The Most Mind-Boggling Puzzle in Fallout 4 will Leave You Speechless

Highlights

Fallout 4's Railroad faction discovery quest is interesting but lacks longevity.

Discovering the Railroad on the Freedom Trail is an exciting experience, but loses its enchantment with repeated playthroughs due to the simple memorization of the puzzle's solution.

Altering the puzzle within the quest poses a challenge, as it would affect the game's overall design and hinder the ability to utilize the same locations in future quests.

Fallout 4 has sparked controversy among fans due to its mix of new features and advanced engine, with opinions on the writing being particularly divisive. This can be seen in the game's quests and factions, where while many innovative ideas are present, the execution is not perfect. One such example is the Railroad faction, which is intriguing but manages to split even those fans who sympathize with their cause.

What sets the Railroad faction in Fallout 4 apart is the fact that players need to put in some effort to discover it. After catching wind of a rumor regarding the faction's secret location, players must decipher a cryptic clue and embark on a journey through the ruins of Boston. However, the excitement tends to diminish on subsequent playthroughs, as players can simply head straight to the hideout without the same level of anticipation.

Fallout 4's Freedom Trail

During the "Road to Freedom" quest in Fallout 4, players can discover the Railroad through various means. Throughout the Commonwealth, several copies of a Railroad recruitment tape can be found, along with NPCs discussing the organization. The most common way is by overhearing two Diamond City citizens conversing about The Railroad near the entrance to Nick Valentine's Detective Agency. This prompts the quest to be added to the player's Pip-Boy, with the task "Follow the Freedom Trail."

For players familiar with Boston, they may recognize the Freedom Trail as a real-life tourist route featuring 17 significant historical sites. Each location has a seal on the sidewalk nearby, connected by a red-brick pathway. Whether players actively seek out the trail or happen to stumble upon it while searching for Nick Valentine, their journey continues upon reaching the first marker in Boston Common.

Players must follow a trail marked with red paint, noting the circled letters and corresponding numbers along the way. This trail leads to the Old North Church, where arranging the letters in numerical order spells the word "Railroad." Inside the Church, following a lantern painting leads to a Freedom Trail seal in the catacombs. Rotating the seal and entering the password "Railroad" opens a secret door to The Railroad's hideout. This unique adventure sets itself apart from other quests in Fallout 4. However, it is a puzzle that loses its novelty after the first playthrough. The password is easily remembered and players can quickly navigate to the Church in subsequent playthroughs, diminishing the excitement and mystery.

The Freedom Trail in Fallout 4 presents a challenge that is common in video games. In this case, having prior knowledge significantly impacts the player's experience. Unfortunately, this issue is difficult to resolve because it is inherent to the puzzle's design. The real-life Freedom Trail in the game already follows the most direct path to each destination. Additionally, revealing the password in each playthrough would detract from the adventure and add unnecessary length. Furthermore, there are only a limited number of words that can be formed from the letters on the Freedom Trail seal, so players would likely resort to trial and error anyway.

The only viable solution, short of creating an entirely new quest, would have been to randomly assign The Railroad's hideout to different buildings each time. While not every location would be suitable, this approach could have worked. However, implementing this solution would also limit Bethesda's ability to use those specific locations in other Fallout 4 quests. Ultimately, there is no ideal choice in this situation.

Fallout 4 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.