I have always wanted to play as something more bizarre in a Fallout game. For instance, I’d love to assume the role of a hulking tank and become a Super Mutant, or gain the technological capabilities of becoming a Synth or a robot like an Assaultron. Fallout 76 pushed in that direction by allowing players to become a Ghoul, but what if things could go even further?
At the Summer Game Fest event in Los Angeles, I asked Bethesda Game Studios if we could ever become another race in Fallout 76, potentially starting the game as a more intelligent Super Mutant, or something even weirder, like a Mole Miner.
Here’s what they said.
We Could, But Only If It Makes Sense
Having seen what Bethesda Game Studios did with the Ghoul mechanic, I was interested to hear their thoughts on further iterations of that concept. What if players could start the game as a Super Mutant or some kind of enemy faction member, like a Mole Miner or a Raider? Could Bethesda really and drastically alter the game’s opening to accommodate something like that?
Jon Rush, the game’s Creative Director, explained their stance:
We had found a niche in the game that a Ghoul could fill. Playstyle-wise, it could give players more options on how to traverse the wasteland, play through the wasteland, and things that we could underline and accentuate even more with Ghouls.
Super Mutants? Whenever I get that request, I’m like, well, okay, what would their role be? What’s the purpose that they’re filling?
To that, I suggested that Super Mutants could assume the role of a ‘Super Tank’, adopting immense strength capabilities and high levels of durability but suffering in the intelligence and agility stakes.
Rush had another answer:
That’s a great answer, but we have Power Armor in the game now, I can be a super tank.
That’s certainly not off the table, but the point I’m trying to get is, we want choices that, as cool as they would be, to make gameplay sense, like they’re filling a role. We don’t want them to just be costume changes.
Super Mutants would be fun.
It’s likely something floating around in the pipeline, but I heard again from the guys from Bethesda that there’s a stunning amount of content lined up for Fallout 76 that will keep it running for several more years. There’s plenty yet to unravel, and this is just another arrow in that quiver of potential content.
Rush also dropped a tidbit when I suggested that these elements don’t necessarily make sense because the player must start their journey from the Vault, and therefore they couldn’t begin Fallout 76 as a Super Mutant:
You don’t have to come from a Vault. I know we’re used to coming from Vaults, but you don’t have to.
What if you were born a Raider? You don’t have to come from a Vault…
As always, it was brilliant catching up with Jon Rush and Bill LaCoste from Bethesda Game Studios about the future of Fallout 76. Watch this space, as there’s plenty more coming.
Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord server if you’d play Fallout 76 as a Super Mutant.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that someone has remastered Fallout 3 in Unreal Engine
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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