The past year has been a difficult one for redditor NoohjXLVII. Two months ago he wrote an emotional thank-you note to developer Bethesda on Reddit, saying that he's poured hundreds of hours into Fallout 4 and that it has helped keep his mind off of the death of his father, who passed away last year.
He used Fallout 4 as an escape, and even used the game's Automatron DLC as a means to remember his dad. He crafted a robot companion to accompany him on his adventures and named him GR-36, after his father, Greg.
Unfortunately, tragedy wasn't done with NoohjXLVII yet. Two months ago his brother, Evan, died at the young age of 24. The two bonded over Fallout 4, with NoohjXLVII saying he had just finished constructing a tower that he had wanted to show Evan when he got word that his brother was in intensive care. Evan died shortly after.
"Thank you Bethesda for providing me with this wonderful game and distraction for everything I'm going through," NoohjXLVII wrote. "It's going to suck wandering this real world without my little brother. But at least he got to meet my son. Ad Victoriam little Brother. I'll see you in the wasteland."
Normally that would be the sad ending to the story, but NoojXLVII got a surprise a few days ago with the release of Fallout 4's Nuka-World DLC. Bethesda not only sent NoohjXLVII a Fallout-themed care package full of Fallout merchandise (t-shirts, vinyl soundtrack, plushies) and a personal note, but also added his brother as an NPC in Nuka-World.
"On behalf of the team at Bethesda and myself, our thoughts and best wishes are with you and your family," Jessica Finster, the community manager for Bethesda, wrote in the letter they sent to NoohjXLVII.
"The words they use sound exactly like him, however he was also a pretty funny guy, full of puns," NoohjXLVII recently wrote. Evan the NPC is one of the most friendly characters players will meet in all of the wasteland, offering players free supplies as he says he's been "out there" and "knows that the world can be a cruel and unfriendly place."
NoohJXLVII says players shouldn't feel bad about taking his brother's stuff in-game.
"Don't feel guilty about taking his stuff!" he wrote. "He insists you take it and in real life he would give you the shirt off of his back to help those in need."
It's a happier ending to an otherwise extremely sad story, and one that Bethesda should be commended for.
