Fallout 4 Reviews
While Fallout 4 has some concessions in its RPG backbone to make a more accessible game, the post-nuclear wasteland remains as intriguing as ever.
Despite its technical shortcomings, Fallout 4 is still a delight to play, and serves as a reminder of what an experienced team like Bethesda can accomplish with their expansive open worlds. Those looking to lose days, weeks, perhaps even months of their time to a game will find more than enough here to keep them satisfied.
Its technical faults and lack of innovation are frustrating, but the game underneath is as enthralling and compulsive as anything Bethesda has ever made.
If you've played a Bethesda RPG, you should have a pretty good idea of what you're in for. Bethesda plays it surprisingly safe with the formula, but they also do a much better job with the story this time around, serving to elevate the game as a whole. While there's no denying that it can be a bit ridiculous at times, its sheer scope speaks for itself. Bethesda has succeeded in crafting yet another fascinating open-world RPG.
Fallout 4 is a roaring response to criticism that the series has ignored its qualities as a shooter in favor of its deeper and stronger RPG roots. Nearly every design change in Fallout 4 poises the game as a more streamlined modern shooter with high production value across the truly open-world Commonwealth wasteland. The introduction of settlements, newly designed power armor, and deeper crafting evolve the Fallout franchise for the better. This occasionally comes at the cost of storytelling, however, with a plot based on stringently polarizing factions as well as diminished interaction with characters in general. But despite these missteps, Fallout 4 will only improve with time, assuredly with the assistance of the community and user-created mods, and soundly reclaims the franchise as a forward-thinking series in the industry today.
Fallout 4 is an amazing game that I doubt anyone will be disappointed by, but it's not unique. And I still prefer New Vegas.
The graphics may not be cutting-edge enough for some gamers, but Fallout 4 offers a revamped leveling system, an amazing story, and near endless content in post-apocalyptic Boston.
Fallout 4 might not be as technically advanced as, say The Witcher 3, but it's a game full of charm and substance, which makes up for an ageing Creation Engine. Fallout 4 boasts an incredible world full of intrigue, mystery and suspense, backed by a whole host of weird and wonderful characters. It's a world you're going to want to go back to, time and time again.
A brilliant, massive sandbox of systems, albeit largely the same one Bethesda has been making for years.
Fallout 4 brings great gameplay to match its world and ambiance
Bethesda has created another game you can lose your life in. New experiences just keep coming, and you always have another perk to unlock
Fallout 4 captivates with a hauntingly beautiful apocalypse and refuses to let go. Exceptional gameplay is marred by a few flaws, but the Wasteland's flaws have never been fewer.
Fallout 4 is a masterclass in open world design. Consistently engrossing and absolutely stuffed with intricacies, it's a title that'll keep you enthralled for hours at a time as you gradually unravel its desolate yet hopeful post-apocalyptic portrayal of Boston. Although it's let down by some disappointing frame rate issues, it's not enough to detract from what's otherwise one of the most atmospheric and beautifully brutal games on the PS4. Significantly improved combat, a constant wealth of gameplay options, and a heavy emphasis on player choice combine to create an adventure that's truly memorable.
In creating Fallout 4, Bethesda has built upon one of the greatest games of all-time and released a very impressive and immersive sequel. It's not perfect, or the exact sequel that I was hoping for, but it's a rich and detailed experience that fans of the series will surely appreciate.
Fallout 4 is what we all thought it could be, and so much more. While it might have easily fallen in multiple areas, and the scrutinizing eye will find a blurry texture here and there, the game delivers so thoroughly in so many other areas that will keep players busy for so very long, it truly outshines the rest of the pack. Between the main quest, side quests, settlements, weapons, armor, and just pure exploration the game will remain fresh for years to come, and the end product of four years of work shines as a glowing example of what the team at Bethesda is truly capable of. Fallout 4 less throws its hat in the ring for game of the year, and stomps its powersuit boot down demanding serious deliberation.
[WARNING: Mild Spoilers] In the grand scheme of things, Fallout 4's minor issues pale in comparison to its successes. When you put the controller down, you think about the friend you betrayed to benefit another, the shifting tide of an incredible battle, or the moment you opened a drawer and found someone's discarded effects, making you wonder how they felt before the bombs fell. In moments like these, Fallout 4 can be an intoxicating experience.
A vast and frequently brilliant return to Bethesda's atomic sandbox, but constant technical issues are a frustration.
The world, exploration, crafting, atmosphere, and story of Fallout 4 are all key parts of this hugely successful sandbox role-playing game. Great new reasons to obsessively gather and hoard relics of happier times, strong companions, and sympathetic villains driving tough decisions make it an adventure I'll definitely replay and revisit. Even the technical shakiness that crops up here and there can't even begin to slow down its momentum.
In my mind, Fallout 4's greatest triumph, and its one major point of evolution is in its storytelling, crafting a lengthy, unexpected ending and resolution that I will remember for years to come. It also remains one of the best games in existence for those who simply like to wander and explore and unearth long-buried secrets. But it struggles with archaic gameplay systems and an inflexible engine that anchor the game to the past for all the wrong reasons. Fans may enjoy more Fallout and a brand new map to explore, but this sequel will not be heralded as revolutionary or overly impressive this time around.
The word "escape" gets thrown around in conversations about why video games are so appealing and never before has there been a title that is this worthy of that term. Fallout 4 contains what should go down as the best open world in the history of this medium considering the sheer wealth of meaningful content packed into it. Some people flock to sandbox games in hopes of checking off boxes, collecting garbage and simply passing time, and Fallout 4 feels like the strongest middle finger to this contingent in years.