Summary

• A fan remake of Fallout 2 called Project Arroyo is in the works.
• Bethesda has no plans to remake Fallout 1 or 2 due to their unique charm.
• Bethesda might struggle to update classic Fallout games without losing their strengths.

Potential remakes of the original Fallout games have been a subject of conversation for years, but there's already a better place to look than anything that Fallout license holder Bethesda Game Studios might bring to the table. Originally released in 1997 and 1998, the first two Fallout games introduced the world to the harsh but darkly humorous wasteland of a post-nuclear America. While these titles were respectively developed by Interplay Productions and Black Isle Studios, Bethesda brought the franchise back in a big way with Fallout 3, and many fans have fallen in love with Fallout through its recent entries.

Fallout 1 and 2 are still great games today, but jumping into them after playing the modern games can be a big adjustment. An isometric style and complex mechanics present a very different experience from the first-person approach that Bethesda took, even if the flavor of the world is immediately familiar. Although mastering their strategic RPG elements can be incredibly rewarding, it's not something that appeals to everyone, and getting to experience those stories in an updated format is a reasonably common request.

A Fan Project Has Potential As A Fallout 2 Remake

Project Arroyo Is Doing What Bethesda Won't

Anyone hoping that Bethesda might take a crack at updating Fallout 1 and 2 would do best to give up on that notion, as Bethesda executive producer Todd Howard has confirmed that the studio has no plans to do so. As reported by VGC, YouTube creator MrMattyPlays broached the subject in a recent interview with Howard, who quickly shot the idea down. Howard established that the priority regarding the original games is simply to have them available and playable on modern platforms, expressing concern that remaking them in Bethesda's style could "paste over" some of the original charm.

The lack of an official Bethesda treatment doesn't mean that there won't be any updated way to play the games, however, and the extensive creative community surrounding the games can offer the perfect alternative. A fan-made Fallout 2 remake is currently in the works under the name of Project Arroyo, with around 100 developers on the game. Project Arroyo is being built in Fallout 4's version of the Creation Engine, a famously mod-friendly engine first used for The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.

Although there's still a lot of work ahead for Project Arroyo, a finished release might be a better option than an official Bethesda remake of Fallout 2 for a number of reasons. The most obviously attractive one is that a fan-made project won't cost any money to play, with Project Arroyo lead Damion Daponte referencing the free Steam release of Skyrim mod Enderal: Forgotten Stories as an inspirational model. Bethesda tends to be ive of fan projects as long as they don't attempt monetization outside the official Bethesda Creations platforms, so getting Project Arroyo on Steam might be possible.

Bethesda Isn't Well-Suited To Making Fallout Remakes

The Studio Has Changed A Lot Over The Years

The best argument in favor of fan-made Fallout remakes might come from looking at Bethesda's recent games, which have struggled to reach the roleplaying heights that the Fallout series is known for. Starfield's mixed reception is the most striking example, but Fallout 4's simplification of elements like dialogue interactions is damning in its own right. These games have their own strengths, but they aren't the strengths that made people fall in love with the classic Fallout games, and Bethesda might be less suited to remaking them now than ever before.

Comparing something like Bethesda's 2002 game The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind to their modern titles, it's especially obvious how much the studio's priorities have shifted. Weird, rich atmospheres, fascinating lore, and real repercussions have been increasingly sidelined in favor of more dynamic combat, clarified quest structure, and the addition of systems like settlement building. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Skyrim all sit at points along this path that balance these goals in reasonably strong ways, but at this point, it's difficult to imagine that the studio's take on the original Fallout games would recapture their greatness.

Even when it comes to Bethesda's best games, community involvement has played a big part in making them as great as they can be. Veteran Fallout 3 and Skyrim players on PC tend to think of modded versions of the games as the primary experience, and community creations for Starfield are already addressing a number of the newest title's major problems. The original Fallout games had their own share of bugs, with community fixes serving once more to improve the experience, but the odds of a stable release might be higher in the hands of a talented mod team.

The Original Fallout Games Are Great Without Remakes

Fallout 1 & 2 Hold Up As Engaging Experiences

There's still no guarantee that Project Arroyo will live up to its potential, but even if it doesn't, the original games will always be worth taking out for a spin. Baldur's Gate 3 recently showed how isometric games can still capture the attention of RPG fans, and although Fallout 1 and 2 aren't quite as accessible, they could be great ways to follow up that experience. Anyone who loves the flavor of Fallout: New Vegas will find more of it in Fallout 1 and 2 than in any of Bethesda's titles, and remakes would stand a chance of diluting that style.

Unlike Fallout 3 and 4, New Vegas was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, essentially a successor studio to Fallout 2 developer Black Isle.

To Bethesda's credit, it seems like Todd Howard more or less agrees on this point, with the unique qualities of the original games serving as his main reason for dismissing remakes. Considering how common remakes have become, it's nice to see someone acknowledge that implementing modern game design isn't always a default improvement. If there is any legitimate potential in the idea of remaking classic Fallout games, however, Project Arroyo might be the best chance to see how much a modern version could bring to the table.

Source: MrMattyPlays/YouTube