Around the Web - A Fallout 76 Review

Over at Marooners' Rock, my collegue Alex took on the task of reviewing Fallout 76.

Image via Marooners' Rock and Bethesda.

Despite the multitude of arguably offensive flaws, I am having a really good time with Fallout 76. Although, I must admit that I am a member of the game’s super specific target audience. Built on the framework established by Fallout 4, which was built on surprisingly old Creation Engine, Fallout 76 feels more like an ambitious mod or expansion than a new game. That aside, the setting of West Virginia, being able to traverse the Wasteland with friends, an abundance of new creatures to fight, and lots of items to collect keeps me coming back for more.

 Fallout 76 is a multiplayer survival title that focuses on a much smaller pool of players on a server rather than the framerate crashing masses found in an MMO. Imagine Fallout 4 with the ability for others to run around as well. When it works (we’ll get to the downsides shortly) playing Fallout with a group is pretty awesome. Firefights are easier to manage with more people and exploring with others can be extremely engaging. West Virginia is captured fairly well, focusing on the general outline than actual realism. This means that certain areas of the map have been shifted a bit and for those familiar with the state it can get a bit confusing. Either way, it is incredible to come upon the capitol building in Charleston or walk the remnants of the Morgantown Airport.

I'm glad Alex is having fun. The thing is, I'm a huge Fallout series fan too, but his negatives for Fallout 76 pretty well cover why I haven't bought the game yet. Pure and simple, I don't want a multiplayer Fallout game. Or maybe I might (actually, I'd love a true Fallout MMORPG), but I just don't want this multiplayer game. Certainly not in the state it's currently in. Maybe sometime next year, once Bethesda has worked all the bugs out, released their DLC, and decided to do their inevitable Game of the Year version, I'll pick it up. Until then, this is the first, and hopefully only, Fallout game where I'm content to just watch from the sidelines.