Fallout 4might not be most fans' first choice for the strongest main story in the franchise, but it’s still filled with memorable moments. The sheer scope of the Commonwealth, and the clear commitment to big-budget production values, cranks up the emotional capacity on many occasions.
Whether you’re taking the fight to an enemy, catching a zinger of a line of dialogue from a friend, or simply witnessing the end results of Bethesda’s terrific world design, there’s something here for everyone. These are our favorites - let us know if we touch upon any of yours!
9The Prydwen’s Arrival
Depending on your choices throughout Fallout 4’s narrative, the Prydwen may be destroyed. This massive behemoth of an airship represents all the anxious awe of the pinnacle of the Brotherhood of Steel’s power.
It’s a power that is not solely reserved for the Commonwealth. The Prydwen shows up in Amazon’s Fallout TV show, effectively confirming that only a couple of Fallout 4’s endings can be canon with the series' storyline.
The show does a fine job of bringing forth the spectacle of the Prydwen, but truly, it is the moment in which the airship appears in Fallout 4 that has stuck with us the most.
8Meeting Nick Valentine
Deep within the seedy heart of Diamond City, all manner of ne’er-do-wells and honest folk alike eke out a living in a place that will compel any baseball fan to crack a smile.
But as interesting as Diamond City itself may be, there is no one so captivating as Nick Valentine. The private-eye-style police officer whose every line oozes intrigue, Nick Valentine is a man of two worlds, convinced he’s one thing, unaware he might be the other.
While this character arc is good stuff in its own right, it would be nothing without Nick’s innate charisma, which is on full display from the moment you meet him.
7The Sole Survivor Emerges
Fallout 4 gets to have its pre-war cake and eat it, too. Not only do you step outside the confines of a Vault into the grim reality of the wasteland beyond - an iconic moment in numerous entries - but you do so from the perspective of a person who hails from before the bombs dropped.
For all our quibbles with the ways in which the sole survivor’s fate is handled, their emergence into a harsh, unforgiving world is extraordinary; not for how alien it all seems, but how hauntingly recognizable it all is.
6The Battle Of Bunker Hill
It might not have the lasting real-world historical impact of the Revolutionary War engagement that cost the United Colonies their beloved Joseph Warren, but Fallout 4’s own Battle of Bunker Hill is nothing short of an ideological bloodbath.
It’s the magnitude of your possible decisions that makes Bunker Hill such a highlight. You can warn the Brotherhood of Steel about the pending carnage - or not. You can warn the Railroad about it - or not.
There’s even a way to delicately navigate the brutal battle, reaping all its rewards from every angle. But no matter what you do, the full scope of Fallout 4 is on display here.
5Battle Against The Mechanist
Fallout’s no stranger to cheek - it’s the cheekiness of it all that makes the franchise’s tone so iconic. But what happens when all that intentionally on-the-nose metacommentary and 1950s kitsch gets even more literal?
You battle the fiendish Mechanist, that’s what happens. It’s all so purposefully hammy in its imitation of a popular tale, and while it’s initially played straight, by the end of it you will be utterly in-tune with the corniest darn thing that hits a series which thrives on corn.
4The Nuclear Option
As we’ve said, we’re not the biggest fans of a lot of what makes Fallout 4’s core storyline tick. But while that story could stand to have been better told, the places that it’ll send you feel appropriately epic for how much is at stake through the machinations of the Institute and other factions.
Choosing which faction to align with between the Minutemen, the Brotherhood of Steel, or the Railroad, and taking the fight to the enemy in an all-in assault, is conveyed in grandiose fashion. The battle is tense, the consequences wide-reaching, and the loot… well, that’s good, too.
3The Silver Shroud’s Heroic Debut
What’s better than playing a role-playing game? Role-playing in a role-playing game. Decked out in the garb of the heroic Silver Shroud, bringing murderers and other unsavory sorts to justice, and leaving your very own calling card behind every time - fantastic stuff.
You can do all sorts of things in Fallout 4, of course. But when you agree to don the Silver Shroud’s iconic attire, you are a hero of the Commonwealth, a justice-delivering, fedora-wearing, vigilante with a heart of gold. It’s all a bit of nonsense, really, but that’s the idea.
2Liberty Prime
No matter how you come to gaze upon this hulking, death-dealing machine in Fallout 4’s main quests, it’ll surely leave quite the impression. And it might not be your first impression of Liberty Prime, either; it has, after all, played a critical role in the events of Fallout 3.
Regardless, watching this monstrous creation of the US Army assist in the utter annihilation of one’s foes is some unforgettable action. Arguably its biggest moment occurs if you’ve sided with the Institute; there’s nothing like watching Liberty Prime bring down the Prydwen.
1The USS Constitution’s Flight
We may have had a tough time locking down the candidates for our list of the best moments in Fallout 4, but we never struggled to decide our first-place winner.
The USS Constitution, a storied naval vessel from the 18th century, had long been converted into a naval attraction filled with robots designed to emulate the original crew. But the “captain,” Ironsides, has come to believe he’s the real deal.
The plot hook alone is fantastic, but seeing the USS Constitution soar through the sky in service to Ironsides' hope of bringing “his” beloved ship to bear upon the world once more? It’s peak cinema, as they say. (Even if it doesn’t quite go as planned…)
