If you are hankering for something to play while you wait to explore the galaxy in Starfield, what if I told you there was a way to play one of the best open-world RPGs of the 90s, remade as an era-appropriate Bethesda game?
Polish developer Jonasz O may have just what you need. A fan remake of Fallout 2 that swaps the original’s isometric perspective for first-person like the Fallout games like mama Bethesda makes. See, who needs Starfield when you have post-apocalyptic California, right?
Though this seems like a small change, it has a huge impact on the whole experience, which makes Fallout 2 feel and play less like a spiritual successor to Wasteland, and more like a contemporary of The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall, or the predecessor to Fallout 3. Which, well, it is.
War, war never changes
Constructed using a mix of pixelated sprites and rudimentary 3D models, Fallout 2 3D really does feel like you are playing some long-lost Bethesda RPG – a missing link between The Elder Scrolls Daggerfall and Morrowind.
As the name suggests, Fallout 2 3D is the classic game you know and love, rebuilt in 3D. It has the same mechanics, the same story, and the same brutal combat. But with a much greater sense of immediacy.
The care and attention to detail (even at this very early stage) is impressive, and the use of era-appropriate techniques and sprite work makes the game feel all the more authentic.
It even has the same disorientating opening. (They've even remade the incredible intro cinematic). You pick one of three characters, tweak their stats and skills, and boom – you are dropped straight into the ramshackle town of Arroyo, with little more than your wits to protect you. Your goal is simple; find Vault 13 (and the Garden of Eden Creation Kit (GEKT) found within) to stop the worst drought in Californian history. Simple, but you don't know where Vault 13 is, or if the GEKT is even in there, or how many Super Mutants, Death Claws and angry raiders there are between you and the terraforming MacGuffin.
Though you can now move freely in 3D, the combat in the remake retains the same points-based system as the original Fallout 2. This sees you spending action points to attack, reload or use specific skills. In first-person, the action is more visceral but retains the more tactical flavour of older western RPGs. In a nice twist, you can adjust your weapons to be the sprites from the original game and make fights fully turn-based in the options menu.
Though still early in development, Fallout 2 3D shows a lot of promise and is well worth checking out on itch.io. You can even play it in your browser. So you have no excuse, Chosen One.
