Why Aber is turning into a post-apocalyptic scene from Fallout

If you haven’t got you hands on a copy of Fallout 4 yet don’t worry: you’re already living in the most desolate and barren landscape in the UK.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock crying about your dissertation, you will have noticed Fallout 4’s release. Even if you don’t pay attention to the video gaming world, there’s probably been a marked decrease in the amount of time your mates or loved ones are spending with you.

But, really, there’s no need to enter a virtual world to experience total desolation.

Aberystwyth is beautiful in the summer, but during this time of year it turns into a bit of a wasteland. For a few weeks either side of Christmas the storms hit, the trains stop and the seafront gets smashed like a fresher on a sport’s social.

Welcome to the wasteland

Instead of post-apocalyptic raiders we deal with predatory seagulls, who you just know would murder you for a battered sausage if they were big enough. Similarly, trekking up Penglais hill to lectures in the pouring rain or avoiding that one night stand in Pier is as tough as any quest.

Now you might say you can’t compare Aber to a nuclear wasteland, that the chances of dying of radiation or being taken apart by mutants is pretty low on the coast of West Wales (not counting the Angel’s patrons after dark).

But all that shows is a lack of imagination. Sure, you’re far more likely to die in Fallout than you are on any given night in Aber – but you might at least lose an ear if the last few months are anything to go by.

Every day is just a challenge to survive on the Welsh coast…

Storm Barney is gearing up and is going to hit us with up to 12 days of gales and snow. If you thought that it was bad making it to and from lectures today, just wait until the town has been torn up for nearly two weeks.

A nuclear war may not have hit, but you’ll certainly wish you had a vault to shield you from the battering elements with 80mph winds coming it. It’s definitely nothing to play games with.

And – spoiler alert – there’s no respawns in real life and the graphics just aren’t as good.