Fallout 4: What we know from the trailer

It’s set in Boston

While the trailer doesn’t explicitly state that the game takes place in Boston and its surrounding area, it does prominently display several of Bean Town’s most recognisable landmarks: Massachusetts Statehouse; the Bunker Hill Monument; the statue of Paul Revere; a tall-masted ship that looks a lot like the USS Constitution; and what may well be Fenway Park, the home field of the Red Sox.

You can expect a host of other landmarks to make it into the game. We’d bet on representations of Harvard University, MIT, Faneuil Hall and the Zakim Bridge – and maybe even a representation of the Cheers bar (which is real, albeit nothing like the one in the TV show).

The player is a citizen of Vault 111

The trailer shows a vault door opening, and it displays the number “111”. That number is also stitched onto the back of the protagonist’s vault overalls, suggesting that the main character will have spent some time in that vault – perhaps his or her entire life up until the point the game begins (although that was done in Fallout 3, so perhaps Bethesda will go a different way this time).

There’s no current canonical information about Vault 111, which may be why Bethesda has picked it. We’ll doubtless come across other vaults during our adventures in Fallout 4 – every Fallout game in the past has given players several of these underground bunkers, built to help humanity survive atomic apocalypse, to explore.

There’s a dog

Fallout protagonists and canines have gone together since the very first Fallout game, in which faithful hound Dogmeat could become one of the Vault Dweller’s companions. He made a cameo in Fallout 2 and another, different, Dogmeat (reportedly a descendant of the original) appeared in Fallout 3. Fallout 4‘s dog, which looks to us like a German Shepherd, looks to be a pretty healthy guy or gal. Hopefully they’ll be as valued an ally as the OG Dogmeat.

There’s Ron Perlman

Hellboy and Sons of Anarchy star Ron Perlman has, like dog companions, been a part of the Fallout franchise since its very beginnings in the 1990s. Perlman hasn’t played an actual character in any of the games, but has provided the voiceover for each of their introductions, opening with the line, “War. War never changes.”

And it seems he’s back again. It sounds very much like Perlman’s voice uttering that iconic phrase in the trailer, and just a few days ago the actor gave a knowing response when quizzed about Fallout 4. And all this after claiming he wasn’t going to be involved back in 2014. Ron, you sly old fox.

There are Deathclaws

Well, c’mon… it’s Fallout. Of course you’re going to see killer mutant lizard creatures. There are also ghouls and robots. Like we said: it’s Fallout.

It looks fantastic

The trailer is entirely composed of game engine footage, even the narrative parts. While we don’t see much in the way of action, we can see enough to tell it’s a fine-looking game – perhaps one with a more varied colour palette than Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, too.

The game is only announced for PC, Xbox One and PS4 thus far, suggesting Bethesda is seeking to use all the power afforded by the latest generation of hardware. While we feel a slight pang of sympathy for last-gen owners desperate to get on board the Fallout 4 train, we also want to see developers pushing the limits of new hardware, not being hamstrung by old machines.

Fallout 4 will be detailed at Bethesda’s E3 event on 14th June. You can expect more info to drop then.