Note: There are minor Fallout 4 story spoilers in this article.
Fallout 4 does a lot of things wrong. The dialogue system is a mess, the perk tree feels dumbed down, and the lack of choices throughout the game is disheartening. You've probably heard those complaints a thousand times before, but it's also important to recognise that Fallout 4 does a lot of things right. The Commonwealth is one of the most fully realised worlds in gaming today, stuffed to the brim with places to explore and stories to uncover. The new crafting is a welcome addition to the franchise to boot. Overall, though, the biggest improvement to Fallout 4 isn't any of these things, in fact, it's something much smaller and subtler: stealth.
I'm a huge stealth fan. Some of my favourite games of last generation were Dishonored, Hitman: Absolution, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. To be frank, though, stealth in the Fallout series sucked before Fallout 4. Basically, you'd just pump skill points into your stealth skill and you could sneak around the entire world in broad daylight without being seen. It wasn't realistic. It wasn't challenging. And it certainly wasn't very fun after a little while.
Enter Fallout 4, where the stealth system has been tweaked to near perfection. Walk into a room and move around at max sneak speed (without the proper perk)? Caught. Kill a raider that's too close to another, even with a silenced weapon? Caught. Walk though light that reveals your shadow? Caught. Don't get me wrong, stealth in Fallout 4 is a straight up pain in the ass – but it's also more realistic than many games in the genre can ever claim to be.
"Stealth in Fallout 4 is a straight up pain in the ass – but it's also more realistic than many games in the genre"
Too many stealth games out there throw away realism for convenience. Oh, you just killed a guy and his friend sees his body just lying there, but completely ignores it? Oh, you were seen, but found a good hiding spot, the guards can't find you, they forget about the 50 people you just killed, and go about their security patters? I get it, like I said, it's for convenience and ease of play, but it doesn't seem like Fallout 4 gives a damn about either of those things in the stealth department, and that's one of the reasons why I love it.
After over 20 hours in my first play through, I finally picked the modding perk where I could make a suppressor for my 10mm pistol. I was pumped. At long last I could take out raider outposts with ease. Fast forward to me freaking out when the silencer didn't magically make me Agent 47. I couldn't suddenly kill everyone with that sweet, sweet bonus stealth damage. I couldn't sneak across the world and kill everyone without being seen. I couldn't do those things because Fallout 4 doesn't want me to. It wants me to travel in the shadows. It wants me to take it slow. It wants me to figure out enemy patterns and strike at the best moment, without others around. It finally wants me to play a stealth play through like I would play a bona fide stealth game.
Including Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and now Fallout 4, I've put well over 15 days of playtime into the franchise. Fallout is one my favourite game series of all time and thanks to the new stealth improvements, my favourite memory comes from Fallout 4. One of the main quests for the Institute storyline is Synth Retention, which tasks you with traveling to Libertalia to recover a rouge synth. I went at night for extra cover, equipping the Tinker Tom Special silenced rifle as my weapon of choice, while draping myself in shadowed leather armour. Rain tapered off the run-down ships, lightning flashed in the sky. I moved slowly throughout the outpost, picking off raiders one by one as some of their bodies splashed into the water. I felt like a long-ranged Sam Fisher.
For that entire quest, I was never seen, nor thrown under "caution", until the very end. It was the perfect example of how well stealth can work in Fallout 4. It took time and it took patience, but I finally felt like I had earned those stealth kills. For the first time in 15 days of playtime, for the first time in the Fallout franchise, I was finally playing a stealth game.
Don't crouch in the shadows: shuffle into the comments section and share your thoughts on the above. Are you a fan of playing Fallout 4 undercover? Step into the spotlight below.
Comments 8
So better stealth than metal gear solid the phantom pain?
Agreed! On my second play through and have been going for an all stealth build. Kinda difficult early on but totally worth it once you get access to the Deliverer and Tinker Tom Special.
@themcnoisy no it's not.
I love fallout 4 but I have to disagree with a couple of things here.
One, the suppressor thing is a little too far in the opposite direction. I've had moments of people in two different rooms and no windows which were both visible to me. I took out one with a perfect suppressed headshot and the other one started looking around, even though I was out of sight and there's no way he could see his friend. I guess you can argue that he could have heard the body hit the floor, but I think that's a little too far.
Two, in my opinion, the perk tree is perfect. It allows you way more experimentation than any other Bethesda game and it is a very high risk high reward system. I had to make a few sacrifices (endurance 3 for one) but I was able to make the character I wanted. If anything it can be too complicated. The only reason I was able to get all the perks I wanted is because i planned ahead.
Finally, I feel like there are significant choices later in the game - I feel like it was more gray instead of the black and white nature of fallout 4. Moreso in a witcher way, less so in a end of game mass effect way that just makes everyone mad.
@themcnoisy The argument is that, while potentially more frustrating, Fallout 4's stealth is the more realistic. I can appreciate that. MGS5 has a great rule book, but once you know how to behave, then you can really start manipulating situations. Lots of fun, but ultimately unrealistic.
Bunker hill, you can't steal anything regardless of stealth mode, that's just a glitch, however when you return to a settlement to finish a quest and the d bag you need to talk to is running away over the hills trying to annihilate a single bug, pain in the ass. Still, pretty funny.
This game doesn't alot of things right. GOTY
I really dont feel like the stealth has changed significantly over fallout 3 or skyrim. You can still just pick everyone off with a silenced weapon. you shoot them in the face with a .50cal sniper rifle, they dont die and start looking for you, then they give up and say 'well mustve been nothing'. I mean, really? Don't get me wrong I love fallout 4 but the AI is dreadfull, I though everyone agreed on that.
My most memorable moment in Fallout 4 is when you first get on the Vertibird...It was so horrible, its stuck in my mind! The view...aint pretty.
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