The Case for Fallout 5 to Update its Hackable Terminals

Hacking terminals has become a familiar part of the modern Fallout games, but this returning feature has arguably outstayed its welcome by now. With a new mini-game for hacking terminals in Fallout 5, the franchise could level the playing field for franchise veterans in subtle ways.

Without changing the function and utility provided by hackable terminals, Fallout 5 could stand to benefit from experimenting with a new mini-game for hacking terminals, mixing things up for the franchise. Especially considering all the changes that the next Fallout game could introduce, to help set the game apart from past entries in the franchise and Bethesda’s other ongoing RPG franchises, new hackable terminal mini-games could be a refreshing change for the next Fallout game.

How New Hackable Terminals Can Set Fallout 5 Apart from Other Games

Given how far away Fallout 5 still is from releasing, it’s likely to be a whole new chapter of the franchise in multiple ways. With The Elder Scrolls 6 coming out before Fallout 5, which is still a long wait away, and then all the latest updates for Starfield, and The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises, Fallout 5 will have a lot to learn from. So, considering how much of the franchise could potentially change by the time the next Fallout game releases anyway, new hackable Terminals shouldn’t be too out of place among the anticipated new developments of the franchise.

Fallout 5 Can Take Advantage of its Setting for new Hackable Terminals

Assuming the setting for Fallout 5 is a location that the franchise has never gone to before, this could be the perfect opportunity to introduce new hackable terminals, justifying the change with a lore tie-in. This hasn’t been the case in the recent Fallout games, but that doesn’t mean that Fallout 5 should be afraid to go down this path, especially if it means introducing new major factions.

Fallout 5 Can Level the Playing Field for Franchise Veterans with New Hackable Terminals

The Fallout franchise has had the same terminal hacking system throughout several recent games, only with minor changes, and by now many longtime fans of the franchise have developed a familiarity with this feature that has caused its difficulty curve to stagnate. Meanwhile, hacking terminals in the modern Fallout games generally remains an entry barrier for newfound fans of the franchise. So, for the sake of leveling the playing field, future Fallout games should consider introducing a new method for hacking terminals.

In the case of Starfield, introducing a new hacking system has arguably proven to be a breath of fresh air among Bethesda’s modern RPGs. Starfield’s unique iteration of hacking/lockpicking threw many players for a loop by introducing a new system for everyone to learn and master. Yet while this is still a divisive topic for some gamers, for better or worse, such a change reignited the difficulty of hacking terminals and lockpicking for longtime fans of Bethesda’s RPG.

In its own subtle way, the difficulty introduced by Starfield’s new hacking system arguably brings back some of the magic of a player’s first modern Bethesda RPG, like say, players’ first time learning how to lockpick in Skyrim or Fallout 3. A new hacking system on its own wouldn’t necessarily set Fallout 5 apart from its predecessors and reinvent this magic singlehandedly, but every small step toward this goal counts. So, considering what good it could do for the franchise, future Fallout games should move on from the franchise’s overused terminal hacking minigame and settle on something new.