Hacking terminals has become a familiar part of the modernFalloutgames, but this returning feature has arguably outstayed its welcome by now. With a new mini-game for hacking terminals inFallout 5, the franchise could level the playing field for franchise veterans in subtle ways.
Without changing the function and utility provided by hackable terminals,Fallout 5could stand to benefit from experimenting with a new mini-game for hacking terminals, mixing things up for the franchise. Especially considering all the changes that the nextFalloutgame could introduce, to help set the game apart from past entries in the franchise and Bethesda’s other ongoing RPG franchises, new hackable terminal mini-games could be a refreshing change for the nextFalloutgame.
How New Hackable Terminals Can Set Fallout 5 Apart from Other Games
Given how far awayFallout 5still is from releasing, it’s likely to be a whole new chapter of the franchise in multiple ways. WithThe Elder Scrolls 6coming out beforeFallout 5, which is still a long wait away, and then allthe latest updates forStarfield, andThe Elder ScrollsandFalloutfranchises,Fallout 5will have a lot to learn from. So, considering how much of the franchise could potentially change by the time the nextFalloutgame releases anyway, new hackable Terminals shouldn’t be too out of place among the anticipated new developments of the franchise.
Fallout 5 Can Take Advantage of its Setting for new Hackable Terminals
Assumingthe setting forFallout 5is a location that the franchise has never gone to before, this could be the perfect opportunity to introduce new hackable terminals, justifying the change with a lore tie-in. This hasn’t been the case in the recentFalloutgames, but that doesn’t mean thatFallout 5should be afraid to go down this path, especially if it means introducing new major factions.
Speculation within theFalloutcommunity suggests thatFallout 5could take place in New Orleans, or at least this could be a fun candidate for the game’s setting. Otherwise,Fallout 5’s setting is currently unknown.
Fallout 5 Can Level the Playing Field for Franchise Veterans with New Hackable Terminals
TheFalloutfranchise has had the same terminal hacking system throughout several recent games, only with minor changes, and by now many longtime fans of the franchise have developed a familiarity with this feature that has caused its difficulty curve to stagnate. Meanwhile, hacking terminals in the modernFalloutgames generally remains an entry barrier for newfound fans of the franchise. So, for the sake of leveling the playing field, futureFalloutgames should consider introducing a new method for hacking terminals.
In the case ofStarfield, introducing a new hacking system has arguably proven to be a breath of fresh air among Bethesda’s modern RPGs.Starfield’s unique iteration of hacking/lockpickingthrew many players for a loop by introducing a new system for everyone to learn and master. Yet while this is still a divisive topic for some gamers, for better or worse, such a change reignited the difficulty of hacking terminals and lockpicking for longtime fans of Bethesda’s RPG.
In its own subtle way, the difficulty introduced byStarfield’s new hacking system arguably brings back some of the magic of a player’s first modern Bethesda RPG, like say, players’ first time learning how to lockpick inSkyrimorFallout 3. A new hacking system on its own wouldn’t necessarilysetFallout 5apart from its predecessorsand reinvent this magic singlehandedly, but every small step toward this goal counts. So, considering what good it could do for the franchise, futureFalloutgames should move on from the franchise’s overused terminal hacking minigame and settle on something new.
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.
