Fallout 5 Should Break One Franchise Tradition

gamerant.com:

The Fallout series has come a long way since its first title was released in 1997. Today, most players are familiar with the 3D games released in the 2000s and 2010s such as Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Fallout 4. These three Fallout titles are known for being open-world with many side quests and the main plot.

Along with the 3D games came a sort of tradition in the Fallout narrative. For many gamers, it is a tradition that has gotten old. Thanks to this tradition, every main plot begins with finding a certain person in the vast wasteland, be that the player character's father, killer, or missing son. Fallout 5 would do better with a fresh plot device rather than this one that has now been used three times in a row.

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MacGuffins are plot devices that drive the story. Examples of this include The Amulet of Kings in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, the GECK in Fallout 2, and Kingdom Hearts in the Kingdom Hearts series. However, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, andFallout 4 all have very similar MacGuffins, as they all ask the player to find a certain someone. This means following their trail in the main quest until they are found.

In Fallout 3, the person that needs to be found is James, the player character's father. He leaves the Vault and the player character leaves as well to go find him and find out why he left. One main quest is literally called «Following in his Footsteps» and the search takes the player to the main settlements such as Megaton and Rivet City. The player is past the halfway point of the main story once they finally reunite with James in Tranquility Lane.

Fallout: New Vegas is a little unique because the main character is a courier rather than a Vault Dweller.