Though it would appear that Bethesda has all hands on deck forThe Elder Scrolls 6at the moment,Fallout 5is still front-of-mind for many gamers. Indeed, the post-apocalyptic nightmare world might actually be more culturally relevant right now, due in part to the success of theFalloutTV show and fanprojects likeFallout: London, and Bethesda’s developers are no doubt already thinking about what the next entry will look like.
Zooming out a bit,Fallout 5will be a potentially pivotal release for Bethesda, as the last chapter in the series,Fallout 76, is still rather contentious. Despite numerous improvements and meaningful content expansions, the live-service spin-off is simply not what a lot of players expect or want from the RPG franchise, which puts the onus onFallout 5to take the series back to its single-player roots. Moreover, the mixed reception toStarfieldmay highlight the need for Bethesda to innovate and experiment with its next sci-fi game, and a radical change of scenery, inspired by one major locale inFallout 76, could facilitate these aims.
Fallout 76’s The Mire Makes the Case for a Swamp-Based Game
The Mire Is One of Fallout 76’s Most Intriguing Areas
Humid, moist, and thick with hardy foliage,The Mire is an expanse of swamplandtransformed by a nuclear blast into something far more menacing and unsettling. It’s home to unique organisms like the Stranglers, quasi-sentient vines that rapidly overtake the landscape, their alien nature evoking feelings of unease.
The Mire was formed after Raiders shot a G.E.C.K., not knowing what it was, resulting in a transformative explosion.
Looking past The Mire’s lore-specific characteristics, its bog-like appearance and structure are intensely alluring and unsettling. Real-world swamps often fascinate visitors due to their untamed nature: difficult to settle, swamplands in states like Florida and Louisiana are almost entirely ruled by plant and animal life, making them one of only a few American regions that remain relatively unconquered. Add a heavy dose of radiation to the mix, and allow a few centuries for rapid, unconventional evolution, and a massive swamp inFalloutcould be quite disturbingand unique indeed.
The Possible Benefits of Fallout 5 Taking Place in a Swamp
The United States is home to some of the world’s most diverse and wide-spanning swamps, including:
One or multiple of these real-world locales could play host to a fascinating and unforgettablepost-apocalyptic setting inFallout 5. Inescapable irradiated waters and a lack of hospitable, dry land could uphold possible survival mechanics, and myriad intimidating reptile and avian lifeforms could inspire truly terrifying enemy designs. The density of these regions would be a nice backdrop for deep exploration, as players would be encouraged to move slowly through thickly layered environments.
More than anything, though, settingFallout 5in a swamp, marsh, or bog would be a breath of fresh air for the series.Fallout 3’s vision of Washington D.C. is nice, but sprawling and often nondescript, and the Mojave Desert ofNew Vegasis perhaps the most environmentally bland location of the series’ 3D entries.Fallout 4’s Commonwealth is diverse and visually interesting, but not as cohesive, andFallout 76’s version of Appalachia is stunning but hitched to the live-service spin-off formula. IfFallout 5is returning the series to form, as it were, taking inspiration from The Mire to provide a deeply unsettling swampland could be just the ticket for a unique single-player adventure.
Fallout 76
WHERE TO PLAY
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Skyrim and Fallout 4, welcome you to Fallout 76. Twenty-five years after the bombs fell, you and your fellow Vault Dwellers—chosen from the nation’s best and brightest – emerge into post-nuclear America on Reclamation Day, 2102. Play solo or join together as you explore, quest, build, and triumph against the wasteland’s greatest threats. Explore a vast wasteland, devastated by nuclear war, in this open-world multiplayer addition to the Fallout story. Experience the largest, most dynamic world ever created in the legendary Fallout universe. Expand southward to Skyline Valley – a brand-new region of Appalachia. Investigate the cause of the electric storm circling overhead and unveil the mystery around Vault 63 and its dwellers, including a shocking new Ghoul type – The Lost.
