There's a lot of violence in Fallout 4, and it's not just limited to wasteland exploration or extracurricular encounters, either: the main story itself is full of confrontations that can only be solved with bullets or blunt instruments. Sure, it may sound harsh, but it helps to reinforce the fact that survival in the Commonwealth isn't something to be taken lightly. Killing is just an inevitable part of the game.
...or so everyone thought.
The 'no-kill run' is nothing new to gaming. What started as an optional side-objective in a few select games quickly became its own subculture, and it's easy to see why: players have always had fun subverting the rules set before them by developers. If a game has violence as both a core theme and gameplay mechanic, why not try and find around it?
That's exactly what YouTuber Kyle Hinckley set out to do - and, not only did Hinckley manage to complete Fallout 4 without killing a single thing, he managed to do so one the game's hardest difficulty:
So, how does someone go about avoiding combat in such a combat-heavy game? It wasn't easy, but Hinckley managed to find a few different perks that gave him the control he needed to keep his kill count at zero.
The first major hurdle was getting to Level 10, where many of the Charisma-based perks that Hinkcley needed start to open up.. The answer was building settlements: by building the same low-level pieces over and over again, Hinkcley was able to grind out the experience required to level up - after that, it was all about controlling his enemies.
There are a number of different perks in Fallout 4 that give players the option to command enemies - and, as the player's level grows, so do their options. At low levels, players can control basic human enemies or small animals...but, by the end of the game, lucky players can take command of an army of deathclaws if they choose. Basically, Hinkcley builds his character Dizzy with this in mind, and it's one of the reasons he was able to attempt the no-kill run in the first place.
If you want to see just how Hinkcley managed to complete Fallout 4 without a single kill, the entire playthrough is available over at his YouTube channel. At roughly 18 hours, it's quite the ride.
