After playing Fallout 4 since launch, I have decided that Sole Survivor is the worst part of the game.

I love RPGs, so it will come as no surprise to anyone that I have poured thousands of hours into Fallout 4 Since its release in 2015. I scoured every inch of the Commonwealth to find hidden areas and strange side quests and made it my mission to recruit every companion every single game. I adore these Fallout Franchise, and Fallout 4So it breaks my heart that it has such a glaring problem at its heart with Sole Survivor.

I played Fallout Since the very early days of the franchise, back in 1997, shortly after the first Fallout Game is released. Since then, I’ve always worked my way through each installment, finding new things to fall in love with each time I immerse myself in the series’ post-apocalyptic universe. And when Fallout 4 arrived, I immediately searched to find a strange feeling of disappointment, and it took me a while to pinpoint the source..

The sole survivor lets fallout 4 down

Nate & Nora can’t be good RPG protagonists

Fallout 4 had a generally good reception at launch, with many praising the improved graphics and combat system. However, it wasn’t without its fair share of criticism, mostly linked to a voiceless protagonist, limited dialogue options, and repetitive quests. But, for me, I’m the lore and character nerd, The problem was the sole survivors and their lack of real identity. The Sole Survivor is a blank slate, which isn’t a bad thing in an RPG, but the problem is that the Sole Survivor is never allowed to be a blank slate in the game’s narrative.

To me, Nate and Nora are essentially the same character, vessels for the player to fill. Their dialogue in-game is the same that I play. However, they are both oddly specific backgrounds and the entirety of the main plot hinges on them being Shawn’s parents. So, they are not empty slides. yet Their veteran/lawyer backgrounds are completely irrelevant And don’t even provide any starting skills. So, they are empty slides. And the cycle of back and forth continues.

My problem with the sole survivor is They are trying to be both and end up not doing well. The main plot ties them to a fixed background, but outside the main questline it never comes into play. They are given previous jobs that would have specific skills, but this never influences any starting skills or perks, with Nora able to handle multiple weapons just like her husband, despite him being the one with a military background.

Past Fallout games did things differently

Even blank slates started with skills to start roleplay

This is as opposed to past Fallout Games have handled their protagonists. Early Fallout Protagonists who have come before have starting skills based on their backstory, or in the case of Fallout 3 And Fallout: New VegasAllowed me to choose them at the beginning of the game. But The sole survivor just starts out with nothingAnd it’s not until they level up that they get their first perk in Fallout 4.

So, on the face of it, the Sole Survivor functions as a blank slate, and I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing; Just look up Skyrim or, more recently, Baldur’s Gate 3. But then Fallout 4 Immediately ties this empty state to a fixed background and the plot. They have a child and their spouse was killed. This imposes a layer over any character I might want to play because I now have to find roleplay ideas that work with the Sole Survivor and suddenly my blank slate character isn’t so blank after all.

Fallout 3 It did something similar to the Lone Wanderer looking for their father.But by having the Lone Wanderer be the child and not the parent, it allowed for some role play. Maybe they’re not close, the lone wanderer is young and gets distracted, etc. Backstory. Although the parent/child dynamic is the same, reversing who’s looking out for who in Fallout 4Changes everything.

Fallout 4 mirrors the family dynamics of Fallout 3

The switch from child to parent changes everything

Jacob in Fallout 3 is the lone wanderer’s father and a fully grown man. He chose to leave Vault 101 and clearly knows how to handle himself. If I, as the only wanderer, don’t immediately follow him and go off on adventures, it doesn’t seem too strange. I was able to roleplay through the Lone Wanderer despite them having a backstoryBecause the plot is connected to them in a way that allows them to turn into who I want them to be.

Fallout 4 Uses the same situation with a parent and child, where one is looking out for the other, but flips it. And in doing so, it completely changes the dynamic. There is a world of difference between a teenager looking for their adult parent, and a distraught parent looking for a kidnapped baby. It doesn’t make sense to me for my sole survivor to go off and do side questsJoin multiple factions, or visit Far Harbor, because surely their only goal would be to find their child.

And the main plot of Fallout 4 Does a great job of pushing that motivation. However, outside of the main questline, this tragic backstory means nothing. With only a few rare exceptions, The pre-war Sole Survivor is not relevant or even mentioned. And, as I mentioned earlier, dialogue is unchanged whether playing as Nate or Nora, making the choice in character creation purely cosmetic. Fallout 4 Makes a point to show they both don’t have military backgrounds.

Choose between shiny slate or backstory

Fallout 4 doesn’t have any of the health with the lone survivor

By trying to leave the Sole Survivor blank for the player to fill in, but still have their paper-thin backstory crucial to the main story, the Sole Survivor just doesn’t work well for me. Having a backstory is not a bad thing, far from it, like It can give players something to roleplay off ofWith great examples being Mass effect, Cyberpunk 2077And The Witcher. But Fallout 4 Does not follow with Nate/Nora and tries to have the best of both, but ends up not doing well.

Dragon Age: Origins Offers a great example of a main character, tied in a meaningful way to the main plot, that has a backstory but also gives enough freedom for players to imprint on. My Cousland, Tabris or Aedukan will be very different from anyone else, but they will all share the same backstory. This would be a fantastic model for Fallout 4 to follow, with Shawn doesn’t need to be the son of the Soul Survivor to push the plot forward.

I understand what Bethesda is going for with Fallout 4 and the sole survivor, and that backstory is there to provide motivation to move the plot forward. But by not committing either way, Sole Survivor falls flat for me. They are not a blank slate for players to mold, like the courier, and They are not a character players can fully empathize withLike V, Shepard or Geralt. Moving forward in the franchise, I can only hope lessons are learned Cyberpunk And Baldur’s Gate 3Which will hopefully bring balance to the next one Fallout Protagonist.