Today, I’d like to share with you a little Fallout 4 story. I’d been saving it until I was reasonably certain people would have passed the point in the story when it could happen to them, and now believe it to be the perfect time to share this cautionary tale. Submitted for the approval of the Siliconera Society, I call this story, “The Perils of Hubris in Fallout 4.”
It all started after I had completed Unlikely Valentine, rescuing Nick Valentine from Vault 114 below Park Street Station. After quickly defeating Skinny Malone and Darla, Valentine had asked if I wanted to join him on the trip back to Diamond CIty. Spending so much time underground had gotten to me, though, and I felt like I needed a break. I told him I would meet him there and decided to explore the area before fast traveling back to the stadium.
When I feel like wandering, I always like to see if there are any nearby locations I can enter and explore. One such outline was appearing at my radar that very moment, and I thought it odd that there was one that I didn’t catch on my walk to the Park Street Station. A few moments later, I found myself outside of Hubris Comics, a Fallout staple since Fallout 3.
I felt like I needed to stop inside. I love checking out comic book stores in real life and Hubris Comics is an icon in the series. I was certain something good would be inside. Especially since comic books can be used to earn perks. Surely a store would have some comics, something I’d direly need since my character had loaded up on Agility, Charisma, and Intelligence.
I should have known Hubris Comics was trouble when I walked in. I hate Feral Ghouls in general, but despise them in Fallout 4 due to how often they appear. By this point in my travels, I hadn’t even met any friendly Ghouls yet, so the sight of more malicious ones was almost enough to make me turn around. Except the discovery of a storeroom key and issue of Unstoppables on the shop counter made me pause. “Think of the perks!” Dogmeat was with me, after all. I could have him hold enemies or act as a distraction and pick the Ghouls off one-by-one from a safe location.
From floor to floor I traveled, hoping the next level would be the one where that fabled storeroom would appear. I came across Silver Shroud references on Terminals. I acquired a Holo-deck tape. There were no more comics yet, but the adventure seemed promising.
Especially as I reached the Recording Studio. This branch of Hubris was where a Silver Shroud show was going to be filmed. Certainly the fourth floor would be it?
It was it, all right. It was it for me. Because the fourth floor housed the Glowing One.
As I neared the sound stage, I heard a terrible shriek. Dogmeat, my loyal friend, rushed ahead to defend my honor. Feral Ghouls swarmed me. I took them out one by one, but noticed an oddity roaming around the back. This ghoul was not only glowing, but moving more slowly toward me. An air of confidence (and radiation) surrounded him. For the first time, I looked at a Ghoul and felt something more than annoyance. I was afraid.
I chipped away at the Glowing One’s health. This was before people knew about the cheats to get the cryogun with Dogmeat at the beginning of the game, so my options were limited. The Minigun had been used to quickly deal with the smaller Ghouls ahead of me and an earlier Super Mutant encounter. My junk cannon was an option, but that would mean sacrificing the stuff I had picked up in Vault 114 and Hubris.
Then, the Glowing One screamed.
All of the fallen Ghouls came back to life, fully refreshed. An undead army faced me, more terrifying than any White Walkers because they were here, now, and there was no buffer.
I died. The sheer numbers overwhelmed me, and I hadn’t been keeping close enough tabs on my health. Moreover, since the auto-saving had been turned off, my last save file was from before facing Skinny Malone. A half hour worth of work was gone.
The Glowing One is still out there, watching and waiting, and there’s no Grognak the Barbarian or Silver Shroud to save us now.
