Throughout theFalloutseries, players have met and interacted with a variety of characters from a plethora of factions and locales. In everyFalloutgame, players have collaborated with multiple members of the Brotherhood of Steel, such as Sarah Lyons, Veronica Santangelo, and Arthur Maxson. Similarly, gamers have encountered several members of the New California Republic in the series, including President Tandi and Chief Hanlon. While most NPCs can only be interacted with via dialogue and quest completion, a few are able to become recruitable companions and aid the player directly in their travels. Bethesda’s inevitableFallout 5could improve on modern companions by allowing players to travel with as many as they want, similar toFallout 1.
Fallout’s Companion Systems Explained
1997’sFallout 1is a very different beast compared to Bethesda’s modernFalloutgames. Instead of being able to play in first or third-person,Fallout 1is a top-down, turn-based RPG with players able to view the Vault Dweller and the local area in their entirety. Just like modernFalloutgames, however, players could still talk with NPCs and recruit a few to be companions. Onlyfour permanent companions appear inFallout 1, including Dogmeat, Ian, Katja, and Tycho, but unlike modernFallouttitles, all four companions can join and fight alongside the player at all times. Some NPCs will temporarily join the player’s party on certain quests but will leave the party once the quest is completed.
Fallout 2continued its predecessor’s top-down, turn-based RPG gameplay roots but started a trend of restricting how players can utilize companions. Instead of being able to have every companion in a party, the number of companions allowed in a player’s party is determined by their charisma statistic. For example, if the Chosen One has a charisma level of two, they could only have one companion in their party and if they had a charisma level of six, they could have three companions join them. However, due to stat limitations inFallout 2,the Chosen One could only have five companions maximumin their party at any time.
How Bethesda Changed Fallout’s Companion System
With the transition to the more fast-paced, first-person-oriented gameplay ofFallout 3, Bethesda chose to change how companions are utilized once more. Here, the Lone Wanderer can only have one humanoid companion join them at a time, regardless of charisma level, with Dogmeat allowed to tag along as a bonus. This system was expanded a bit in Obsidian Entertainment’sFallout: New Vegasby allowing players to haveRex or ED-E join the Courieralong with one humanoid companion. However, the companion system saw another setback arise inFallout 4, with the Lone Survivor allowed to have only one companion join them at any time, no matter if they’re a canine, robot, synth, or mutant.
Dogmeat is the only recurring companion in each mainlineFalloutgame, albeit represented by different dogs that just share the name.
An Expanded Companion System in Fallout 5
WhileFallout 5may be years away from development and release, Bethesda can still plan out improvements to some ofFallout 4’s notable flaws, especially when it comes to companions. DespiteFallout 4allowing players to create robot companionsof all shapes and sizes, they weren’t allowed to serve as accompanying compatriots with humanoid companions like ED-E inNew Vegas. To rectify this issue and others relating to companions, Bethesda could allow players to have multiple, or every companion join their party at once inFallout 5. This may be taxing on console hardware, but it could benefit the player’s impact on the radioactive landscapes.
Fallout 5could be set in a war-torn period similar toFallout: New Vegas. Here, players could slowly gather a small army of powerful companions akin to a group of mercenaries or samurai to create harmful or beneficial waves in the local area. Instead of slowly becoming leaders inthe NCR or Caesar’s Legion,Fallout 5could have players form a small third faction that will ultimately determine the fate of nearby civilizations. Allowing players to recruit multiple companions simultaneously could permit a few NPCs to reflect on the player’s actions at once and spark introspective debates for the player. Interactions such as these could continue and highlightFallout’s gray narrative in a way never done before.
Fallout
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You’ve just unearthed the classic post-apocalyptic role-playing game that revitalized the entire CRPG genre. The Fallout® SPECIAL system allows drastically different types of characters, meaningful decisions and development that puts you in complete control. Explore the devastated ruins of a golden age civilization. Talk, sneak or fight your way past mutants, gangsters and robotic adversaries. Make the right decisions or you could end up as another fallen hero in the wastelands…
