Age hasn’t stopped Fallout 4 from still being a great entry in Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic series. It may not be a perfect RPG by any means, but The Commonwealth remains one of the most fascinating wastelands that the Fallout franchise has to offer. There are so many compelling regions throughout the Fallout 4 map to explore, and one of the most memorable is the Glowing Sea. Stepping into the Glowing Sea for the first time is still ingrained in my memory, because it sent me into a quick panic. The place is riddled with radiation and monsters, but that hasn’t stopped a mod team from expanding the region in a pretty brilliant way.
For those who aren’t aware, a team of fans known as the Commonwealth Story Expansion Project has been working on Fallout 4 mods for several years. Now, the team is back with a brand-new fan-made expansion centered completely around the map’s most dangerous area. The Glowing Sea’s high radiation and various hazards have given it a reputation as a map location that’s better off avoided instead of explored. The Commonwealth Story Expansion Project is completely changing that belief, though.
A New Fallout 4 Mod Unlocks the Glowing Sea’s Untapped Potential
The mod in question is called Under the STARS, and it looks pretty awesome. It features several interesting pieces of fresh content, but one of the best things about the Fallout 4 Under the STARS mod is that it adds an extra dose of horror to the game. Under the Stars’ entire premise is that it takes place in an abandoned underground bunker hidden below the Glowing Sea. As much as I love Fallout, I have always wanted the series to lean more into horror aspects, and Under the STARS brings a small piece of those hopes to life.
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Fallout has dabbled with horror elements over the years, but Under the STARS is a reminder that there is so much potential that Bethesda has yet to unlock when it comes to this side of a post-apocalyptic world. The Fallout 3 tunnels are a great example of just how scary the game’s wastelands can be. Everyone has their own opinion on what the best Fallout wastelands are, but regardless of location, some of the most memorable moments throughout the series also happen to be the most terrifying. Moments like the Pint-Sized Slasher in Fallout 3 and the Museum of Witchcraft in Fallout 4 showcase that Fallout‘s universe is truly a horror story at its core.
Under the STARS’ entire premise is that it takes place in an abandoned underground bunker hidden below the Glowing Sea.
Fallout 4 Under the STARS Mod Details
- An underground lab location found under the Glowing Sea
- Fresh puzzles and quests
- New holotapes with voice-acted lines
- A helmet and outfit
- Two unique weapons
The Glowing Sea in Fallout 4 has its reputation for a good reason, so it’s not surprising that so many players try to avoid the area. However, its high difficulty level also keeps it from being an even more compelling area to explore. Bethesda still could have made it a tough area to traverse without pushing some players away from discovery. Even without the mod, there are so many fascinating and creepy details hidden throughout the location, and it’s a shame that not every player has had the chance to stumble upon them.
As Fallout 4‘s nuke ground zero, the Glowing Sea represents the true horrors of the Great War in Fallout. The bomb turned the area into a toxic and massively deadly zone, but that’s only the half of the horror. At its heart, the Glowing Sea is a terrifying showcase of humanity’s hubris, and the Under the STARS mod expanding on the area hopefully inspires Bethesda to use this location and its themes as a blueprint for the next mainline game.
Fallout Locations Like the Glowing Sea Need to Inspire Fallout 5’s Wasteland
Check Out Fallout 4’s Under the STARS Mod
As the wait for Fallout 5 news continues, Bethesda’s silence surrounding the project has me and many others wondering what lies in store for the series next. Wastelands are the cornerstone of every single Fallout game, and that is the question that many fans want answered first, besides a release date. The Fallout games have done a solid job of showing how terrifying a post-nuclear world could be, and Fallout 5 should lean even harder into that. Places like the Glowing Sea demonstrate that Bethesda has plenty of great ideas that help drive home that horror, but they sometimes also fall short of fully selling it.
The Fallout TV show has done a fantastic job of showing the terrors of pre-War experiments and how those consequences still have ripple affects that continue to shake up post-War America. Bethesda has laid a great foundation with the Fallout games, but it’s time to go deeper. The RPG storytelling bar has been raised incredibly high since Fallout 4 was released, and it’ll be interesting to see how Bethesda approaches this kind of challenge.
- Released
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November 10, 2015
- ESRB
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M FOR MATURE: BLOOD AND GORE, INTENSE VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, USE OF DRUGS
