Highlights
- Each game in the Fallout series is set in the aftermath of the Great War, which caused a worldwide nuclear apocalypse and created the post-apocalyptic setting of the games.
- Time travel, a common sci-fi trope, could be used in Fallout 5 to explore the events of the Great War, similar to how The Elder Scrolls franchise utilized time travel in Skyrim.
- Bethesda would just need a scientific explanation for the time travel, like Professor Greebly’s device, to experience a cutscene or a playable section within the Great War.
The Fallout franchise has gone a long way since its first game was released in 1997, as it used to be a top-down isometric turn-based RPG for the first two installments. This was changed to a more modern first-person view with real-time combat in Fallout 3 and Fallout 4. The protagonist is also different for every game, as the hero is tasked with retrieving an essential component for a vault’s survival in Fallout 1, whereas Fallout 4’s Sole Survivor is looking for their long-lost son. Despite having different motivations and living in different periods of the apocalypse, there is one event that ties all these heroes together: The Great War. It’s referenced multiple times in each game, but the only way to truly understand it is to watch it unfold in-game or via a longer cinematic that tackles it. One sci-fi trope can make this possible if the franchise wants to explore The Great War further in Fallout 5.
Every game in the Fallout series deals with the aftermath of the Great War, which caused a nuclear apocalypse across the globe. The mainline Fallout games are set in chronological order, from 2161 in the original Fallout to 2287 in Fallout 4. The post-apocalyptic setting of these games seems to be hopeless, as the protagonists deal with cutthroat warring factions, corrupt pseudo-governments, and unsustainable food and water supplies. Radiation exposure is also commonplace, even more than a hundred years after the nukes dropped. It’s no wonder that players want to learn all about the event that caused the disastrous setting of Fallout, and time travel can make that possible.
Fallout 5’s Development Timeline Makes Fallout 76 More Important Than Ever
Fallout 5 still has a long road of development ahead, and in the meantime, Fallout 76 has an important role to play for fans of the series.
Fallout 5 Could Use Time Travel to Explore the Events of the Great War
Skyrim Beats Fallout to the Punch When it Comes to Time Travel
Time travel is one of the most common sci-fi tropes, which makes a lot of sense, as science is advanced through the discoveries that people make over time. It’s interesting to compare and contrast the society of old to the present or to see how humans live with the advanced technology of the future. A lot of games use time travel to understand history better, too.
The Elder Scrolls – Fallout’s sister franchise – already made use of the concept in Skyrim. The fantasy game incorporated this sci-fi trope to help the Dragonborn learn how their ancestors weakened and banished Alduin, the game’s big bad. This villain also used time travel to return to the present day in Skyrim to enact his plan to end the world.
How a Failed Fallout 76 Experiment Could Bring Time Travel to Fallout 5
The Elder Scrolls used magic to transport the protagonist to the past, so the challenge in Fallout would be to come up with a scientific way for the player to return to the events of The Great War. Fallout 5 could take the protagonist back to the hills of Appalachia to revisit Professor Greebly’s time travel experiment, which was first mentioned in Fallout 76. The machine is a monorail located on Pylon V-13. Greebly claimed that he used the train system as a “chariot” that sent him to different dimensions.
If Greebly is telling the truth, Fallout 5 could stage a way for the protagonist to repair the rail system and use it to go back in time. The game may even turn the timeline into a map on the players’ Pip-Boy, with a series of story missions. This way, it’s not just a glorified cutscene. The protagonist could find themselves transported in the throes of war as a reluctant soldier or somehow sneak into the government to become a first-hand witness to the events that led to The Great War. The game could even insert quests that could alter the player’s timeline, causing them to come back to a different future. The possibilities are near-infinite with time travel, and Fallout is the perfect franchise to explore them.
Fallout 4
Fallout 4 is an RPG in the Fallout series, being the fourth major installment. This time around, players are in The Commonwealth, formerly Massachusetts, in the year 2287.
- Released
- November 10, 2015
- Engine
- Creation
- ESRB
- M FOR MATURE: BLOOD AND GORE, INTENSE VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, USE OF DRUGS
- How Long To Beat
- 27 Hours
- X|S Enhanced
- No
- File Size Xbox Series
- 51 GB (December 2023)
- Metascore
- 87
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
