Josh Sawyer, director of Fallout: New Vegas and reportedly the new lead on Obsidian's upcoming Fallout game, has outlined a design philosophy that favours player "agony" over unchecked power fantasy. Speaking to The Examined Game, Sawyer argued that good RPGs should sometimes deny players the ability to simply overpower every obstacle, instead forcing difficult, imperfect choices that carry real consequences. This positions Obsidian's approach in contrast to Bethesda's, potentially shaping how the two studios' rival Fallout projects diverge going forward.

Sawyer illustrated his point using Eothas, an unstoppable godlike figure from Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, whom players can influence but never defeat outright. He contrasted this with Bethesda's more permissive, "say yes to the player" ethos, as described by Todd Howard in a 2024 BAFTA talk, which lets players pursue almost any curiosity and feel triumphant. The article notes this split has precedent: Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 lean towards player-empowering, good-versus-evil narratives, while New Vegas offered more nuanced, consequence-heavy choices, though Bethesda titles like Oblivion have occasionally limited player agency too.