Summary
Anyone familiar with the world ofFalloutknows that it is set amidst a rich, alternate-history backdrop that is full of questions to answer. There are plenty of mysteries to uncover in all the games, but some of them might be better left unsolved and unexplained, as an explanation could have significant implications for theFalloutseries.
Falloutis home to numerous factionsall vying for power, but theFalloutuniverse has a long history of conflict between even larger entities. The post-apocalyptic world that players are familiar with came about as a result of an event called the Great War. The Great War followed the Sino-American war, which was fought over dwindling world resources and involved a number of major players, including China, The US, the Soviets, and Vault-Tec. All this conflict culminated in the Great War, which lasted only about two hours as it was an all-out nuclear attack from these key organizations. Crucially, what entity started the Great War has never been revealed in concrete terms, and it would be wise for future games in theFalloutseries to keep this ambiguous.
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Knowing Who Started the Great War Would Harm Fallout in the Long Run
Even moreterrifying thanFallout’s hulking monstersis the brutal nuclear holocaust brought about by advanced warfare, so it’s no surprise that fans of the franchise want to know as much about the Great War as possible. The history of this horrifying conflict is hinted at throughout the franchise, and several fingers point to China as the aggressor. China is an obvious choice, but it’s not so cut and dry, and there is reason to believe that other entities, like Vault-Tec, actually made the first nuclear strikes. After all, the world as most people know it was completely wiped out during the Great War, so it’s difficult for the characters ofFalloutto track down records or evidence, leaving them to rely on information that has been tainted or not thoroughly reviewed.
While this mystery may lead some players to expectan explanation inFallout 5, there are several reasons why the identity of the aggressor is better left as a mystery. For one thing, the ambiguity surrounding who started the Great War works with the theme of the games, as it doesn’t focus on good versus evil, and rather is centered on the problems inherent in war. If a futureFalloutgame were to outright state which entity caused the Great War, then the story of the games would too easily shift into one that is focused on the problems with this particular entity, rather than the problems with war as a whole.
Part of whatkeepsFalloutfeeling timelessis the fact that, while it is undeniably inspired by real events, it is firmly placed within the realm of fantasy. This feeling of escapism and intrigue could be undermined if the franchise were to connect a real-world entity such as China or the United States to the atrocity of the Great War; this would run the risk of making the franchise read too much like a piece of critical historical fiction, and it would be difficult to extricate real-world understandings of a given entity from the fictional universe of the video games.
One of the things that makesFalloutspecial is its connection to the real world. The at-timesdark and depressing world ofFalloutreminds players of the destructive potential of war, and how easy it could be for humanity to bring itself to the brink of extinction. It’s a rather powerful message, but it wouldn’t work as well if the games directly placed the blame on a single entity, so it’s best for the franchise to keep things relatively vague and open to interpretation.
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