If a Fallout 3 remaster is happening, I'm hoping it fixes the RPG's biggest level design issue

Hey, do you remember that leaked Bethesda release schedule from a few years back? Doubters remain demolished, as it's panned out so far. Even when all evidence pointed to Oblivion Remastered being real, heretics refused to believe the Reddit hype. Look at us now. Well, I think it's time to start taking the Fallout 3 remaster rumors seriously, and I've got my wishlist ready and everything.

Today, I'd like to talk about one of my biggest frustrations with one of the best open-world games, an RPG I genuinely love. In a nutshell: Fallout 3's rendition of a post-apocalyptic Washington DC isn't very fun to navigate, despite it being the centerpiece of the game world. With much stronger hardware now available and Oblivion Remastered's timid reworks and additions behind us, why shouldn't whoever is in charge of this effort (I'm just betting on Virtuos again) try to finish what Bethesda Game Studios started and really make this the best Fallout game ever?

Landmarks, dead ends, and tunnels

By "finish" I truly mean finish. Fallout 3 had no small amount of cut locations, with the DC ruins meant to be "twice as large as they were in the final version" according to lead designer and writer Emil Pagliarulo in a 2009 interview with Gamespot. The end result was a central area of the map which often felt disjointed and confusing to navigate.

The partially destroyed Capitol Building, Jefferson Memorial, and Museum of History, among others, remain some of the most iconic RPG locations as depicted in the massive 2008 threequel. With a switch to more action-y, real-time gameplay through traditional first and third-person views came a far more detailed look at the United States following a nuclear war. Coupled with the green tint which covers the entire game and Inon Zur's often haunting score, Fallout 3's Washington DC is a hard-to-forget location despite its shortcomings.

Super Mutants took over DC at some point, so (canonically) walking through the city's ruined streets isn't the safest option. This makes Galaxy News Radio's presence there much funnier, but more importantly, justifies the dungeon-like network of tunnels and metro stations. The labyrinthian system is one of the creepiest bits of Fallout 3 (Point Lookout reigns supreme), but constantly getting turned around due to repeating level cells isn't very fun.

The hiccup-y flow of the level design there also translates to the devastated surface. The run between the Washington Monument and other central landmarks, infested with very mean entrenched Super Mutants, is still awesome, but the same doesn't apply to oddly constrained "open" areas that feel more like something out of a Deus Ex title. Needless to say, the natural jaunts Bethesda Game Studios' RPGs are known for also suffer from the zone's fragmented nature; even if you don't constantly go in and out of interiors, it's filled with load screens.

Going the extra mile

Though a Fallout 3 remaster maybe wasn't really on the cards a few years ago, I'm sure the brand-wide success of the Fallout show, Oblivion Remastered, and the plain fact Fallout 5 won't be here until The Elder Scrolls 6 miraculously gets released (if the world hasn't been set on fire by then) have solidified it into existence.

As mentioned before, Bethesda and Virtuos' joint effort on Oblivion Remastered wasn't limited to the UE5-powered visual overhaul. A retouched leveling system, the ability to sprint, and slightly smoother melee combat were added to the game 19 years later. In the wise words of Todd Howard: "It just works."

Going into Fallout 3, I believe further changes and additions should happen. Cut content often is an untapped gold mine for such projects, and Bethesda's giant RPGs have a history of leaving lots of pretty good chunks behind due to budget and time constraints.

I don't just wish for a denser Capital Wasteland in the potential remaster. I think it's more important to make it as seamless as possible. Even back in 2008, it felt detached from the rest of the world and far less detailed than Oblivion's main hubs. Sure, it was never meant to be a bustling town (quite the opposite), but when you've spent way too much time in Bethesda's sandboxes, you can tell where stuff had to be "stitched together" in order to ship in time.

As remasters become more common and a steady source of revenue for publishers (we have to admit nostalgia works wonders most of the time), the least we can do is ask for better, more involved efforts. I really enjoyed my return to Cyrodiil last year, but if this will become a tradition for Xbox and Bethesda moving forward, it may be smart to slow down, analyze what originally fell short of expectations without rose-tinted glasses, and work towards meaningful refreshes in conversation with the original (and upcoming) releases.

The list of upcoming Bethesda games is short but incredibly iconic