Fallout London: Taking Modding to the Next Level

By Shaan Khan

Screenshot Courtesy of Fallout London on YouTube

Imagine a Camden Market selling pistols, radaway & stimpacks, instead of hipster clothes and cheap art. Or a remnant Buckingham Palace not home to our beloved Queen, but a tyrant mutant King.

All these ideas might come to life thanks to game dev studio, The Folon Team, who are creating a ‘DLC-sized’ mod for Fallout 4—presenting an entirely new map, story and gameplay mechanics for Fallout fans to get their hands on.

Fallout London is far from a mod or DLC that adds to an existing game. Instead, it’s an entirely separate experience from Fallout 4, taking us to a city across the pond in the Fallout universe that’s been widely touched upon in Fallout lore but never experienced in a game yet.

The mod will take us into London in the year 2237, between the events of Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 in the timeline. Therefore, Fallout London occurs 50 years before the events of Fallout 4.

Given the standalone experience of Fallout London, does it have the scope to compete with recent Bethesda titles such as Fallout 4 & 76?

The Scope & Features

The Folon Team have made it apparent they’re not looking to create a watered-down Fallout experience with off-shoot gameplay; this isn’t some FPS game taking place in the Fallout universe. Instead, we’re getting a fully-fledged RPG experience with a range of factions, storylines, NPCs, weapons, creatures—you name it!

Locations, Factions & Mutants

Screenshot Courtesy of Fallout London on YouTube

The Map of Fallout London has been confirmed to be the same size as Fallout 4’s Commonwealth map. You get to experience a condensed version of London with realistic portrayal, from the heart of Westminster, all the way to the city’s outskirts, such as Bromley.

On the Fallout London website, they go into depth about all the London boroughs included in the map that each has unique themes, stories and factions to find. The level of depth in environmental variety seems to be beyond what recent Fallout games have achieved, thanks to London’s wildly diverse urban landscape.

A great example of combining London heritage with Fallout quirkiness is found in the trailer of Fallout London, where the London Underground is still under operation and stations have been transformed into labs and shelters.

All the factions in Fallout London will be unique from other Fallout games, made up of aristocrats, knights and cults. Mutants and Vault Tech will take on unique forms as well, given the difference in geographical & national identity to other Fallout games’ locations that all took part in America.

Dialogue, Weapons & …Vehicles?!

Screenshot Courtesy of Fallout London on YouTube

The Folon Team listened to feedback from their audience and decided not to include a voiced protagonist. The decision has meant more depth and choice in dialogue & decision-making, with a deep storyline that provides for many narrative avenues to delve into, like the early Bethesda RPG games with no voiced protagonists.

Given the ties the Fallout Universe has with real-life history, post-nuclear fallout London is still a place with fewer guns than its American counterpart. In fact, the weapons previewed in the trailer mainly consisted of guns from the World War era.

However, the Folon Team have stated they want to focus most of their efforts on melee weapon gameplay that has a unique combat style to other Fallout games. A longsword and medieval knight armour were showcased in the trailer and felt reminiscent of Skyrim combat.

Finally, the most jaw-dropping feature displayed in the trailer has to be ridable vehicles. There was a preview of a player rowing a boat, riding a bicycle, metro trains being active—even a mountable war elephant with a machine gun attachment.

Screenshot Courtesy of Fallout London on YouTube

Ridable vehicles are uncommon grounds for Bethesda RPGs, with speculation that Bethesda’s game engine limits them to include such a feature. If what the trailer shows is true, The Folon Team would’ve pulled off an impressive achievement, including ridable vehicles that add a new layer to Fallout-style gameplay.

Conclusion

In retrospect, Fallout & Elder Scroll games go beyond the expectations of what mods can be made for them. Mods have created entirely new & refreshing experiences for players, perhaps even surprising the developers with what can be achieved with the games engine.

The Folon Team are a group adept at modding; it’s what will separate Fallout London from other Bethesda Fallout games by including unique features that were once mods for other Fallout games. The team are open for others to add mods into their game, so if you’re hoping for survival mods, there’s a significant chance they will be made.