“Why don’t you come down here?” the man taunted, his modded pipe rifle firing .38 rounds into the empty night sky. “Not a lot of men can get past my boys. I’ll give ya that! Now come on!”
In Fallout 4, during one of the first quests (When Freedom Calls) this is the first line I remember (albeit a tidbit paraphrased) said by the character named Gristle, a grizzled, drugged-out Raider gang boss whose armed compatriots have joined him trying to stop you (well, kill you would be more accurate) from completing your objective. And while Gristle proves to be one mean gunslinger, especially on harder difficulties like Survival which players can opt to play on, he is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of a constant threat in this particular video game: the ruthless, hoarding, essentially faction-less and mindlessly violent Raiders.
And soon, starting on August 30, should you choose to tread into this role-playing game as a character with looser morals and a roaring lust for power, you can become a Raider too.
This, to my best understanding as a Fallout 4 veteran player and all-around gaming enthusiast, is what the final DLC for Fallout 4 entails. It’s called Nuka World, and it looks mightily fun and oh-so-gleefully dreadful. See, in past games like Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, Raiders have certainly popped up as well. (Or in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, also developed by Bethesda Game Studios, the Tamriel-equivalent of Raiders are Bandits. Same idea.) But unlike Fallout 4, other Fallout titles have also offered a full karma system for players; essentially, Raiders or no Raiders. Your individual character has a karmic meter and throughout the events of the game, your actions ultimately make the virtual world view you as a savior, a neutral survivor, or a callous devil, in a way. And while players around the globe have flocked and still flock to Fallout 4, one of the many more substantial complaints about the game deal with the lack of said karma system or anything like it. Players can pretend in their heads, absolutely, but it isn’t there right in front of you to measure a character’s levels of goodness, Switzerland-like neutrality, or full-on, utter evil.
But now, according to Forbes.com, it is being reported that while the Commonwealth (the main setting of the game) is already a nasty, nasty place, it’s about time to visit an even nastier one, with what should be a new karma system in tow. (Again, it has yet to be released but this is what many players and critics are now expecting.)
If you visit the Steam page for the game’s pending DLC, the description reads:
“Take a trip to Nuka-World, a vast amusement park now a lawless city of Raiders. Explore an all-new region with an open wasteland and park zones like Safari Adventure, Dry Rock Gulch, Kiddie Kingdom, and the Galactic Zone. Lead lethal gangs of raiders and use them to conquer settlements, bending the Commonwealth to your will. Nuka-World features new quests, Raiders, weapons, creatures, and more. Enjoy the ride!”
While previous Fallout 4 DLC have been huge (namely the Far Harbor add-on) Nuka-World seems to the biggest (and quite frankly, the baddest) yet. Also, coming from someone who adores Fallout 4 in all its glory and all its flaws, having played over 10 different characters myself, the game seems to flow best when the role-playing elements and the fiction both onscreen and in players’ heads are allowed to be tested. You can go be a post-apocalyptic savant all you like; I’ve tried it, but something about the call to pillaging the wastelands seems more ideal for a gamer like me. Call me crazy (just not as crazy as Gristle…) but that’s my gaming preference.
So with Nuka World primed for the end of times, players everywhere, especially those who groaned over the lack of psychopathic options for characters, will soon be able to seize any and all Raiding moments. This will be their time to shine. (Or, rather, their time take to the shadows with insomniac, chem-filled Raiders to terrorize what’s left of the derelict world.)
Nuka World will be available for download at the end of this month. Happy raiding, players!