If we do end up getting a Fallout 3 remaster, we'll be reminded of how grey and gloomy the game was. Bethesda made sure that the post-apocalyptic vibes hit hard with the third game before adding a bit more colour to the next entry. However, it seems there was a specific reason for this.
2006's The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion depicted Cyrodiil in all its colourful and fantastical glory. Even dark caves sometimes felt vibrant. So, in order to make sure that people knew 2008's Fallout 3 was a different property, Bethesda drained all the colour out of it to give it a gloomy atmosphere.
In a conversation with PC Gamer (via GamesRadar), Fallout artist Istvan Pely explained, "We probably - I won't say 'overcorrected' - but we definitely wanted to make it very clear that this was going to be a stylistically and tonally very different game from what came before." While the games launched two years apart, it seems Bethesda was worried that some people might confuse the two, probably based on marketing materials.
He did add that creating a grey and desolate version of Washington DC was actually a lot of fun. "This tickled...
