The concept of Fallout Shelter seems like a no brainer for the creative minds over at Bethesda Games. With the popularity of free to play, management and click & wait style games on mobile platforms, casting the role of players as the overseer of their own vault seemed like an inevitable release rather than its surprise announcement and launch at the companies 2015 E3 press conference. In part the well structure gameplay and novelty of players controlling their own vault with an iron fist the game is finely crafted for what it is and unfortunately nothing more.
Like many games in the genre, Fallout Shelter is free to play with micro transactions available to speed along the process of essentially playing the game. These transactions allow for rapid expansion of players vault as well as overcoming the laborious wait between significant events and moments occurring within the game. This is done within the game through purchasing lunch boxes which act as a random drop of supplies and tools for expansion. This includes weaponry and stat boosting suits for the inhabitants of vault as well as the opportunity to earn additional caps used to expand and build out the scope of the vault as a whole. As one expects, these items within the lunch boxes can also be earned in game through sending out a plucky vault dweller into the wasteland for hours at a time wherein they may randomly uncover the item required but for rapid expansion the lunch boxes seem somewhat essential. There are random goals and challenges set that award either lunch boxes or caps but the sparsity of the occasional lunch box for free isn’t enough to make rapid development occur.
The other main aspect of the gameplay aside from accumulating an arsenal of suits and weaponry comes in the form of increasing the vaults population and building and increasing the scope of the vault as a whole. With an increasing dweller population more room types are unlocked for players to build, each of which brings their own specific benefit although the two main being room types are to either generate additional resources or improve the stats of the dwellers within the vault. Each of the rooms can also be upgraded to increase production and every room works on its own timer which can be rushed along at the potential risk of failure. Should the rush succeed then a cap reward is also awarded but should it fail then either a fire outbreaks or an outbreak of vermin.
And unfortunately that’s the gameplay loop. As overseer your task is to expand the vault, gather additional suits and weaponry and improve the stats of the individual vault dwellers. To do this players either wait and hope that the random loot drop of the wasteland is kind or purchase lunch boxes and essentially stack the deck into granting rapid vault expansion. Its a well developed idea that plays off the novelty of finally giving players the chance to run a vault of their own. Its perhaps simultaneously the easiest, laziest and smartest game that the developers could make and very well suited to the target platform. However its repetitive and restrictive gameplay loop and encouragement of micro transactions to speed along the process is a detriment to the gameplay as a whole. You do not need to spend money on Fallout Shelter to create an impressive vault but instead you’ll be required to check in frequently and work on expanding the vault. Perhaps a initial price tag and different design and structure to the game would create a better gameplay experience but as a free to play management sim it gets by and hooks player based on its novelty factor alone.
On the one hand I respect Bethesda for what it has created with Fallout Shelter and yet at the same time am torn and heartbroken for the possibility of what it could and in another lifetime should have been. Imagine a PC game with Sim City levels of depth in which players can create and manage their own vault. Now consider Fallout Shelter and what it is and could have been. I don’t know about you but I’d rather my Sim City level of depth Fallout Shelter retail PC game and I’m sad that Fallout Shelter is likely the closest that I’ll get.