PC Gamer is supported by its audience. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
By published
Not everyone wants to have a clunky computer strapped to their forearm, you know.
It’s easy to spot a Vault Dweller in the wasteland—just look for the big, clunky computer strapped to their forearm. But if you’ve played through Fallout 4 a few times and want to look at something different when you check the map or organize your inventory, or if you want to roleplay a character who never lived in a Vault, here’s a fun new option.
Rather than clamping a Pip-Boy to your arm, the Dear Pip-Boy mod replaces the familiar personal computer with a small hand-held diary. Instead of poking buttons to visit different sections of the menu, the itty bitty diary has pages you can flip through. The little hand-written tabs for stats, inventory, data, and map add to the feel that it’s a small paper journal instead of a computer, something you might keep stuffed in your back pocket when you’re not holding it. Naturally, the paper diary still functions just like your Pip-Boy, and there are animations when it comes to Vault Boy and other elements of the menu.
Here’s a little video showing off the itty bitty journal:
And not to worry. For all you music lovers and signal-followers, the diary has a small radio built into the back cover so you can still listen to old world tunes and track down mysterious transmissions in the Commonwealth.
The mod doesn’t require any other mods to function, which is frankly pretty refreshing these days. There is a separate fix file if you have any issues using your mouse in the diary, and the same fix also adds some sound effects for page flipping and makes the pages a bit bigger. You can find the Dear Pip-Boy mod here at Nexus Mods.
Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he’d stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He’s also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.
Sign up to get the best content of the week, and great gaming deals, as picked by the editors.
Thank you for signing up to PC Gamer. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
PC Gamer is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.