While exploring the wasteland and building up a settlement is fun, the quests of Fallout are the real meat of the experience. For years, Bethesda has been honing its craft, and with each subsequent title, the quests that the studio produces get better and better—and there's no denying that Fallout 4 features some of Bethesda's best quests yet.
These are the quests that feel like something new, something unique: sure, you could argue that every quest in any game usually boils down to "talk to Person A, go kill Person B," but that's just not the case in Fallout 4. While not every quest is created equal, the game features some amazing missions that do quite a bit to bend the rules.
Of course, the game features some amazing side quests ... but before we get to those, let's take a look at some of the fantastic story quests in Fallout 4. Be warned: While we'll try our best to keep the endings of these quests under wraps, know that there may be a few minor spoilers ahead.
Unlikely Valentine
It's Nick freakin' Valentine. That's all you really need to know.
In the early hours of the game, Diamond City represents the next big step in the quest to save Shaun—however, upon arriving, players quickly realize that there's yet another hurdle to cross.
Nick Valentine, the only detective in town, has gone missing—and it's up to you to get him back. After a few tips from a local reporter, players take off in search of Nick. The subsequent trip down into the bowels of Vault 114 is easily one of the best story missions in the game: there's a ton of combat, plenty of opportunities for stealth, and even a few moral choices to make along the way.
Oh, and then there's the big reveal of who Nick really is. We won't spoil it here, but trust us—you won't see it coming.
Show No Mercy
In a lot of ways, Show No Mercy is just the final chapter in one big quest: Shadow of Steel helped introduce the larger Brotherhood of Steel occupation force and Tour of Duty introduced players to the various crew members aboard the airship. Truth be told, these missions aren't all that exciting—Show No Mercy, on the other hand, is the complete opposite.
Fallout 4 is, relatively speaking, pretty combat heavy: there are more guns to find raiders to blow apart than ever before. Show No Mercy takes the gun-happy nature of Fallout 4 to an entirely new level: not only are players tasked with gunning down a legion of Super Mutants while fighting side-by-side with the Brotherhood, but the whole thing kicks off with an amazing flight into enemy territory via Vertibird. It's on a scale that's never been seen in a Fallout game—and that's why it's so memorable.
The Glowing Sea
At first, The Glowing Sea doesn't sound all that different from a normal Fallout 4 quest. It basically boils down to 'go find somebody' ... but it's the environment that really sets it apart from everything else.
The Glowing Sea is basically its own separate wasteland: while the rest of the Commonwealth at least shows some signs of life, the Glowing Sea is completely and totally irradiated: clouds of fallout roll over the hills, thunder and plasma crack overhead and some of the game's toughest mutants call it home. It's so starkly different from anything else in a Bethesda Fallout game, and yet, it feels so perfectly at home.
Sure, the quest itself might not be all that complicated, but it doesn't have to be—not when the world itself is so engaging.
Pull the Plug
Truth be told, Pull the Plug isn't that great a mission. In fact, most of the quest is pretty boring: aside from fighting a few mirelurks during the finale, Pull the Plug is basically about swimming and hitting buttons—that's it.
That being said, just because the quest is completed doesn't necessarily mean that it's over. Most of the time, players have zero influence on the world around them, but once Pull the Plug is done, players can return to find Thicket Excavations completely drained. It opens up an entirely new area to explore, and reveals just how much of the world players can change throughout Fallout 4.
Pro tip: when you go back to Thicket Excavations, bring a sniper rifle. You'll be glad you did.
The Lost Patrol
There is plenty of detective work in Fallout 4. Even ignoring the fact that the main story quest is all about tracking someone down, there are plenty of quests that involve the player hunting down clues to find someone or something.
The best of these is The Lost Patrol: after talking with one of the crewman aboard the Brotherhood airship, players are tasked with tracking down a lost group of reconnaissance scouts. The ending may be a bit obvious for anyone who's ever played a Fallout game before, and the just bouncing around from location to location is more than worth it. Plus, the game doesn't just lay everything out for the player: you'll actually have to do a bit of detective work if you want to figure out what happened to those soldiers.
Last Voyage Of The USS Constitution
If The Lost Patrol shows how grim Fallout 4 can be, then The Last Voyage of the USS Constitution shows just how goofy the game can be. Sure, the idea of a massive ship like the Constitution getting stranded in the middle of downtown Boston is kind of silly on its own, but discovering that the ship is manned entirely by a crew of old-timey sailor robots just adds to it.
The quest itself mostly involves fetching a few items and repairing the ship, but the ending is what makes the mission worth taking. Not only is it one of the biggest spectacles in the entire game, but the quest's finale is the perfect blend of hilarity and crushing defeat. It's Fallout's goofy sense of humor at its best—and it pays pretty well, too.
Devil's Due
There's a good chance that you'll get a notification to go explore the Museum of Witchcraft early on. Here's some advice: don't put it off.
Devil's Due actually begins when you enter the museum's basement—from there, it plays like a classic horror movie. The quest itself is simple: players are basically let loose inside a creepy, dilapidated museum, and have to figure out exactly what happened. At first, actually coming face-to-face with the museum's only occupant may seem a bit anti-climatic ... but the boss battle doesn't actually signify the end of the quest.
Depending on your choices, the quest can end in two very different ways (it also determines whether or not you're a terrible person), and it's worth going back to an earlier save just to see the different outcomes. It's not particularly long, sure, but it'll make you wish that there were more open-ended quests like it.
The Silver Shroud
At first, The Silver Shroud seems like it'll be just another fetch quest. Some random survivor is looking for Silver Shroud memorabilia, and it's up to you to clear out Hubris Comics and return it. While many similar quests end upon delivery, The Silver Shroud only truly begins once you make your way back to town with the loot in tow.
Depending on how you choose to play it, The Silver Shroud can become a strange tale of a Batman-esque hero of the Commonwealth, a goofy radio drama full of violence, or a simple set of assassinations. It's far removed from the (occasionally) overly serious missions of the main story, and that's what makes it so fun to play. Also, the 'Speak as the Shroud' lines are some of the best dialogue ever recorded.
Fallout 4 is an utterly massive game with a seemingly never-ending pool of quests to dive into. If there's a quest that you think should be included on this list, let us know in the comments below!
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