Several weeks ago Bethesda started running a livestream teasing an upcoming Fallout related reveal. Much speculation ensued. I was myself expecting a remaster or two, something I’ve wanted for a long time.

Turns out they got a brand new Fallout game, for which we got a teaser trailer a day or so later. Fallout 76. Not many saw that coming, especially not before the livestream.

A brand new game, but other than that the trailer didn’t reveal much, we would have to wait for E3. So more speculation ensued, and there were also some (supposed) leaks and rumors going around, including that of Fallout 76 being a multiplayer game, which was also subtly hinted at by the trailer itself.

Then E3 arrived, and we learned that the game is in late stage development and that it’s indeed a multiplayer game of sorts, though not an mmorpg, and not a typical multiplayer shooter. They say it’s its own kind of multiplayer.

You can play solo if you want [1], but the experience may not be what you expect from a Fallout game, since it is built around multiplayer. They’ve removed and downgraded some traditional Fallout single player elements, most noticeably removed the human NPCs. All humans in the game are now real people. Previous games in the series all have plenty of human NPCs to interact with [2], indeed one might argue that that’s a core part of the series and a core driver of the storytelling. There will be some non-human NPCs (eg robots), but all in all NPC interaction will likely not feature as prominently this time around. In an interview Todd Howard has stated flat out that there will be no NPCs in the game (points for not trying to mislead us or conceal this gap), which strictly speaking is false (those robots) but still telling.

Filling this gap is the aforementioned multiplayer; you get to interact with other players instead of NPCs. If you go solo you’ll have to live with the gap and enjoy whatever else the game will offer.

It’s uncharted territory for a Fallout game, quite a change actually. Permissible experiment or a train wreck in the making? We’ll see, but from the looks of it, it’s hard not to conclude that it’s a significant step back for those looking for a single player experience, even though some of classic elements are there, such as quests, character development and exploration, and the Fallout world itself with its history and lore and everything.

But it might be a fun game in its own right, especially if played as intended, providing some new engaging experiences that the old Fallout games cannot. If you’re into that sort of thing. The setting does look compelling and beautiful — and the territory is apparently four times the size of Fallout 4 — and I do like base building (except… this time the settlements might be a bit desolate? In Fallout 4 they had people living in them.) Despite everything I just can’t help getting at least a little bit excited about getting to be in the Fallout universe again, with everything that (still) entails. Hopefully they have a surprise or two in store for us as well. And hopefully Inon Zur will return to create another awesome soundtrack — that alone would be something to look forward to. But conversely, if they don’t go with Inon Zur (or Mark Morgan, for that matter), and if they screw up the soundtrack somehow, that would be a huge blow to the game, as far as I’m concerned. A stellar soundtrack has been integral to Fallout since day one, and it’s a big deal.

In conclusion, I say this: I would much rather have a more traditional Fallout game, a single player game with lots of NPCs and so on, but I’ll likely give Fallout 76 a chance at some point, for old times’ sake if nothing else. Not sure really what to expect.

It will be released November 14.

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1. Todd Howard’s term. It doesn’t mean playing on a map without other players — they will always be there — but apparently there will be substantial anti-griefing measures available for those who want to go about it alone.

2. No I’ve never heard of Tactics or the console BoS game, go away.