Fallout fans ‘beg’ Bethesda for a Nick Valentine spin-off
There have been some pretty great Fallout companions over the years, with the likes of Charon, Dogmeat, and Boone earning a special place in our hearts. Still, there's one that stands out more than most...and that's Nick Valentine.
The sleuth synth of Fallout 4 is one of the coolest characters to grace the Wasteland, and while we'd love him to return for the eventual Fallout 5, fans have come up with another way to see him again. Could we see the premiere detective of Diamond City be elevated from companion to hold up a game of his own?
Fallout fans want a Nick Valentine spin-off
Popping up as a potential companion in 2015's Fallout 4, Nick Valentine is a typically tragic character - created by the Institute and thought to be hundreds of years old. Although not great in a fight, he's a handy hacker and is integral in the Sole Survivor's quest to find their son.
Over on Reddit, players have been asking Bethesda for a Nick Valentine spin-off. Suggesting that Valentine could lead his own detective agency and solve crimes. As voice actor Stephen Russell said he based Valentine on noir detectives and Humphrey Bogart, we can see it working.
Responding to the idea, one supporter cheered, "That sounds pretty dope, but only if he narrates it like a pulp novel." Another added, "Bethesda im BEGGING," and a third said, "I was convinced there was going to be more Nick-focused DLC. If they released a new pack every couple months with more detective cases, I’d buy it."
A brilliant brainwave is to take Nick Valentine spin-off down the same route as Pendulo Studios' Blacksad: Under the Skin - which itself was a spin-off of the Blacksad comics. Sadly, seeing how Fallout still treats New Vegas as a black sheep of the family, what hope does a Nick Valentine spin-off really have?
What about the Fallout series?
Click to enlargeEven if Fallout 5 is an age away as Bethesda busies itself on The Elder Scrolls 6, there's still plenty in the Falloutverse. Showrunner Jonathan Nolan referred to Amazon's live-action series as 'almost' Fallout 5, set in canon with the rest of the games.
Even though Fallout 4 took place in Boston in 2287 and Amazon's Fallout series is in Los Angeles around 2296, we could easily bring Valentine over into this world. From what we've seen of Amazon's Fallout, there are no characters pulled directly from the games.
Nolan also warned viewers (via T3) that it won't necessarily be a series made with fans of the games in mind: "I don't think you really can set out to please the fans of anything. Or please anyone other than yourself."
"I think you have to come into this trying to make the show that you want to make and trusting that, as fans of the game [ourselves], we would find the pieces that were essential to us... and try to do the best version." Still, that doesn't mean there won't be some well-placed cameos.
It's clear that Amazon's Fallout is a love letter to the games, and with our Fallout future looking pretty blank right now (seriously, where's our New Vegas remaster?), it'll fill some of that empty void. Bethesda's slate is jam-packed, so if you want to give someone like Obsidian a chance, a Nick Valentine spin-off would be a welcome addition to the family.
