Fallout 4: Wasteland Workshop Reviews
Wasteland Workshop adds some neat new cosmetic window dressing to Fallout’s settlement-building systems, but the piecemeal additions didn't include enough new gameplay applications to hold my interest. The traps and creature-capture mechanics are briefly enjoyable but not fully fleshed out, which quickly makes them deteriorate into disappointments.
Fallout 4’s second slice of DLC is under a fiver, yet still somehow feels overpriced. Granted, there’s a good idea hiding in there somewhere – capturing wild creatures for defense or spectator sport purposes is a genuinely interesting concept, particularly against the end of the world scenario – but Wasteland Workshop fails to execute it with the finesse needed to see it through. As such, it instead feels like a paid, and therefore largely underwhelming, mod.
Wasteland Workshop is a nice little addition to Fallout 4, even though it only really amounts to a bunch of cosmetic stuff for the build menu and a customarily buggy, yet hilariously entertaining, DIY arena.
As a product for humans though, I can't see Wasteland Workshop as anything but a bad buy. A cynical ploy to pad out the “value” of the Season Pass and maybe milk a few weirdos like me who just can't resist neon lights. If you have the Season Pass, I guess you might get some use out of this. If you were waiting to see if you wanted this al a carte, you would be better off going with Automatron. At least the robots haven't turned on me... yet.
Staging fights and being able to spruce up your settlement more is always appreciated, but even for a small DLC, there's even less than you might be expecting here and it does lose its charm fairly quickly. Once all of the cages are built and you've used up more components than you would have liked, the chances are that you'll be fed up of the sight of them. That's not to say that there isn't fun to be had here, though, and seeing Dogmeat come face to face with a giant Deathclaw will bring a tear to your eye. If you need to level up for perks or scout for items, then you might be able to spend more time than most with this content, However, for most this DLC will feel like filler to tide us over until the next larger expansion is due out.
For everyone else, it probably feels nice, but a little underwhelming in comparison to what is already available on Nexus.
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.
If you’ve got the Season Pass it’s worth firing up to see what’s new and maybe spruce up Sanctuary Hills, but is also completely skippable for those looking for anything more than a few new items and a somewhat neat new arena mechanic.
A solid add-on for players who really love settlement building, but also an underwhelming delivery of some solid ideas. It's no reason to return to Fallout 4, but this is another fine addition to an adventure in progress.
Hopefully the weakest link in Fallout 4’s season pass, Wasteland Workshop is textbook filler. Wasteland Workshop is a kind of greatest hits packaged of what I don't want from DLC. Taking into account how great the main game was, this can't be considered anything but a disappointment. If you’ve paid for the pass then you might as well give it a shot I guess, but in all likelihood there isn’t much here that many people will find fun, aside from those obsessed with base customisation. It’s a slight extra and nothing more, and certainly not worth picking up on its own. All eyes now turn to the far more promising Far Harbor...
'Wasteland Workshop' seems more like free update material, or additions that would have come naturally if mod support was a thing. As it stands, it’s a mix of unwieldy creature traps, mildly novel base building objects, and a few handy doodads. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for next month’s 'Far Harbor'.