
Note: For the record, I really liked Fallout 4. Why didn’t I find my journey as Nora the lawyer as engaging as Nate the soldier? The player character’s background as a veteran is integral to Fallout 4’s themes.

This has been criticized for falling short of gender neutrality and for practical reasons – the character’s skills and knowledge – but my big issues are with the character’s emotional journey. A month or two after Fallout 4 launched I started my second character and something immediately bothered me: the male and female player characters have different backgrounds.
