Todd Howard explains that Fallout 3’s resemblance to “Oblivion with guns” was expected, as it served as Bethesda’s next step after Oblivion.

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Before the release of Fallout 3 in 2008, Bethesda faced criticism from both hardcore Fallout fans and the broader gaming community, who dismissed it with the phrase, “Oh, it’s just Oblivion with guns.” Fast forward 18 years, and Todd Howard reflects on how the similarities between Fallout 3 and Oblivion were a natural progression, as it was Bethesda’s follow-up to the beloved fantasy RPG.

“The Oblivion-ish-ness of Fallout 3, I think, has to do with, in many respects, it’s our follow-up to Oblivion,” Howard shared in an interview. “We’re rebooting Fallout, which people haven’t seen in a while, in an all-new way. But you’re coming off Oblivion, which was hugely popular, so you’re getting an audience that you know expects both.”

The first two Elder Scrolls games featured procedurally generated worlds before Bethesda honed in on the handcrafted approach that defines their style today. Morrowind helped popularize the open-world format, and Oblivion did the same “in a different way,” according to Howard. Fallout 3 was simply the next evolution in exploring that open-world RPG style.

However, Fallout 3 wasn’t intended to be a carbon copy of Oblivion. Bethesda was careful to ensure it had a distinct aesthetic. “We were so conscious of proving that we could do this genre switch and that Fallout would feel very different from what came before, like Oblivion, that I think that informed a lot of how Fallout 3 was a very dark, bleak, very post-apocalyptic type of world,” explained lead artist Istvan Pely.

While I logged countless hours in Fallout 3, I found it didn’t resonate with me as much as Oblivion did, partly because Bethesda’s efforts to create a darker atmosphere were so effective. These are games designed for long play sessions, and I found it easier to immerse myself in a vibrant fantasy world than in a desaturated post-apocalyptic setting. Yet, that aesthetic shift was intentional.

“Oblivion was very saturated and colorful and bright for the most part,” Pely noted. “We sapped out the color, darkened it, and added grunge. It was almost an overcorrection to say, ‘Alright, we need to make a statement that we’re going to take this seriously and do Fallout justice.’ I think that gave 3 a very hardcore visual identity, which surprised a lot of folks that we could pull it off.”

Bethesda’s approach to the series sparked debate, but it has undeniably delivered some of the most memorable Fallout experiences.