From there, the music builds lightly and the tones are imbued with a sense of foreboding. You and your family living a peaceful life. Starting simply with a few light orchestral notes that almost immediately fall into the minor chord, this form mimics the game’s simple beginnings. If you’re not familiar with Fallout 4, then the theme at least implies that you’re in for a treat. Fallout 4 isn’t perfect, but it sure works darn well.
Those chords are what makes one think “I’m playing a Fallout game.” That sort of musical branding is common in games, but it only works when the game underneath it works, too. And what’s key is that its repeating minor chords are familiar, having been taken directly from the theme to Fallout 3 and used in a different manner in the theme to Fallout: New Vegas.
Thinking immediately of main theme of another Bethesda juggernaut, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the theme of Fallout 4 is far less grand, far less sweeping, and far less punchy.Īnd yet, it is no less beautifully composed. Those feelings of comfort and ease, along with something of a quiet splendor. I’ve written here before about how some game opening instill that “ welcome home” feeling, and when I restarted Fallout 4 recently, hearing its theme conjured up those exact feelings.
