Hear me out. After the Fallout TV show I don't want a new Fallout FPS - I'm fiending for a top down RPG

That Fallout Amazon show is really popping off huh? Following its conclusion we've seen millions of interested players new and old flock to the games as a result. Fallout 4 is hitting player peaks not seen in years, and even Fallout 76 is basking in the glory. So obviously everyone is seeing this excitement, and is looking to the future. Fallout 5 is on everyone's mind; Bethesda's own take on the wacky post-apocalypitc wasteland. But what I want is a return to the roots of Fallout 1 and Fallout 2. The time is ripe for another Fallout CRPG.

Let's not beat around the bush here - Baldur's Gate 3 has laid the roadwork for such a venture. The Fantasy RPG blew away the gaming public, winning the full suite of major industry Game of the Year awards at events such as GDC, DICE, and The Game Awards. It's about as close to a uncontestable game of the year statement as you can get. Millions of people either experienced the joys of a well-made, narrative CRPG can bring, or get a familar blast of the good stuff. The player numbers and awards are proof enough there's a real appetite for big IPs viewed through an eagle-eyed perspective.

Fallout used to provide exactly this. The original two games are old now so maybe you've not given them a go, but they're dope! Playing them these days has you struggle through dated controls and graphics to get to the juicy centre that built a franchise. A truly iconic setting was established here, a distinct and often brutal sci-fi locale you could gorge yourself on. Bethesda took the reins with Fallout 3 and drastically shifted the form in which Fallout was presented to players, and that's proven to be a fruitful move throughout the years when you look at the swarms of vault dwellers who hopped onto the Fallout train while it was Todd's baby.

But the flip side of that coin is that you did lose some of that special sauce in the transition. As waves of new people jumped on that train at Fallout 3 you did see a number of folks step off too. These vagrants, hungry for some familar taste of home were able to find sustenance in a variety of other places (like the wonderful Wasteland series for example) but y'know you can never quite replicate the taste of home cooking.

So while loads of people are rightfully keen for Fallout 5 now, I'd love to see a curveball. Let Bethesda do its thing and throw players in New Orleans or the moon or whatever Todd and friends have in mind. Larian is working on its own thing so we'll leave that team in peace, but I can still think of several developers who'd do wonders with the Fallout IP lent to them. InXile, the creators of the previously mentioned Wasteland games, are about as close to modern CRPG Fallout devs as you can get. That team is making Clockwork Revolution right now which looks grand, but I'd love to see them return to the CRPG fold having recently hired a bunch of former Volition devs.

Then there's Owlcat Games! I love Owlcat games. The recently released Rogue Trader RPG is fantastic and has in my mind proven they can do justice to a beloved IP - if they can pay ample tribute to Warhammer via a lovingly-made game they can handle Fallout. A stuido who has proven its ability to create invigorating narratives and complex rulesets is exactly the kind of team I'd love to mess around with Fallout in the future.

And then, there's the elephant in the room. Obsidian Entertainment! Many would see this dev and want a Fallout: New Vegas style game and I respect that desire. But this is the same studio responsible for Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny! Masters of their craft, with story and gameplay chops more than proven. Think of the headlines too - Obsidian returning to Fallout would be a wonderful occasion almost every fan would love to see.

Whether or not Bethesda would actually allow another branch to sprout out of the Fallout IP these days puts a bit of a damper on my wish, but even if New Vegas has been used as something of a mace to bludgeon modern Fallouts over the head with we should not pretend it wasn't a fantastic expansion to both the world of Fallout and the property itself. Just look at the show - the creators weave references and callbacks to that game with a mother's love.

Now's the time to throw a bone to both the CRPG crowd and Fallout fans, the two-headed mutant dog that they are. Both maws starving for as many Fancy Lads Snack Cakes as you can throw 'em.