Fallout 76 is Bethesda Game Studio’s newest addition to the Fallout series. Fallout 76 launched on November 14, 2018, and is pretty much the most disappointing release out of Bethesda (Sells numbers withstanding — fan conjecture and experience). It is a game that Bethesda should have kept in development for several more years… or just not have released at all.
THE SETUP
Fallout 76 is a prequel story. It begins with the very first Reclamation Day (the day that Vault dwellers leave the vault), set 25 years after the bombs fall in 2102. The setting for Fallout 76 is the sprawling hills Appalachia of West Virginia. Though highly irradiated, the landscape of West Virginia is much more varied in color and biomes than any previous Fallout game. The game is designed to be played solo, with friends, or have PVP skirmishes. Unlike with The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO, an MMO based in the Elder Scrolls world), Fallout 76, has smaller server sizes which allow you the access to other players, without feeling bombarded by them.
THE GOOD?
Though this article is more or less about why Fallout 76 a massive failure of a game, it is not without some good points. The sound of Fallout 76 is fantastic. The score for the game is masterfully done, regardless of the issues I’ve encountered, the sound of the game just lulls you into complete and utter immersion. The walking, weapon, and creature SFX are solid as well as the voice acting for the plethora of audio logs you find scattered around the world. Honestly the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series are just walking simulators with some combat and the ability to pick up an insane amount of things in the world, but that in itself is entirely satisfying. Character customization has been improved?
THE DISASTER THAT IS FALLOUT 76
Fallout 76 is an utter disaster and that’s not just my opinion. The game has a score of 50 out of 100 on Metacritic and a user score of 2.9.
First, let’s take a look at the most stunning trailer they’ve ever made.
Yes… I know… it’s a trailer… but this trailer is in no way indicative of the experience you could ever hope to achieve in Fallout 76. Let me break down the serious flaws right out the gate.
- This note practically begging players to like the game.
- You know something is amiss when the studio has to send out a letter prior to the launch of the game saying how hard they’ve worked on the game and asking players to appreciate their work.
- They explicitly state that they’re still using old tech (ie the game’s engine) to build this game. This may be one of the biggest reasons for the failure of this game because the engine they’re using is so old and it shows.
- They basically tell you that what you get from the game’s world is “up to you”, meaning it has no content.
- Online Only.
- This series has been an entirely single-player experience. I welcome the multiplayer, but there should have been an offline option. It just feels like that just took an idea and shipped merely that. This game is beyond undercooked, the ingredients are still in the packages and they set them on the table to be served as a full meal… and asked you to pay for it.
- No NPCs
- How?! Why?! This is the most illogical move yet out of Bethesda. NPCs are the lifeblood of most MMOesque experiences.
- Fallout 4 Copy Paste
- Most assets in Fallout 76 are just repurposed assets from Fallout 4. So much so that they’ve come with the same bugs from Fallout 4 that Bethesda is aware of… and has not fixed. Some of the issues are progression blockers, meaning you’re unlikely to be able to complete that mission if they occur.
- Leveling up is essentially randomized.
- The new leveling systems is a stark change from the one introduced in Fallout 4. When the player levels up, they’re given random cards to choose from to place under the series stable of S.P.E.C.I.A.L, which is Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. It does not make the player feel like they are truly in control of how they want to build their character.
Fallout 76 Pick a Perk Leveling
- Your base despawns when logging off.
- Since the game is online all the time and there is the potential for areas to be nuke (who the hell thought this was a good idea?!), probably for the purpose of server stability and to not be affected by the actions of other players your base despawns… and that sucks.
- This totally destroys part of the immersion of redeveloping the world if things that I have done in the world do not remain.
- Sure you can save your settlement/”C.A.M.P.” as a blueprint… but this is such a backtrack from the fun but yet problematic base building of Fallout 4.
PROBLEM-SOLVING A DISASTER ZONE
This isn’t an article to just bash the game. I’d like for the game to be fixed in whatever way possible to make it a more enjoyable experience worthy of our hard earned money. Fallout 76 as shipped, is a blight on the AAA game standard. This should never be acceptable. Especially when compared to the most recent open world titles, The Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn, Spider-Man PS4, and Red Dead Remption 2.
- Add an offline, story-driven mode.
- Clearly 2018 has proven that single player games are not dead but thriving.
- Fallout 76 as is feels like an addon.
- Add NPCs
- There should have been at least 100 people in the vault if they’re expected to start redeveloping the world… and we the player should be assisting all the others in that task or they us.
- Having NPCs gave settlement building a purpose. You were managing and recruit settlers… and that is Fallout 4 was a huge time sink and what I spent a lot of my time doing.
- Better Character Development
- Pick a career path. Vault 76 is supposed to be filled with the brightest minds of the time and that should give us access to an entirely new skill set. It would be unique for the player to be specialized in a career path and that would give us access to different types of skills under S.P.E.C.I.A.L.
- This career path could also attribute to how you build your settlement, and what kind of NPCs you need to attract to it.
- World Phasing.
- You’re supposed to be settling the redeveloping the Wasteland… you should be able to see evidence of this occuring…
- Push to talk.
- How did they release this game without having push to talk?!
- This was widely requested after the “B.E.T.A” and did not make it into the game’s launch… if they’re even working on it at all…
- Companions!
- You’re just going to give us wonderful Dogmeat and then TOOK HIM AWAY?!
- Seriously as annoying as many of them can be, having a companion has become a sort of a staple of the Elder Scrolls and Fallout games. They also provide a greater connection with the world.
- People transitioning to Ghouls.
- Necrotic post-human you encounter in previous Fallout games. These Ghouls humans who have been overexposed to radiation from the bombs but are now almost immortal or at least have extended lifespans greatly beyond that of normal humans.
- It would be would be fantastic to get to see the beginning stages of that and even seeing the divide begin between humans who mistrust ghouls.
- Rewind time and not release the game.
- Okay… so that can’t be done… but I thought it might be worth suggesting…
IN CONCLUSION… I guess…
This new direction could have made Fallout 76 Bethesda’s Overwatch, while not a campaignless, team base FPS, it could have been something that redefined the series as a whole with seamless multiplayer integration. Instead what they released, is an obvious cash grab at the millions of long time fans of the series and something to entice the millions that are drawn to the word “multiplayer”.
I think we, the players need to openly and vocally reject this game. In all honesty, this was probably our fault… we’ve fed Bethesda money, title after buggy title. They probably don’t even know what a polished game is at this point. Fallout 76 has so much potential… but in its current state, it’s a broken idea half baked.