Fallout 4's best companion has long been overlooked, and I'm here to change that. Fallout 4 has one of the most robust companion systems in the series. Although pretty much every Fallout game has companions, Fallout 4's system of settlements, approval, and companion perks allows you to go a lot deeper than most other entries in the series. Its companions are also a lot more interactive, with unique dialogue lines for various landmarks and situations that really bring them to life. At times, they'll even respond directly and dynamically to your own dialogue choices, affecting their affinity for your character. 1s1d2t

Fallout 4 put much more focus on the construction and maintenance of settlements than previous games in the franchise did. All across the map are locations where people are struggling to survive, and by using the materials they acquire on their travels, players can help them out with fortifications, supplies, and decorations.

After leaving Vault 111, Fallout 4 does a good job of slowly introducing the Commonwealth to the Sole Survivor a little at a time. However, as they venture further away from Sanctuary Hills, things will inevitably get tougher. And while Fallout 4 has plenty of simple side quests to the time when not looking for Shaun, it also has its fair share of challenges for even veteran players.

Many mysteries have persisted throughout the Fallout series, from the question of who actually dropped the first bomb to the goals of the Zetan aliens to what exactly was going on at the Dunwich corporation. But one mysterious character stands out more than all the others: the mysterious stranger, a trenchcoat-wearing gunman who appears to aid the player in times of need.

Fallout 4's Institute is a shadowy scientific organization attempting to control the Commonwealth, so naturally, it has spies and surveillance everywhere. The most common and insidious method it uses for spying on the wasteland is through its synths, which it can disguise as regular people or even use to replace humans. But the Institute must also occasionally rely on Wastelanders to achieve its goals.

The four first-person Fallout games have each employed rather different leveling systems. In particular, there is a stark difference between how Fallout 3 and New Vegas handle leveling up, versus Fallout 4. Level-up mechanics in an open-world RPG are instrumental to determining pacing, game balance, and how much control players have over the personalization of the protagonist.

Fallout 4 is one of my favorite games, and it continues to find ways to surprise me almost a decade after its release. Despite having some great quests, companions, and places to discover, there is always room for improvement. Like many in the Fallout fandom, I mod my game, and while some may be in rotation depending on my playthrough, there are some that have a permanent place in my load order.

Fallout 4 has all manner of weapons to suit any play style, from stealth-based pistols to massive miniguns. Although guns and energy weapons might be more synonymous with the franchise, there are some really fantastic and cool melee weapons for Sole Survivors to track down during their exploration of the Commonwealth. However, with some of the best being unique weapons and a little harder to get than others, knowing where to look for them becomes all the more important.

Exploring the Commonwealth in Fallout 4 can be dangerous, but luckily for the Sole Survivor, a host of companions can them on the journey. One such companion that can be met very early is Paladin Danse, who acts as an introduction to the iconic Brotherhood of Steel. Danse is a loyal soldier and will follow the Sole Survivor into even the most treacherous situations, but there is more to him than meets the eye.

Fallout 4's main story revolves around the protagonist's missing son, four warring factions with their own views on the future of the Commonwealth, and the existence of synths, artifical people. Synths are made by the Institute, intended as an expendable workforce of near-perfect human copies. But the synths have wants of their own, leading to many of them defecting and running away. Despite the complexity of the synth's own mindsets, most people in the wasteland view them as abominations, and seek to eradicate them.