Fallout 4: Automatron Reviews
Fallout 4's first DLC, Automatron, is robot centric and although it doesn't pack as many new quests as consumers may hope, it more than makes up for it with the robot workbench.
The opportunity to revive Robot Wars in the wasteland makes up for some inessential new missions and a brief runtime.
Automatron is a fun piece of DLC that expands Fallout 4 in some interesting ways, applying the sort of customization previously reserved for settlements to your traveling companions. The results are satisfying. The story mode is brief, the narrative is mundane, and sadly the all-too-familiar Fallout 4 bugs are still hanging around, but the overall experience is rewarding, imaginative, and a pleasure to play.
Functional, yet prosaic. Constructing robots is a highlight, but Automatron's quest is short and unremarkable.
While the majority of this review was spent poking holes in Automatron, there’s one thing that should be made clear: it’s a reason to dive back into Fallout 4 for a few hours.
The feeling I couldn’t get away from – though it is just that – was that this was meant to just be the Automatron building mode with a very quick quest bolted on to explain its addition, with the bump in Season Pass cost demanding it hastily be re-written as a full adventure in its own right. That means we get more, but most of it just going through the motions instead of offering anything that feels notably different, and certainly nothing as memorable as heading to Big MT in New Vegas or even the spaceship abduction or recreated war of Fallout 3.
Fallout 4's first DLC offering adds some interesting elements to the established formula, but it's over in a blink and still just as buggy.
Not a particularly auspicious start to Fallout 4’s season pass, but the chance to build your own robots is at least more interesting than the new story.
Going in with modest expectations despite that price point, this is a decent DLC release. The main draw, the robot-building feature, is cooler and more extensive than expected. I wouldn't get Automatron for its story alone, though. And I'd also hesitate to recommend it if you've already had your fill of adventures across the Commonwealth. You're better off waiting for Far Harbor and its new setting.
Automatron, first DLC for Fallout 4, concentrates its focus on crafting robots to pleasure the players that spend hours looking for the perfect companion.
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You’ll finish the story in just three hours, but you’ll get an awesome new custom-built robot companion for your trouble
Fallout 4 is set to have a ton of great DLC, and Automatron is a good, if not perfect start. Building your own robot is fun, and leads to tons of hours of scavenging and collecting. The quest is also much longer than expected, though it does begin to feel stale after a while. Overall, this is a good start to what could become a great suite of DLC.
Automatron is a good starting point for the Fallout 4 DLC, but you would hope that the upcoming ones will have a little more to offer.
Noble additions to the core game, and anyone just picking up the game with the season pass for the first time will take the content at face value, as it mixes in with the core game as if it’s simple a part of it. That in line is part of the problem with the first two content drops. They feel as if they could have been free or minor updates to the core game.
Aside from the quest being a tad short, there are some major positives and I think the Automatron DLC fits quite nicely with the rest of Fallout 4 in general.
Automatron has a short-lived story that’s enjoyable without ever really kicking into gear, but luckily, the robot-building and other new additions to the Commonwealth save this first batch of Fallout 4 DLC from being a disappointment.
Fun for at least a few hours, Automatron is a solid start to Fallout 4's stream of DLC. While it isn't quite substantial enough to satisfy those waiting for a proper expansion, there's still a surprising amount of depth to be found here thanks to the newly implemented robot crafting system. If you've been looking for an excuse to revisit the Commonwealth, there's no reason to ignore the call of the Mechanist.
Automatron pays off by taking advantage of Fallout 4's pulpy, ludicrous--yet still somehow slightly dry--sense of humor. Like any good sci-fi involving robots, it exposes people's humanity and inhumanity. And it adds new toys and settlement pieces to your toolbox. It's a well-rounded piece of DLC, and introduces you to the Mechanist, one of Fallout 4's more memorable villains.
Overall, the DLC isn’t really that impressive - but even though the quest line is mediocre, the new robot creation functionality is sure to appeal to those Fallout fans that got sucked into the Settlement building or those that just love building things in general.
A decent first DLC offering from Fallout 4 and one Bethesda will hopefully build on. Automatron isn’t the longest content you’ll ever play, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless.