I’ll start with why I used to hate this DLC. I think when I played it for the first time I was pretty young and genuinely scared of being in the Villa. From the ghost people, to the anxiety of trying to find the speakers, and of course the Cloud I remember hating the Villa and essentially speed running it. I’d read terminals and pick up tapes if I saw them, because even then I considered myself a lore driven player, but I was too busy trying to get into the Sierra Madre as fast as possible.

So I’d spend the first 60% of this DLC confused, pretty anxious, and missing the story. By the time I’d enter the hotel, I basically just knew the basics about the lore and about Elijah, Dog/God, Christine and Dean. Missing pieces led to an unfinished puzzle. I understood so little in retrospect, just glossing over what I now consider easily the best written DLC.

I’d always dismiss my fear and unwillingness to commit as a flaw of Dead Money and it just not being Fallout. Too horror. Too purposely confusing with unneeded mechanics. Which it is at times, but holy shit, the story makes up for all of that.

By speed running the Villa, I set myself up to hate this DLC. You see, in order to enjoy Dead Money you need to uncover the mysteries in the Villa. You need to be patient. You need to do parkour sometimes! If you think you can get to a room, you can. Just need to figure out how. The Villa is so much bigger than I ever knew.

Immersing myself in the buildings and tunnels and broken rooms not only allowed me to find every single terminal and every bit of lore, but really helped build up the story and emotion of this dark place.

Shit I never even knew the ghost people were pre-war workers sealed into their hazmat suits by the cloud, kept undead by the gas. Sick detail. Huge world building I just dismissed out of fear.

This DLC needs patience and commitment in order to be fully scene for what it is. I’m not saying it’s perfect, none of the DLC’s are. But I owe Dead Money an apology as it’s a fantastic story and a unique way to play Fallout.

I finally got the most of this amazing DLC. * I helped Dog/God become one, even if they forget the past, they can enjoy their future. * I killed Dean Domino. He is responsible for the Villa and the victims of the Cloud. He is no better than Elijah, just less intelligent. * Christine is now the warden of the Sierra Madre. Staying as a choice. * Elijah is trapped inside the vault until he dies. He will lose his mind and eventually his life. Forgotten inside the treasure he thought would make him remembered by the entire wasteland.

TL;DR: Dead Money is actually a fantastic story if you commit patience and leave your previous bias behind. The story and lore is worth spending time to discover, even if confusing and stressful at times.

So now I’m sitting here with 37 gold bars back at the Lucky 38. Doesn’t do much financially with 80,000 caps already sitting in my inventory, but makes for a hard pic. Time to go hunt down my stalker across the Divide!