The human fascination with post-apocalyptic content can be attributed to a variety of psychological, social, and cultural factors. These stories deal with the exploration of survival instinct, the reimagining of societal structures, and the sense of adventure and discovery. All those elements are precisely what made the Fallout games so popular among audiences, given that the series is set in a post-apocalyptic world inspired by 1950s Americana and the Cold War era’s nuclear paranoia.
Of course, the games contain all the hallmarks of a typical post-apocalypse narrative, such as a desolate but intriguing post-nuclear war environment and the retro-futuristic tech combined with other 1950s elements. The success of the original 1997 Fallout warranted the release of subsequent games, all of which were relatively successful. And then, on March 26, 2024, Bethesda Softworks released America’s Playground expansion for its post-apocalyptic multiplayer online role-playing game, Fallout 76.
Before we dive into the novelties brought by the new expansion, allow us to paint a better picture for those who aren’t as acquainted with the franchise. Fallout games take place in an alternate timeline in which the world went down a much darker path, and the Cold War and the fear of communism of the ’50s continued into the 21st century. The geopolitical tensions eventually escalated, and the conflict ended in the only way possible: nuclear war.
However, in the world of Fallout, nuclear war was just a chapter in humanity’s history. Amidst the rubble and ruin of a broken world, it brought on another conflict. Despite the societal collapse, the environmental disaster, and the nuclear wasteland, new factions still arose, and humanity found new reasons to kill each other in a world that’s now pretty much populated by ghouls and mutants. Yet, some semblance of civilization survived, and that’s where America’s Playground comes in.
The newly released update, accessible across all platforms native to the game, opens up a new chapter in the Fallout 76 narrative. The players are invited back to explore the newly open areas of Atlantic City, a place where gambling, gangsters, and booze, though entertaining, actually set the stage for a fertile ground to explore stories of power, greed, and survival, themes that the franchise has spent nearly 30 years building upon. But the new open world around Atlantic City, complemented with additional questlines and smaller narratives, isn’t the only novelty.
At the heart of this new expansion is the confrontation with the Overgrown, an ambulatory, horribly mutated flora from the Pine Barrens adjacent to Atlantic City. Called “plantfolk” by the residents, the origins of these creatures are unknown. It’s theorized that they’re simply mutated species of plants or the corpses of recently deceased that have been reanimated by a plant-based pathogen. They’re incredibly strong and extremely durable, and players are likely going to have to strategize in order to defeat them.
The Overgrown are there to add a fresh layer of challenge and excitement to the game, which further reinforced Bethesda’s commitment to evolving Fallout 76’s gameplay mechanics. But they’re just a distraction. The real narrative twist lies with the complex dynamics of the Russo family within the revamped Ingram Mansion in Appalachia (they successfully evicted the Mothman cultists), which they had turned into a swanky nightclub. They seem to be doing quite alright after escaping their blood-stained past in Atlantic City.
This is where loyalty, betrayal, and ambition collide. The Russo family’s intricate relationships and dark secrets drive the narrative of the larger thematic exploration of power, the seduction of vice (the aforementioned gambling and booze), and the costs of survival in the post-apocalyptic world. The introduction of gambling, gangsters, and booze in the new expansion goes beyond pure atmospheric enhancement; instead, it serves a multi-layered narrative and gameplay purpose.
These are all metaphors for the risk and reward associated with gambling, the capacity for both organization and destruction associated with organized crime, and the need for escape and the dangers of addictions that go with booze. By placing the narrative in Atlantic City, Bethesda invoked the city’s historical associations with organized crime, prohibition-era bootlegging, and the dark allure of gambling dens.
The historical backdrop provided by America’s Playground, combined with the recognizable aesthetics of Fallout and the series’ established lore, ends up enriching the overarching narrative of the franchise. But it does more than that, as it also offers an interesting insight into the nature of civilization and the human condition under duress. Bethesda really hit the nail on the head with Atlantic City; the expansion made Fallout 76 feel like a proper Fallout game after 76 faced heavy criticism due to technical problems, certain gameplay mechanics, and a lack of human NPCs.
Now, even those who previously abandoned the game due to the aforementioned issues are flocking back to the title, Fallout 76’s fan base continues to grow. Fallout 76: America’s Playground is currently available on PC via Steam, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, via their respective stores. It’s also playable on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 through backward compatibility with their predecessors.