With the Fallout TV series only a few weeks away from airing, now's a great time to jump back into the Wasteland. If you're on the fence about where to look for your radioactive fix, Fallout 76's latest Expedition, Atlantic City: America's Playground, is honestly a great starting point.
"Like everyone else, I'm really looking forward to the show coming out and can't wait to see it," Art Director for Fallout 76, Jonathan Rush, tells me. "What I anticipate it's going to do is shed light on the franchise for folks that may not have been aware of it or folks that haven't visited Fallout in a while. And hopefully, it encourages them to hop into any of the Fallout games and check it out for themselves and make their own stories in that space, which I know our fan base has already done such a great job with."
Fallout 76 Expeditions, Atlantic City: Boardwalk Paradise, already released in late 2023, but now there are even more shenanigans to get up to in the second part, Atlantic City: America's Playground.
In case you don't know the Fallout lore about Atlantic City, the place is pretty untouched by the radioactive mess that infects and has destroyed many other settlements. The pine belt that surrounds the city has sheltered it from much of the chaos in the wastelands, and it wasn't directly targeted by nuclear warheads during the Great War. While there was severe flooding, the Casino district was left largely untouched. Eventually, three factions emerged: the theatrical Showmen, the mob called The Family, and the Munis, which took on government responsibilities. Working together in a shaky alliance, Atlantic City was able to prosper and look after most of its citizens.
I loved being able to see how the flooded city centre really shaped up to support the story.
Jonathan Rush
But Atlantic City is part of Fallout 76's world, so it's still plenty apocalyptic with killer gangs, eccentric life-and-death game shows, and its fair share of walking weeds called the Overgrown—think hordes of zombie swamp things. "Each of the areas in Atlantic City poses their own challenge," Rush says. "In that regard, the flooded city center in our latest update is very different from the Showman's Pier; it's been abandoned and overrun with the Overgrown and the lesser devils."
During the Atlantic City part one Expedition, I journeyed to the Showman's Pier, cutting through dozens of Overgrown to reach The Most Sensational Show. Held by The Showmen, survivors gathered to compete in this event for fame and riches. It essentially consisted of my group and I exploring an old underwater aquarium, solving puzzles, and escorting a volunteer as other contestants try to kill him. While this trial probably wouldn't have been as easy if it weren't for the help my teammates offered, it was still chaotic, action-packed, and pretty gory—everything I value in Fallout.
But now Atlantic City part two is offering players more than just different events, as you can explore more of the bustling city. "The beauty of players being able to go back to Atlantic City and explore outside of being on an Expedition or whatnot is they can look around all the corners and see all of the small details that the developers have put in there," Rush explains. "I loved being able to see how the flooded city centre really shaped up to support the story and also to introduce an area that's very distinctly Fallout but also very distinct on its own. I can't think of another space like that in Fallout 76."
The arrival of the TV series will likely bring more people, new and old, to Fallout games. I jumped straight back to Fallout 76 after just watching the trailer, but if you do want to venture back into the Wasteland, then you should know a couple of things.
"I would say to try to make some wasteland friends," Rush explains. "The Wasteland is always more fun, and it's a safer place when you've got friends to travel with. And that's a testament to our awesome community. Everybody's so friendly in our game; everybody wants to help one another." If you want to venture out into the world on your lonesome, then you should consider doing so at level 20. This will help you tackle the storyline or events and give you some decent gear to start out with.
But if you're going to remember only one piece of advice from Rush, then let it be this: "If you happen to be wandering around by the coastline, and you see an island that says Deathclaw Island. There's a good chance there's really a Deathclaw on there. When I first hopped into the game, I saw the sign, and I thought, 'I don't know what that means.' And I walked up on the island, and yeah, you can figure out what happened, learned that lesson the hard way."
