The details of Fallout 4’s overhauled survival mode were leaked and then swiftly confirmed by Bethesda, and it sounds awesome. Brutal, sure, and punishingly hard – but awesome.
Fans have wondered for a while what would be changing in the currently underwhelming survival mode, and thanks to the efforts of rayQuGR, we have a detailed account of what to expect on Reddit. Bethesda linked the Reddit post in a Tweet soon after to confirm, but stressed that they were still working on features.
So, what are we getting? For starters manual and quicksaving have been disabled. You’ll need to find a bed to save your game in survival mode. Combat is also much harder – you’ll deal more damage, but also take more damage.
Fast travel will be disabled too, meaning you’ll have to physically brave the wasteland on foot to get around. Ammo now weighs a small amount – the bigger the ammo the heavier it is (obviously) and enemies will no longer appear on your radar, just to further fuck with you.
Staying well rested, fed and watered is also important in this higher difficulty. Neglecting these essential needs will affect your health and stats, making it much harder to fight off those pesky Super Mutants. You’ll also succumb to illness through dirty water or contact with ghouls and bugs. Fortunately, you can purchase antibiotics to clear up what ails you.
Meanwhile, broken limbs won’t auto heal, and sharing’s caring, as your companions will fuck off home if you abandon them without giving them a Stimpak.
There’s plenty more detailed on the Reddit post, but those are the big talking points. Plus, Bethesda have said there’s more to come… God help us all.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.