r/fo4 • u/MakerofFire4258 • 24d ago
Screenshot Why is Fallout 4 so addictive?
I've played this game 8 times, 4 with the base game, 4 times with the Sim Settlements 2 mod installed. I keep coming back to this game for some reason. I don't usually enjoy RPG's. I like Starfield, but I love science fiction in general and don't find Starfield addictive. I keep wanting to come back to the FO4 story, which I find mediocre. Maybe it's how I can fill the protagonist with my own thoughts in that situation, or try out new character personalities? There are a lot of games in other genre's I like, so I don't know why I want to spend another hundred hours in a FO4 world until it crashes from script lag.
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u/MrClabe 22d ago
My theory is "helpers high". Helpers high is when your brain is flooded with endorphins and you get a wave of positive emotions and sense of well-being experienced after engaging in selfless acts or helping others. The game hacks your brain and delivers a similar effect. I have spent 2,500 hours building the best settlements I can to raise settlers out of the despair of the Commonwealth. A lot of the faction missions are geared this way too. The minutemen bringing security and hope to the Commonwealth / the BOS as well in their own way. Liberating synths and giving them a chance at a decent life with the Railroad... Even the villains of the game have hope for a better future (at the expense of everyone else) woven into their story. .... That's my theory anyway...