Everything in the world of Fallout is now useful. And that’s exactly the problem.
As you may have heard, Fallout 4 now has a robust crafting system. Anything you find, no matter how broken down or random it is, can probably be used to modify your weapon, customize your settlement, or perhaps even to make some chems. This is a cool idea! It means that you’re constantly scrounging and making use of whatever you can, and that feels like an appropriate detail for the post-apocalypse. Macguyvering junk is probably how people survive in a world like this. It makes sense, at least on paper.
But in practice? It means I’m constantly drowning in stuff I can use, because the wasteland is littered with crap. It’s just...everywhere. In every corner, in every crevice, in every safe: there it is. Garbage. Useful garbage, hilariously enough.
Every single cup, lamp, scrap, and tin can I come across could be used for something down the line. Do I pick it up? How much is too much? How do I fight the impulse to take EVERYthing with me, just in case? That’s what RPGs have trained me to do, after all: hoard, hoard, hoard. But it’s a vice that’s proving detrimental in Fallout 4, because the more I pick up, the more I have to sort through my inventory. I feel like I become over-encumbered constantly now, even when I’m being picky about what I take with me, or when I make sure to use the game’s storage options. It’s making the game feel like an inventory management sim, and that’s not very fun at all. I don’t want to be a hoarder, but Fallout 4’s design really encourages me to be one. It’s driving me up a wall. I’m spending way too much time staring at a menu, when I should be exploring the wasteland!
I’m hoping that with time, I can overcome my item impulse and just learn to ignore most of Fallout 4’s junk. Sure, I might be able to finagle that 10 pound fire extinguisher into my shotgun. But is it worth it, really?