bombs, which would give a more crude and desperate focus to the world, very different from the retro-futuristic style we are used to. This would allow for the depiction of the first attempts at reconstruction, the emergence of new factions, and a society in absolute chaos.

Gameplay: more depth, more options, more freedom

If we take as a reference what we learned in Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Starfield, we can foresee several gameplay improvements:

• More advanced settlement construction, with improved tools and almost total freedom to design structures and communities.

• A more flexible skill system, without rigid level limitations, with specializations that evolve based on the player’s style.

• A more living and reactive world, with dynamic event cycles, random contracts, and consequences for our actions.

• More sophisticated AI for allies and enemies, capable of coordinating in combat, flanking, retreating, or seeking cover in a more realistic way.

It’s also expected that there will be native mod integration, both on console and PC, following the path initiated by Bethesda in previous titles, but with more official support from day one.

Connections between the Amazon Prime series and Fallout 5: are they leaving us clues?

Since its premiere, the Fallout series on Amazon Prime Video has been praised by both fans and critics, not only for its fidelity to the universe but also for expanding it in ways never seen in the games. This expansion has generated a constant stream of theories about possible connections with Fallout 5, and even about whether Bethesda has coordinated some important elements with the series team.

One of the clearest clues is the shared chronology. The series is set in the year 2296, several years after the events of Fallout 4 (2287) and much further beyond Fallout: New Vegas (2281). This places the show at a point in the canon that could serve as a basis for the new game, leaving behind the limitations of previous installments and opening the door to a world that is even more changing.

• They have also introduced new factions like the Enclave Remnants, and have shown details of the Vault-Tec system, the elites who survived the war, and the role of other regions outside the traditional focus. If Fallout 5 is set after the series, it’s very likely that these elements will be integrated into the game’s story, giving continuity to what was seen on screen.
• Another interesting detail is the use of unexplored cities so far, such as Los Angeles (where the Refuge 33 is located). If Bethesda has collaborated with the writers, it’s feasible that some locations and characters introduced in the series will be reused or reimagined in the game, either as mentions, side quests, or even main narrative arcs.

It has even been speculated that Norm, Lucy, or even Cooper Howard (the Ghoul) could appear in Fallout 5 as secondary characters, if the game’s timeline remains close to that of the series. And although this is not yet confirmed, it’s clear that the collaboration between Amazon and Bethesda seems more than symbolic: it could be a direct bridge between both universes.

What if Fallout 5 has multiplayer?

Although Fallout 76 was an online experiment with irregular results at launch, today it has a solid and stable player base. This has led some to theorize that Fallout 5 could include cooperative or optional multiplayer components, such as shared bases, duo missions, or dynamic events with other players in specific areas of the map. It wouldn’t be an MMO, but a game with more integrated social options than in previous titles.

The future of the saga and what has not been told

Bethesda has been very cautious with what it reveals about Fallout 5, probably because it’s still in the early planning stages. However, fans hope that this installment will mark the definitive point of maturity for the franchise: a deep story, total freedom to explore and decide, and a world that reacts naturally to the player’s decisions.

It’s also not ruled out that the game will include procedural missions, an approach that Bethesda has already explored in Starfield and that could be applied to give more longevity to the Fallout open world without sacrificing manually designed content. Fallout 5 not only has the difficult task of living up to its name, but also of demonstrating that Bethesda can continue to lead the western role-playing game genre in the new generation. It will be a long journey until we see it in action, but the future is already being written in some corner of the Wasteland.