2) Fallout 3 – Definitive Ending
There’s an exhaustive list somewhere out there, I’m sure, that details in full all of the features, big and small, that make the open world RPG formula so successful, and I imagine their open-ended nature sits somewhere near the top. In recent memory, the likes of Final Fantasy XV and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt have risen to apex status, with both now considered to be templates for how to make a near-perfect RPG stand the test of time.
The wealth of content they provide is exactly why the genre has become synonymous with MMOs, but unlike their massively multiplayer brethren, single-player RPGs have a defined beginning and end point, at least as far as the story is concerned. Despite that, optional content – side missions, minigames, potential DLC, etc. – is what keeps people coming back, again and again for more. For that reason alone, it’s never a particularly good idea to give the player character’s journey an irreversible end.
Bethesda, for some inexplicable reason, decided to do just that with Fallout 3. It’s certainly not impossible, but it’s unlikely that a maiden playthrough of any RPG will result in the player having seen, done and completed everything. After all, Fallout 3‘s post-apocalyptic rendition of Washington D.C., in particular, is packed full of unessential activities, and yet, fulfilling your Father’s wishes to bring safe, clean drinking water to all of the Capital Wasteland results in the player being locked out of that save file entirely, regardless of what choice is made.
Yes, Bethesda allowed players the opportunity to juggle multiple saves at once, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have more clearly signposted what would happen when the Lone Wanderer confronted Colonel Autumn and his cronies. The Broken Steel DLC released in the year following rectified the issue, but still, why even do it in the first place?
