It has never been a better, or worse, time to be a fan "Fallout," the popular post-apocalyptic video game franchise. The recently released Prime Video series has brought in a ton of new fans, leading to a considerable bump in sales, and everyday an enthusiastic gamer somewhere around the world is exploring the older "Fallout" games for the very first time.

Fallout 4 has reached over 160,000 concurrent players on Steam.

It's currently the second highest playercount for a premium game behind Helldivers 2.

Fallout 4 was also the #1 selling game in Europe last week.#Fallout #FalloutOnPrime pic.twitter.com/vHQc2FwEuE

— Kami (@Okami13_) April 21, 2024

^{[Via Kami: "Fallout 4" has reached over 160,000 concurrent players on Steam. It's currently the second highest playercount for a premium game behind "Helldivers 2." "Fallout 4" was also the #1 selling game in Europe last week]}

But if you've been a lifelong, hardcore, fan of the franchise, like myself, this era can also be seen as the blurst of times in some ways. Yes, the series is a miracle; it nails every detail, recreates the tone perfectly, connects story-lines and lores in fun ways and, most importantly, it's been a resounding success. This is what "Fallout" needed, something to reinvigorate fan interest, allowing them to plot out a roadmap for the future. Season two is already greenlit.

^{["Fallout" first scene via Amazon Prime Video]}

But that's about it. What about a new game? It's been six years since "Fallout 76" came out, and Todd Howard, Executive Producer at Bethesda, the studio that currently holds the intellectual property, has said there's something in the pipeline.

Video game development takes many years, anywhere between three to 15 for those counting, and turning things around quickly just because something is popular now isn't a great idea. Trends change, interest dwindles, nothing is a surefire bet and predicting the future is impossible. That means it could realistically be another five, or even 10, years before Bethesda actually get around to making "Fallout 5."

However long it does take, it's going to be a tough act to follow the first four games ("1," "2," "3" and "New Vegas.") It's been a while since we've gotten something worth celebrating. Those are among some of the greatest role playing games, and until the Amazon show — which turned out great — let's just say the franchise needed some better quality control behind the scenes.

^{["Fallout 4" launch trailer via Bethesda Softworks]}

When 2015's "Fallout 4" came out to a less than stellar response, it chipped away the franchise's impervious reputation and lowered future expectations. Let's hope "Fallout 5" doesn't make the same mistakes that "Fallout 4" did.

Here's how "Fallout 4" fumbled the franchise reputation, and how Bethesda can potentially turn the tide back in its favor.

The story, the setting and the look

It's been pointed out by many that the story, writing, and main location (Boston) are just not up to snuff compared to the scenes set in previous game locations like The Capital Wasteland and New Vegas, and the consequences found in the first two games are so much sharper and refreshing than anything added to "4." Everyone was in agreement that a single quest (the Silver Shroud) was by far the most memorable part, which is insulting to a franchise built on dynamic storytelling and open-ended exploration. Discovery was the best part of the game, and that's no longer the focus here. Also, compared to contemporaries like "The Witcher 3," "Fallout 4" wasn't the technological leap we were expecting. The graphics aren't outright ugly, but Bethesda clearly slathered a coat of shiny paint over their usual janky engine.

Gameplay changes

It's unfortunate that the V.A.T.S. system became a glorified slo-mo button that encourages players to use the game's subpar gunplay. The pivot to building as a main mechanic also didn't work for me. Crafting, survival elements, DIY create-a-thons and missions about player creativity were big highlights, and while some people really dug that freedom, many found it to be a lateral step instead of moving things in an interesting direction. As are the limitations of the Pip Boy and the lone map marker, the randomized loot/locations and legendary enemies regenerating their health.

In the newer games, to a startling degree, the way dialogue works is much simplified. Instead of a wide variety of ways to interact (talk, intimidate, lie, charm) with people, you now only get four options: Yes, No, Sarcastic and More Info Please. The changed speech checks and challenges make it harder to figure out what passes, and the new color system, sans percentages, is one of the worst decisions inflicted upon the franchise. Wrapping up, the least they could do is give us some new music. "Fallout 3" gave us Galaxy News Radio and "New Vegas" had its own soundtrack. "Fallout 4" has a handful of new stuff, but reused a lot of old tunes.

Leaving its role-playing game roots behind

Removing the repair skill, removing weapon degradation, adding in randomized loot, it all just feels too easy and sanded over for mainstream audiences. But not in the good way you'd want to entice new players, just in a weird way (like legendary enemies regenerating their health). There's more hand-holding for some features, but that's taken focus away from what people loved: its storytelling. "Fallout 4" morphed from an RPG into an action game centered around shooting, leaving its character building and unique world behind. How did they turn into baby's-first-survival-game and mediocre looter-shooter territory?

^{["Fallout 76" live action trailer via Bethesda Softworks]}

So, what's Bethesda doing about all this?

Not much really. Bethesda thought it was a good idea to reuse the engine and many of the IP assets for a quick sequel — the first time ever multiplayer focused "Fallout 76" — but it turned out to be a bad idea. The launch was a disaster, the reviews were scathing, and it was far from being the MMO Todd Howard wanted it to be.

^{["Fallout 4" next gen patch update via Franky Boy]}

The franchise hasn't seen a new game from Bethesda, and the studio has since opted to spend their time working on a new franchise instead — ("Starfield," it's good, not amazing) — and are currently working on a sequel to "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim."

The games continues to get tweaked. "Fallout 4" just released a next-gen patch, with updated graphic settings and some new items. In fact, it runs better than ever but they can't patch out the muddy textures, annoying settlements or bad quest design. "76" continues to plug away at repairing the game, alongside adding new content drops but that game is really only for certain people. Outside of that, it's mainly about waiting to see what Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy and the team do with the show's second season. Otherwise, the modern era of "Fallout" is going to end up a big wasted opportunity.

^{[Jonathan Nolan interview via Collider Interviews]}