When it comes to open-world sandbox games, there is perhaps no developer more renowned and more critically acclaimed than Bethesda. The developer is well known for The Elder Scrolls series titles, most recently The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim as well as the Fallout series, most recently Fallout 4, which is the main topic of this list. Fallout 4 had a lot to prove, following the international hits of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. However, many gamers and critics alike will agree that the game filled the shoes of its predecessors outstandingly and then some.
Fallout 4 may be the best game in the series with, of course, an interesting and captivating main quest, an unending variety of side quests, factions to join, gunners to defeat, deathclaws to run away from, and everything that makes the Fallout series what it is. This game brought players countless hours of entertainment when they should’ve been doing their homework, house chores, or their day jobs. Recently, with the announcement of Bethesda reimagining Fallout 4 from beginning to end in VR, the game has brought past veterans back to its apocalyptic wasteland and sparked interest from gamers new to the series. Needless to say, if you haven’t played Fallout 4 you’re missing out on one of the best gaming experiences in the market.
However, although the game is post-apocalyptic, there are still some quests or areas that made gamers shiver with fear and made their hearts pound out of their chests from surges of adrenaline. This list will show 25 quests, areas, and facts that make Fallout 4 too scary for some gamers.
25 Picasso’s Worst Nightmare
Now, I’ve been to some art galleries in my time, but I’ve never seen anything like Pickman’s Gallery in the Commonwealth of Fallout 4. What sets the art of Pickman’s Gallery apart from others in the modern world? It’s painted by the blood of Raiders by a self-proclaimed artist by the name of Pickman. The gallery is wrought with bodies of Pickman’s victims, and it's pretty gross. The sight is straight out of a movie and is thus not for the faint of heart. Later on, the player will have an option to save Pickman from Raiders trying to end him for his crimes. Pickman is based on a short story by renowned horror writer, H.P. Lovecraft, adding a more sinister vibe to the Fallout 4 character.
24 The Singularity Has Come
In The Singularity Is Near, famed author and inventor, Ray Kurzweil (inventor of the CCD Flatbed Scanner) discusses why and how the age of robots and Artificial Intelligence surpassing humanity’s intelligence and capabilities is close to fruition. Of course in Fallout 4 the singularity has already come to be and the player is caught in the middle of its conflict. In a sense, Fallout 4 is a glimpse into the possible future and a critique or warning of what may to come and its shockingly logical. In the world of the game, we have the Brotherhood of Steel, a faction of people who completely despise the synths and seek to rid them from the world. On the other hand, we have The Institution, a group of people who created the synths. Which side to choose? Which is just? Perhaps we may have to answer this frightful question in the near future.
23 A Swan Boat Ride We Don't Want To Take
A very famous, or more accurately, infamous semi-hidden spot in the commonwealth is Swan’s Pond. The heavily irradiated pond is located in the Boston Common and on the route of the Freedom Trail quest. The pond mainly consists of heavily irradiated water, broken boats, trees, as well as a small shack with quite a bit of loot to be had. However, the biggest draw to the area is the uncommon enemy named “Swan,” a giant mutated man who has parts of swan boats attached to his body. Swan was once a janitor for a medical research lab in which his punishment for stealing cigarettes was to participate in an experiment to boost his physical and mental capacities. Of course, the experiment was a failure and what’s left is a giant super mutant that’ll end anything that comes near it.
22 Feeding Them
The Brotherhood of Steel is one of the strongest factions in Fallout 4 and of course, shouldn’t be messed with. In terms of comparison with other factions, they are the most militarized, well-supplied, and organized. In the quest “Duty or Dishonor” the player is tasked with investigating a case of missing supplies from the Boston Airport base. During the mission, we learn just how serious the Brotherhood of Steel are in terms of mutiny. The player finds that Initiate Clarke has been stealing food supplies to feed to a horde of ghouls he keeps locked up in a basement. However, the scariest part of this quest comes from Clarke’s delusion. Clarke believes that the ghouls are not mindless zombies and they are an existing species just like any other that shouldn’t be ended heinously. I know it’s the apocalypse, but surely there are better pets.
21 Insectophobia
In a study of the most common fears in the American population, just over 20% of people surveyed cited a fear of insects. Roughly one in five people having a fear of something so commonplace and at times, unavoidable is shocking, to say the least. So if you are one of those people with a crippling fear of the bite-sized bugs you see in everyday life, you’re going to want to steer clear of Fallout 4. Why? Because the game is chalk-full of mutated, overpowered insects that can and will literally end you. The insects in the game are fictional, yet modeled after real insects like flies, mosquitoes, ants, worms and much more. What’s worse than a mutated animal charging straight at you? A mutated mosquito too small to aim at with your gun, yet powerful enough to drain your life away.
