'Fallout 4' brings queer, polyamorous relationships to mainstream gaming

Even though Bethesda’s Fallout 4 isn’t even out yet, early reviews of the post-apocalyptic shooter are gaining buzz for some of the game’s more subtle, thoughtful features designed to make gameplay more immersive. Over the course of playing through Fallout 4‘s expansive campaign mode, players will be able to build queer, polyamorous relationships with their companions.

One of Fallout 4′‘s core game mechanics is built around the idea of companionship. At certain points in the game, other people will join your party that can assist you in combat.

Party members’ feelings about you are influenced by how you treat them in your day-to-day interactions. Leaving your friend to be attacked by mutants generally makes them hostile toward you, while choosing to protect them builds trust.

Once you’ve established a strong enough bond with a companion, you can choose to move your relationship in a romantic direction, regardless of their gender.

Where Fallout differs from other games is in its handling of open and polyamorous relationships.

In games like Dragon Age and Fable, players are limited to maintaining one monogamous relationship at a time and pursuing another character romantically effectively ends previous relationships. In Fallout, though, players can form multiple bonds with different characters.

Many modern AAA video games allow players to form gay and lesbian romances, but bisexuality and polyamory are relatively hard to come by. This particular aspect of the game doesn’t really change the way the plot unfolds or how the game works, but it can influence how players experience the story.

Compared to Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, which suffers from a severe lack of racial customization options, Fallout 4 goes that extra step toward making its fantastical story that much more relatable in a small way.