Fallout 4 is a very long game comprised of one large mystery and hundreds of smaller stories / quests based in the world of post-apocalyptic Boston. It's the kind of adventure that's arguably better when you have access to a compendium of sorts. Confused about weapon modding? Check out one of the dozens of online guides. What's the point of making settlements? There's a wiki for that, or perhaps you check one of several forum threads where people argue that very point.

There's just one problem with that. Any time you delve into a world of guides risks spoiling the main quest of Fallout 4 — the very question set up at the beginning. And while you can barrel through the main quest, it will still take dozens of hours to solve the mystery. That inevitably means missing a ton of less important opportunities — many of which are actually the best part of the game.

I realize for some that it's very stressful not to be able to seek help for some of the finer points in between. And Fallout 4, above all else, is about exploring and forging your own path. It's supposed to be fun!

So for people like me who would rather be spoiled ahead of time in order to just enjoy the wasteland at a more leisurely pace, I'm going to tell you the big twist. After this picture:

Your son Shaun is dead. His consciousness has been uploaded to Codsworth in secret. You spend the second half of the game trying to unlock the memories of your now-robot child while warring factions fight to capture him to dissect and understand the technology / to reclaim the technology.

There. Now you know. Go enjoy the Commonwealth at your own pace.

Read next: Polygon's Fallout 4 guide