20 The City Of The Dead
If you are a fan of AMC’s The Walking Dead or just a fan of the zombie genre in general, Fallout 4 is a great way to experience the terrors of the zombie apocalypse in a more immersive format than a standard TV show. Although not strictly referred to as zombies, Feral Ghouls are mutated humans in the game who bear similar characteristics to zombies. If you’re a player looking for your zombie kick than Forest Grove Marsh is the place to be. If you have a petrifying fear of zombies than perhaps you should turn away from the game entirely because Fallout 4 is filled with creatures like them. Forest Grove Marsh is an abandoned settlement in the Western parts the Commonwealth with loot to be had, however no one there is left alive and the city is overrun with feral ghouls.
19 At The End Of Their Rope: The Boylston Club
When it comes to the nuclear apocalypse, I think it is safe to say that it’s natural for people to lose hope. Whether it be losing hope in the goodness of mankind, a hope for a better tomorrow or the mere hope of living to the next day, the members of the Boylston Club surely lost faith in whatever kept them going. The club is located in the Boston Common along one of the roads bordering Swan’s Pond. The members of the Boylston club got together a week after the bombs fell and as fate would have it, it would be their final meeting. The members got together, toasted to the glory of their years, claiming the likes of which would never be seen again. And drinking to their toast, all dropped dead from the poisoned wine they willfully consumed.
18 Stranger Things Experiment
If you enjoyed the Netflix original Stranger Things, then you should definitely take a look at Vault 75. The vault can be found under Malden Middle School in the township of Malden in the central area of The Commonwealth. What makes the vault so special? Well, it was not so much a vault as it was a place to mess with children for deranged scientists. When the assigned families arrived at the vault on the day the bombs fell, the children were separated from their parents under the ruse of an orientation. However, the parents were all ended and the children were used as subjects in physical and mental tests. Then, were literally weeded out to create a stronger gene pool within the vault to one day be strong enough to venture into the wasteland.
17 A Strange Curb Appeal
Perhaps one of the creepiest things you will see when venturing the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Fallout 4 are not the countless mutated animals, monsters, and ghouls, but rather something you’ll see strewn about on the floor, hanging from poles, suspended from the ceiling or on the floors of buildings in areas inhabited by super mutants. These in-game objects are referred to as “meat bags” and are usually covered in rope or chains. They are filled with various types of meat from humans or other animals, bones, and limbs. Sometimes players may find other items and occasional ammo or common weapons inside them as well. Meat bags can also be used for storage and the player can store their own items within them. But beware, usually where meat bags are seen, super mutants are nearby.
16 You Thought McDonald's Was Bad…
If you were worried about what food you were being fed at certain low-quality fast food chains then a quick trip into Fallout 4 will make you realize that McDonald's ain’t got nothing on Longneck Lukowski’s Ghoul Cannery. As its name suggests, Lukowski’s sells canned meats to traders to be sold to the general public. The owner, Theodore Collins, claims he sells only top-grade meat with the only possible mishap being molerats ending up in the grinders by accident, occasionally contaminating the meat. The player learns that customers were getting sick because Collins had been using feral ghouls in his meat mixtures. Unfortunately, you are what you eat. Talk about false advertising! Of course in a post-apocalyptic setting, pickings must be slim, but this is a rare time when starvation may be a better option.
15 Turing Turning Over In His Grave
Fallout 4 touches on many prominent science fiction themes. However, one of the most important themes is artificial intelligence and robots known as synths. Fallout 4’s commonwealth seems quite split on the issue of synths regarding their rights and the ethics of their existence. Some wish to live in peace alongside them, while others wish to wipe them off the face of the planet. In a small settlement called Covenant, the player will find a group of people who lure synths into the village in a trap. The synths are then abducted and questioned in order to create and strengthen what they call a SAFE test, which is meant to determine whether someone is truly a synth or human. The synths are then eventually ended when they have no more use for them. This isn’t what Turing had in mind!
14 A Strange Tourist Attraction
If you are bored of roaming the wasteland, it may interest you to take a gander at the Grandchester Mystery Mansion. However, you may be in for more fear than entertainment. The location itself has no strong danger to be afraid of (other than minor traps and an angry Gunner LT. Gutsy), but rather the ominous setting and backstory of the house is straight out of a horror film. The daughter of the house, Lucy, became possessed and ended her parents and herself in the attic after her 18th birthday. According to the tourist guide, before her passing, Lucy did other psychotic things like putting dead mice in the soup or throwing insects into a fire to watch them burn. Allegedly, Lucy claimed she was merely holding scissors in her hands when her father tripped and fell head first onto them.
13 Department Store Of Problems
If you have played even just a fifth or so of Fallout 4’s main quest, or just spent a few hours exploring the wasteland, chances are you have come into contact with a fair amount of random and creepy mannequins. Sometimes they are scattered on the floor, sometimes they are stood up and you mistake them for an enemy, scaring the hell out of you. Sometimes you may even find them placed in a bed or back of a vehicle. Even today, mannequins can be strange and frightening on their own, but in the wasteland, that fear is magnified. Whatever the case, their prominence throughout the game is both unsettling and downright creepy. One fan theory suggested that they are the products of The Institute and have recording devices used to spy on everyone in the wasteland.
