With the flood of Bethesda games on Game Pass, it’s easy enough to fill overwhelmed. There’s a lot that, if players haven’t touched before, is well worth trying out now. Among these new games isFallout: New Vegas, a classic entry in the franchise which was primarily developed by Obsidian Entertainment, not Bethesda. The title was notoriously bug-ridden at launch, but as the game releases patches and DLC, it became a classic well in its own time. It’s a decade-old now, and when looking at other titles that are new onGame Pass (like theDishonoredfranchise), it’s worth wondering if newcomers or veterans should playNew Vegason Game Pass, especially in 2021.
The short answer is yes, and that’s becauseFallout: New Vegasis one of those games that have aged incredibly well. Sure, its graphics on Xbox consoles may not be the same as playing it on a high-end PC and there’s missing out onFallout: New Vegas’s various mods, but the graphics beat their own drum, the story beats another, and the game itself is an orchestra of open-world RPG storytelling.
RELATED:Fallout: New Vegas 2 Needs to Do Right By Its Mutants
The New Vegas Courier and World of Fallout
There are things that do age one way or another, but the best parts ofFallout: New Vegasare timeless. In contrast toFallout 3andFallout 4where players constantly search for a MacGuffin,Fallout: New Vegasbegins as a revenge story that evolves into a battle for theheart of New Vegas itself. DLC, which does seemingly have be bought separately, adds to this story but added complex, shadowy operatives that build more to the Courier’s story. In other words, the story doesn’t stop building after the main battle ends, and it becomes such a unique world even within the franchise itself.
The interactions with NPC and the world around them trying to rebuild mean that players aren’t going to see diners that look like the bombs dropped yesterday. The world feels alive and that reflects in the adventure; hardly are there ever any long treks with some threat of death. Many-a-player have ventured off-road, discovering Deathclaw Sanctuary, and have needed to flee for their life. Combine this withFallout: New Vegas' hardcore survival mode, and it’s practically impossible to not feel immersed in the world itself.
Fallout New Vegas 2 Hype Will Never Die
What happens in-game is one measure of its worth, but the impact it leaves behind is just as important. To this day, fans ask for a sequel toBloodborne(as an example), and the same can be said ofNew Vegas. After theBethesda-Obsidian metacritic launch controversy, many didn’t see it as something likely to happen, but that’s all in the past. Even then many hoped and hoped something would come about, with many clinging to a “tease” that wasn’t actually a tease revealing the next game asFallout: New Orleans. It doesn’t have to be the same city, butNew Vegaschecked certain boxes and fans have always wanted more of that.
Even when the Bethesda acquisition was first announced, it wasn’t lost on fans that this meant Bethesda and Obsidian were under one roof now. This has led some to hope that, to this day10 years later,Fallout: New Vegas 2is in the works somewhere with the same spiritual trappings. Of course, it all remains to be seen, but as that love has continued on for a decade, that’s all the reason potential new fans or grizzled veterans need to venture out into the Mojave Wasteland.
Fallout: New Vegasis available on Xbox Game Pass.
MORE:Fallout: New Vegas 2 Can’t Forget the Events of Lonesome Road
