Fallout 4 has a wide variety of ways players can take the fight to the bands of raiders, feral ghouls and other enemies that roam the Commonwealth. From mini-nuke launchers to the intimidating power armour often used in the marketing for Fallout games, there's many powerful weapons at the player's disposal. Yet, one thing that Fallout 4 seems to lack is a solid stealth system to encourage players to take their sneaking to the next level and not just charge headlong into combat.
This seems a strange thing for a Bethesda single-player RPG to mostly avoid stealth, as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim encouraged and allowed players to optmise their Sneak skill to the point where they wouldn't be seen, even when right next to an enemy. So long as a player had a strong bow, a sword or couple of daggers for melee and the patience to crouch for hours at a time, a stealth build can be one of the strongest in Skyrim, and over the years its become clear sneaking around the lands of the Nords is hugely popular.
On the other hand, Fallout 4's stealth system is somewhat wanting, especially to one fan on Reddit, who highlighted what they consider to be room for improvement leading up to Fallout 5. In a short, bullet-pointed list, the player stated that they are currently playing through Fallout 4 with a stealth build, and believe that there could be changes for things the player could do, and more elements in terms of the game's map to accomodate stealth. Things like bottles and tin cans could distract enemies, while throwing knives or axes could be used for silent kills at a distance. The fan also said tunnels could be implemented to allow players to sneak around a dilapidated store or run-down settlement, allowing for better surprise attacks.
Many fans agreed with the user on Reddit, echoing how the current system does leave room for improvement, especially when a player can blow up an enemy with an explosive weapon only to watch all the raiders around wonder how their comrade exploded. Others stated that the additions to Fallout's stealth system would make the games too much like the Metro series. All that can be done now though is wonder whether these changes will they're included in Todd Howard's Fallout 5 summary.
Like Skyrim, Fallout 4 is a game that can be heavily improved via mods. If a fan doesn't to wait for Bethesda to include a stealth rehaul in their next release, they can look to the Nexus or Creation Club to find whatever they need. Considering it's been six years since Bethesda last released a single-player RPG though, and following the disastrous launch of Fallout 76, it would be nice to see something new, sometime soon.
Fallout 4 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.