Fallout 5ultimately has a wealth of predecessors to learn from when it comes to potential features that could show up at this point in theFalloutfranchise, especially considering thatFallout 76is still receiving frequent updates andThe Elder Scrolls 6will arrive sometime beforeFallout 5releases. Aside fromBethesda’s recent games potentially influencingFallout 5,Skyrimcould also be a big source of influence despite being over a decade old by this point.
One particular feature thatFallout 5should consider adopting fromSkyrimis a wider variety of playable characters. This feature doesn’t have much impact on howSkyrim’s story unfolds, but it still provides distinct gameplay advantages that allow for more immersive roleplaying opportunities, which would be right at home in theFalloutfranchise.
Skyrim’s Character Creator Would be Right at Home in Fallout 5
Among the many featuresFallout 5should inherit from Bethesda’s past games, one element ofSkyrim’s character creation should arguably be at the top of the list.Fallout 5should finally take the chance to expand the franchise’s character creation to include a variety of different playable characters, potentially incorporating some of the iconicFalloutfranchise’s factions and mutants. Overall, such a feature could be the key to taking the franchise’s RPG elements to the next level.
Especially in the context ofFallout 76’s upcoming playable Ghoul characterreleasing in March 2025, continuing to experiment with a wider variety of playable characters beyond humans and Ghouls seems like a natural progression for theFalloutfranchise’s future.
There’s ultimately a wide variety of iconic cryptids, mutants, and factions from theFalloutfranchise that could be a good fit as playable characters. However, some might be a better fit than others depending onwhere and whenFallout 5’s story takes place. While the game’s setting is currently unconfirmed, it’s safe to expect that some of the staple factions and mutants from the modernFalloutgames will make a return appearance, namely including:
This is only a small portion of the iconic mutants andfactions from theFalloutgamesthat deserve the opportunity to become a playable character. Still, though, these few candidates mentioned could present highly distinct experiences compared to human Vault dwellers nonetheless.
How New Playable Character Types Could Take Fallout 5’s RPG Elements to the Next Level
The main difference between the playable characters inSkyrimis their unique passives and special abilities. These character-specific abilities make some characters better suited for a particular playstyle than others, but not to a degree that necessarily locks players into a specific playstyle. Overall, the different playable characters mostly serve the purpose of providing distinct roleplaying opportunities, and inRPG games like theFalloutfranchise, there can arguably never be too many roleplaying opportunities.
While there are several subtle world and quest interactions that are unique to the different playable characters inSkyrim, the main storyline in the game remains mostly unaffected by the player’s choice of playable character. Therefore, as much asFallout 5offering multiple different playable characters would initially be a big change for the franchise,Skyrimis living proof that this can be carefully executed without undermining the game’s core identity, yet meanwhile still managing to provide distinct experiences between separate playthroughs.
By the timeFallout 5finally releases, it will have a wealth of predecessors to learn from in all of Bethesda’s past RPGs. Among all of these iconic games to draw influence from, taking a few pages fromSkyrim’s book with an expanded variety of playable characters could be a game-changer for theFalloutfranchise.
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.
