Summary
Fallout 76may have had a rocky launch, but the game always succeeded in making the absolute most of its rural Appalachian setting. Setting its multiplayer online game in the wasteland formerly known as West Virginia, Bethesda brought some of the region’s most iconic folklore to life.Cryptids like Mothman, the wendigo, and the Flatwoods monstermake up countless stories from that area of the country, and incorporating them into the game was a wonderful strategy that allowed Bethesda to integrate some of the local flavor in a fun, creative way.
But any discussion about or collection of American cryptids isn’t really complete without addressing the nine-foot-tall ape in the room. Or, inFallout 76’s case, the nine-foot-tall ape not in the room. Though the game’s rouges gallery of cryptids represents a pure slice of old school American folk culture, there’s one glaring omission from the roster. This creature is mentioned several times across multipleFallouttitles and its absence from a game that leans so heavily on cryptids is something Bethesda should rectify sooner rather than later.
Fallout 76’s Cryptids Feel Incomplete Without Bigfoot
Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, depending on personal preference, is a no-brainer inclusion for a futureFallout 76update.It’sthe most iconic American cryptidand the experience just won’t be complete until players encounter it in the darkest wooded areas wasteland. Whether it turns out that the creature has always existed in theFalloutuniverse or if ambient radiation caused normal creatures to mutate into the legendary beast, it would be right at home as an enemy in a franchise that’s no stranger to embracing the absurd and bizarre.
There’s a mile-longlist of cryptids already inFallout 76, and while they’ve been pulled straight out of the old stories of the Appalachians, a lot of them pale in comparison to the popularity/notoriety carried by America’s most famous monster. While all the enemies in the game offer something unique in terms of lore and gameplay, the creature roster is missing that extra little bit of star power that only Bigfoot can bring to the table.
All Cryptids in Fallout 76 So Far
How Bethesda Can Incorporate Bigfoot in Fallout 76
Some might say Bigfoot sightings are typically a Pacific Northwest phenomenon, preventing its inclusion in a game set in West Virginia. But people report seeing creatures matching Sasquatch’s description all over the country. On the East Coast, particularly in the South, this creature is locally known as a Skunk Ape; a tonallyperfect name for aFalloutcreature, even if the region is just a tad far to the north.
Though most of Bigfoot’s true believers will claim the creature is part of an undiscovered species,Fallout 76’s Skunk Ape should stand alone as a unique enemy, meriting the creature’s level of fame in American culture.Fallout’s take on the granddaddy of allcryptids should be something akin to a raid boss; a single unique enemy, significantly difficult to fight, and massively rewarding to kill.
In keeping with its behavior in real life lore, the creature should be incredibly elusive, with rare and random spawns in wooded areas of the map. As far as gameplay goes, the creature should be a bruiser, packing thepunch of a deathclaw, but with the agility of a wendigo. Killing the Skunk Ape/Bigfoot in-game should feel like almost as much of an accomplishment as finding one in real life would be. And just like such a find would net fame and fortune, dispatchingFallout 76’s Skunk Ape could also see players rewarded with fantastic loot should they manage to come out on top.
Fallout 76
WHERE TO PLAY
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Skyrim and Fallout 4, welcome you to Fallout 76. Twenty-five years after the bombs fell, you and your fellow Vault Dwellers—chosen from the nation’s best and brightest – emerge into post-nuclear America on Reclamation Day, 2102. Play solo or join together as you explore, quest, build, and triumph against the wasteland’s greatest threats. Explore a vast wasteland, devastated by nuclear war, in this open-world multiplayer addition to the Fallout story. Experience the largest, most dynamic world ever created in the legendary Fallout universe. Expand southward to Skyline Valley – a brand-new region of Appalachia. Investigate the cause of the electric storm circling overhead and unveil the mystery around Vault 63 and its dwellers, including a shocking new Ghoul type – The Lost.
