Fallout 76 will introduce Bigfoot in its latest update, Patch 66, allowing players to meet the creature in the field of battle. Like other cryptids in the game, Bigfoot arrives as a menacing force. He wields a giant club, has an enormous health bar, and will take you down if you hesitate even for a moment.
Bigfoot arrives in Fallout 76 – quick links
How to find Bigfoot in Fallout 76
As confirmed by Bethesda Game Studios, Bigfoot will be a four-star legendary creature in all of his appearances, making him one of the more powerful enemies to face.
To encounter him, you won’t need to go looking. Rather, Bigfoot will appear as a final stage ‘uninvited guest’ boss at the end of new public events, such as the Moonshine Jamboree and the Most Wanted event.
If you get to the final wave of enemies in these battles, you might hear a very loud roar. Then, you’ll be forced into battle against this towering interpretation of Bigfoot, complete with a long wooden club that inflicts serious damage.
You’ll need to dodge and weave to survive his onslaught, as each swing has a wide circumference, and delivers a hefty blow. Bigfoot tends to attack immediately on entrance to the battlefield, and is very, very angry in this appearance.
Standing your ground and putting away the beast within a time limit (around five minutes) will earn you exclusive four-star rewards, which should serve you well on your journey through the Wasteland.
This is an entirely different depiction of Bigfoot
Fallout 76 getting more cryptids to interact with is certainly appreciated. The game has become a hub for the critters since launch, with real-life news reports inspiring the inclusion of a menagerie of mythical beasts to discover and fight.
But if I’m being honest, this depiction of Bigfoot doesn’t sit right with me, the noted cryptid connoisseur.
Fallout 76‘s interpretation of Bigfoot is wildly different from his more popular depiction, particularly in the world of video games. I look to The Sims franchise, Red Dead Redemption, and viral real-world news reports for my assessment.
The Bigfoot myth sprung up around the 1950s, in California, as a logger reportedly discovered giant human-like footprints on a routine job. They were too large to belong to a human, and too human-like to belong to an animal, and so rumours kick off a lumbering man-beast who lived in the local woods.
For years, word of this big-footed creature was whispered about. In the 1960s, rumours heated up over a seemingly legitimate film of Bigfoot, depicting the alleged creature lumbering through tall trees. This sparked plenty of fear and curiosity, and catapulted the idea of Bigfoot into legend.
Since then, the creature has been depicted in all sorts of media, from films to video games. The most popular interpretation, and the one most endearing, is that Bigfoot is the last remaining member of a long-since-forgotten evolutionary line – and perhaps the missing link between the evolution of apes to humans.
Bigfoot in the world of video games
So far, video game adaptations of Bigfoot have largely gone along with this line of thinking: that the creature is more benevolent than its appearance suggests.
In The Sims franchise, there’ve been multiple depictions of Bigfoot.
In the mainline games, he can be discovered hiding out in various lots, and can be befriended and adopted into your family. He’s a relatively lonely creature, and is grateful for being part of your family. He’ll offer hugs and comfort, and can contribute monetarily to the family by taking on a job.
In the handheld version of The Sims 2, Bigfoot is depicted as a more solitary creature, but equally in need of love. He laments that he’s seen as a beast, and that people run away from him out of fear. All he wants is to be loved, and to be treated like any other person.
The same narrative is present in the world of Red Dead Redemption, and hinted at it in its companion series, Grand Theft Auto. In one particular quest in this game, you’re tasked with hunting and killing Bigfoot, at the behest of a hunter who believes the creature is a monster.
While scary in appearance, taking the time to talk to this Bigfoot, before potentially dispatching him, will reveal that he’s the last of his kind, and that he’s so sad and lonely that he wants to die. You have the choice of granting this wish, or letting him go free, hopefully, to a better life.
In these depictions of Bigfoot, there is plenty of nuance. Yes, he’s shown to be a scary creature on the surface, but there is a deeper engagement with his nature in popular thought, as the last of his kind, desperate for some kind of connection or companionship.
Think of this depth as you encounter Bigfoot in Fallout 76
As you roam the Wasteland in Fallout 76‘s upcoming update, you will no doubt run into Bigfoot, eventually. When you confront this version of the creature, even as you gaze upon his terrifyingly long limbs, and face off against his swinging club, you should reflect on his nature, and where he comes from.
Is this version of Bigfoot also the last of his kind? Are you dispatching the last of an endangered species? In the long swings of his arms, is he really searching for a violent sort of hug?
By all means, venture forth for those four-star rewards when Patch 66 launches on 3 March. But as you gather your shiny new accessories, you’ve got to think: is this really what Bigfoot deserves?