12 Bring A Bagged Lunch
If you are one of the many people who had a school lunch program growing up, it is likely that there were some items on the menu that everyone hated. However, no school had it worse than the Suffolk County Charter School. After stumbling upon the school and reading a few logs or listening to a few holotapes, the player learns that the school agreed to participate in a government-run experiment in which the students were only allowed to eat a special nutritional pink paste which would strengthen the students' mental faculties. However, the students showed a heightened sense of aggression and instead of creating a thriving student body, the only remnants of the school are feral pink ghouls lurking around every corner, waiting to make you their next meal.
11 Ending You With Kindness
Kind of like a Disneyland consisting solely of robots, the General Atomics Galleria was meant to be a sort of attraction to demonstrate the capabilities of robots. Furthermore, its purpose was to show the potential of a town or portion of a town if it was run completely by robot staff. Sounds like a great idea right? Except, everywhere you turn the robots go overboard with their insatiable need to serve you and end up putting your life in harm’s way. For example, the robot barista’s idea of piping hot coffee would include setting the entire room on fire, or if you refuse to order something to eat at The Diner, all the waiters will attack you. So if you ever find yourself in the General Atomics Galleria, mind what you say and watch your step because the slightest bit of dialogue can lead to your demise.
10 The Perfect Storm
Ever seen the movie based on Stephen King’s The Mist? Well if you have, change the color of the mist to green and add feral ghouls and you will get the basic picture of Fallout 4’s radstorms. These storms are generated randomly and take up a large area of the map when caught up in one. Depending on your armor, location, and severity of the storm, you will take radiation damage constantly for each passing second you’re in the storm. Even worse, some storms bring feral ghouls with them, adding an extra sense of danger and something else you’ll need to deal with. If that isn’t enough for you, there are some mods that can increase the rate of the storms and the number of ghouls within them.
9 The Running Dead
With the growing popularity of hit television shows like The Walking Dead, the zombie genre is gaining in popularity and overall interest. More and more games are being set in the zombie genre or at least include a zombie motif. However with some of the shows and like The Walking Dead one of the greatest weaknesses of the zombies that removes a large portion of the fear factor is speed. When zombies are literally the walking dead, it begs the question that you could survive easily if you just trained your cardio a bit. This is not the case with Fallout 4’s feral ghouls. The ghouls will run at you at full speed, usually faster than human NPCs and will lunge their bodies at you as a weapon. Thus, when encountering ghouls you have no choice but to fight head-on as running usually will get you nowhere.
8 Ties That Bind
Getting caught up in the endless amount of lore, it’s easy to forget about the pain and horror that the dropping of the bombs must have caused on countless citizens. Preoccupied with the main quest of finding your son, it is easy to miss the struggle of the people around you. The Boston Mayoral shelter holds such a tragic tale. As the name suggests, the compound was created to shelter the mayor of Boston and his family from a nuclear strike. Unfortunately, the player will quickly learn that no member of the mayor’s family survived. Furthermore, after listening to numerous holotapes, we are told of the mayor’s corruption, using taxpayer money to build a fancy and luxurious shelter, while thousands of citizens were left outside to die. Ultimately, the mayor ends his own life, hoping that his body would be enough to placate the angry surviving citizens.
7 The Deadly Deathclaws
Fallout being Fallout, there are an incredibly wide array of creatures, monsters, and mutated animals that want nothing more than to hurt you. However, in pretty much every game in the series, the one creature that players loathe to face are none other than the deathclaws. These dinosaur looking beasts can pop up practically anywhere in the wilderness and occasionally even within town settlements and cities! They are called deathclaws for a reason because if the player is unprepared death is all but guaranteed. Just 2 or 3 swipes from a deathclaw can put a lower leveled player down and out. Most deathclaws can survive 2 or 3 direct hits from a rocket launcher and some can survive a close encounter with a mini nuke.
6 More For The Strong Hearted
Perhaps you're a horror junkie or plain sociopath, and nothing on this list comes even close to scaring you. Have no fear! The modding community of Fallout 4 has heard your woes and have created mods for the game that would give you just the dark and scary atmosphere you're looking for. These mods are well crafted and quite polished and have amazing effects. Some of the mods create a darker and somber atmosphere adjusting the brightness and overall color of the game as well as changing the background music to a more horror movie setting. Other mods can create more zombified looking feral ghouls, as well as increase their rate of encounter. There is even a mod that randomly creates hordes of feral ghouls and sends the horde to your location. So if Fallout 4 just isn't scary enough for you, it's worth it to give one of these mods a try!