Before Fallout 5 comes out, we should look at what makes a survival game good. When developing a survival game, there’s a delicate balance between challenge, creativity, and immersion. But what makes a survival game truly stand out?
In a recent Reddit post, one developer noted some key points they wanted to explore in their survival game. As we look ahead to the next Fallout game, Todd Howard and his team at Bethesda might do well to integrate these ‘golden points’ into the next iteration of their post-apocalyptic universe.
One of the most crucial elements of a successful survival game is the sense of purpose. Players need more than just a never-ending grind—they need a goal that gives their struggles meaning. In games like Subnautica, the player isn’t just surviving for the sake of it.
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The objective to leave the planet gives every action from crafting, and gathering resources, to exploring deeper context. The same principle could be a big part of Fallout 5. Giving players long-term goals would give them more to think about than just surviving another day.
Crafting and base-building are at the heart of survival games, but they have to keep players engaged without feeling overwhelmed or repetitive. A good crafting system, as seen in Minecraft, or Factorio, often revolves around a few basic resources that can be expanded into more complex items.
This makes it so crafting doesn’t feel tedious or like doing chores. For the next Fallout game, this could mean refining resource management so players don’t spend hours gathering wood or metal scraps. Automation options, like robots or drones, could assist players in the mid-game, preventing the grind from overshadowing the thrill of survival.
Combat in survival games can often feel unbalanced, with some titles ramping up difficulty too abruptly. Players need to feel challenged, but not frustrated. The best survival games, like Project Zomboid, use combat as an extension of the survival experience, with smart AI and scaling difficulty.
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Fallout 5 can benefit by having an element of unpredictability in its enemies. That could be coupled with a combat system that rewards strategic thinking and adapts to the player’s progression without becoming monotonous.
Immersion is often key to a survival game’s success. The world itself should react to the player’s actions and decisions, providing consequences for both good and bad choices. In many survival games, weather and environmental effects, like those in Icarus or The Long Dark, play a critical role.
In Fallout 5, immersion could be pushed further by allowing players to uncover hidden lore or piece together the world’s history through exploration. Instead of scripted, linear stories, Bethesda could use environmental storytelling—where every building, relic, and skeleton tells a tale of the world before and after the nuclear apocalypse.
Survival games have come a long way, but they often struggle to balance purpose, progression, and immersive mechanics. As Howard and his team work on Fallout 5, they have the opportunity to understand exactly what players want.
What are you looking forward to seeing in the next Fallout game? Let us know in the comments!
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