Games have always, always been good at conveying feeling through cinematic techniques, even when there's barely any decent writing or plot to be found. The same could be said about some anime!
The new King's Quest Chapter 1 comes to mind, when Graham enters the scene with the statue of the old King. The camera slowly pans in on this beautiful little grove surrounded in gold leaves, silent but for a tiny breeze and windchimes, with the grand statue in the center. For every item in the game, Graham has some witty or small thing to say about it, except when you interact with the statue. He just kneels and doesn't say a word, and doesn't move until you say so. The game doesn't belabor any point about it -- old king man is very sorely missed by all, you know this and the game didn't even tell you.
I think the base building ties in with the Minutemen. If you accept to help them, after getting the flare gun from Garvey, he says you can use it to summon help from the Minutemen, and if there's a nearby populated settlement, better chance of getting support. I just got the flare gun so haven't actually tested it.
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