Fallout 4 is written like a novel. I can’t quite articulate why that’s the case, except for the very palpable sense that Bethesda had a very clear idea of how the game should be played and enjoyed. You’re supposed to be a straight man, a former soldier who loves and misses his wife and child. It doesn’t matter if you do anything else because the game restricts dialogue options and forces you down that path regardless (Piper’s interview and the confrontation with Kellogg are the biggest offenders). Characters react to you as if you’ve been single-mindedly tracking your infant son, even if you’ve spent 80% of your playtime doing drugs and playing Sim Settlement.

You don’t even have the option to emphasize the loss of your spouse in conversation, you have to go “oh my poor baby!” Playing the main Fallout 4 quests feels like playing with a newbie DM who’s really, really attatched to their plot. There’s no freedom of play or expression. Honestly, I feel like the correct way to play is to rush through the main plot and then dick around in the post-nuclear sandbox guilt-free, without the specter of Todd Howard leaning over your shoulder hissing “but what about your baby?”