Modding is one of the things that I look forward to the most in Fallout 4. Mods have already started to pop out, mostly fixes and minor things. They will only get better as the days go by, and when Bethesda decides to release the creation kit. So, before all that happens, before the mods for expanded weapons and character overhauls, I figured it would be a great opportunity for me to go through the main quests and finish the game’s main storyline. No modding for me until the main task is done, I said to myself.

Most RPG’s, and the Fallout series are no exception, bring out the hoarder in every one of us. You never know when a piece of junk or a random item will be useful. Nothing gets left behind. Especially at the early levels. As the game progresses, the player can then start to discern between valuable stuff, and plain junk not worth their weight in caps. A delicate balance between what you absolutely need and what is effectively worthless develops. You learn to stop worrying and leave the junk behind. The wasteland is scattered with it anyway.

Not so in Fallout 4. Not with the new crafting system, and the ability to build settlements and modify weapons and armour. Now every dirty ashtray and broken desk fan are valuable, everything can be broken down into components and used. There is no more waste in the wasteland, only resources that you absolutely cannot leave behind.

Glue addiction takes on a whole new meaning

Having a carry weight limit has always made sense. It has been a key part of the previous Fallout games, The Elder Scrolls, and almost every other game in existence. Inventory management is something every player must deal with, and a fun and vital challenge in itself. Clearing out a building or a dungeon, sifting through all the loot left behind, choosing what to take with me and what to leave behind, it is all part of the game. Sometimes, in particularly good situations, it would even merit a couple of trips back to my home base to drop off stuff, run back to the building or dungeon, and finish with the pillaging and plundering. There was a sense of accomplishment in that, of hard earned loot so good that merits travelling back and forth just to get it all.

This is not something that happens in Fallout 4. Nothing can be left behind in Fallout 4, where everything is valuable and useful. Everything can be broken down and used to improve your weapons, or your armour, or your settlement. I would find myself staring at the inventory tab in the Pip-Boy, trying to decide between one old piece of armour, comparing its weight to value ratio vs another piece of junk. Should I sell it, or break it down for components? What if it’s useful later? Time to fast travel back to my settlement, drop it all off, and repeat a thousand times.