When I restarted Fallout 4 after its “next-gen” update in late April, I didn’t have much of an agenda. Maybe I’d save the Commonwealth, maybe not. Mainly, I wanted to see what, if anything, had changed thanks to the update. Comparing screenshots, I guess the game looks better? The environments are a bit more vibrant, and the game’s lighting is much improved, but Fallout 4 still the same game we all (some begrudgingly) know and love. You’ve got your map filled with mostly interesting locales just waiting to be found, a decent cast of characters who range from entertaining to annoying, and a main quest that pales in comparison to most of the game’s side quests…settlements aside, depending on your preference for building and maintaining. And, there are still glitches. Many, many glitches.

So, since that’s all old news, why in the world am I still playing? Why am I sticking with level 20 superhero Stuart who’s determined to help every last soul in the Commonwealth, and locate his missing son, besides?! It’s not because of the new content, that much I know, because I haven’t even started in on it. (Though I did recently survive my first Enclave ambush and received a note I need to read; things might open up from here.) It’s not because of the DLC, which I only played through for the first time a couple years ago and absolutely adored. And it’s not because I have a burning desire to see a bizarre megalomaniacal “utopia” become a hole in the ground. I think…I think it’s because of the Commonwealth itself.

Of the mainline Fallout games I’ve played, the only one in which I’ve found every location through exploration is Fallout 76. The closest (and it’s really not that close) I’ve come to in other games is through Fallout: New Vegas’s Explorer perk, which shows all map locations, though they still have to visited to be used for fast travel. Lots of Fallout 3’s world remains a mystery to me, too, but, it’s the greater metropolitan Boston area that’s captured my attention at the moment. Coming back to Fallout 4 now has made me realize just how little I know of map itself. Enter into the chat a “new” way to play an old game like this by not using fast travel.

I am, unabashedly, a huge proponent of fast travel. I understand that immersion in games comes from, y’know, actually being immersed in an environment, which fast travel denies. However, when one is pressed for time, fast travel can readily assist in making a gaming session productive and efficient. (Two words that surely everyone applies to this wonderful hobby we call gaming, no?) I use and abuse fast travel all the time, and based on the number of new (to me) spots I’m finding now in Fallout 4, particularly in the area of downtown Boston, I’ve realized that I was especially reliant on it in the game in the past. Well, forget my settlements and my son…I’ve got a world to explore!

And clear.

*chuckle*

In Fallout 4 (and maybe 3? Not sure about New Vegas, either.), eliminating all the enemies in location will often mark it as [CLEARED] on your map. I’m not much of a completionist, but seeing these “checks” on my map does add to a sense of accomplishment. Now, I chuckle because the mechanic doesn’t work as one might think.  A cleared spot may repopulate at some point, though it will remain [CLEARED] on your map. In a way, this sort of thing makes sense as far as the game’s inhabitants work – why wouldn’t a new group of raiders settle into a spot from which you’ve removed an old group of raiders, for example? – but it does take away a little from the satisfaction of tidying up an area, so to speak. Still, it provides something of a minor goal, and clearing out spots often results in finding some great stashes. This part of the game is all about what could be; the joy of discovery. This alone will likely keep me invested Fallout 4 for a while longer. For the moment, anyway, there just seems to be something new around every apocalyptic corner.  

Lede image and video were captured by author during PS5 gameplay of Fallout 4 (© Bethesda Game Studios).