Fallout 76 Reviews
Putting all the bugs aside, Fallout 76 feels uninspired and soulless. It takes a step backward in the areas that Bethesda was an expert at, and at the same time, tries its hand at too many others. Clashing ideas and features create an identity crisis for the game: Is it an RPG or an FPS? A social or narrative-driven game? The online component only adds to the complexity, leaving the game as a barebones, jumbled mess. Although future mod support from the community may salvage the game from its initial disastrous state, Fallout 76 has already done enough damage to tarnish the reputation of a 20-year-old franchise.
Fallout 76 offers a bold new way to play the series -- which has some hits and misses.
Hidden beneath the bugs and the controversy lies a game with great potential. As it stands, Fallout 76 is an okay multiplayer survival game that needs some serious work.
Maybe they can turn this game around. Maybe they can fix the bugs, add some actual life into the world, and make it to where playing with friends is more than just a co-op buddy. They did a lot for Elder Scrolls Online, maybe they can do it here, but I’ll be the first to tell you to wait until that happens before taking these country roads home.
Fallout 76 is broken, not just on a technical level but by its very nature. It doesn’t challenge its players as they work towards their goals, it actively hinders them with bad design. It took the worst elements of Fallout 4 and even a few of the good ones that it diluted into their most basic forms and made an entire game around them. It wanted to have its cake and eat it too, being built like one of the single-player RPGs but with a veneer of multiplayer design and ended up being atrocious in either capacity. And then yes, it’s technically broken in the literal sense, boasting not just the “classic” Bethesda bugs, but an entire swathe of new issues that make the game borderline unplayable. This wouldn’t just take a bunch of patching to fix, it would take a Final Fantasy XIV style rebuild to salvage this game. It is, without a doubt, the worst Fallout game to date – and I say that having played Brotherhood of Steel.
The detail that Bethesda have put into this world is nothing short of impressive! You can get hung up on what the game isn't… but there is so much that it is. This is a beautifully realised (and it is quite stunning visually) post apocalyptic role playing game that happens to be online and can be played with other people. If you are more of a single player gamer like me, don't let the online nature of Fallout 76 put you off… it's eminently playable as a single player experience. If you are put off by the issues mentioned at the start then maybe steer clear (or at least wait to see if patches address your concerns), otherwise I'd say grab the Deathclaw by the horns and jump in (but maybe wait till you have powerarmour to do that.).
Fallout 76 is a bit of a disaster, which is a shame because there are good ideas and good bits of content here. There wasn’t a single play session where I didn’t have a lot of fun, but there also wasn’t a session where something ridiculous didn’t cause frustration. It feels like it should have been released into early access as a work in progress for the next several months, thus alleviating some of the frustration from poor performance, bugs, and balancing issues. However, Bethesda opted to release Fallout 76 in a broken state, and this time I’m not laughing along about the bugs simply because we’ve come to accept them as a part of the Fallout franchise. How does Fallout 4 look infinitely better than Fallout 76, with the former coming out in 2015, more than three years ago? Fallout 76 is a decent game, but all the good is being crushed by the plethora of problems that just shouldn’t be problems.
The bottom line is that Fallout 76 was an experiment that was created on an outdated engine incapable of implementing the vision Bethesda has for it. This has led the game into a full blown identity crisis, as it doesn't really play well as a single-player game, sucks at PvP, with its only saving grace being its multiplayer experience, specifically with friends. Sometimes it's better to be great at one thing than good (or not so good) at many things. Promised updates in the future may eventually get the game where it needs to be, but as of today, it's not what fans wanted or expected.
If you enjoy multiplayer games of this type and are willing to overlook the engine anomalies, you may find yourself rapidly addicted to the game's exploration density and loot systems. If you're easily frustrated by bugs and issues, you may want to sit tight a bit to see what Bethesda does to polish things up, cus oh boy, it could use a bit right now. If you're a fan of the single player, branching narrative the series is known for, you'll want to wait for Fallout 5.
Personally, I am loving my experiences in Appalachia. It has been a great point of connection with friends and family. And that, to me, is almost… not quite, but almost heaven.
Fallout 76 is a good game. An online proposal with enough content to entertain for a long time that is perfectly enjoyed alone in the company of other residents that will give fun for a long time
Review in Spanish | Read full review
There's no sugarcoating it: Fallout 76 comes up short at nearly everything it aims to be. It's not a good role-playing game and it's not a good multiplayer experience. It never really feeds into the gradual RPG power fantasy but it's also inadequate as a survival simulator. In wanting to be so much, Fallout 76 doesn't amount to much at all.
Underneath the extremely rough and laggy exterior, Fallout 76 has the makings of a great and entertaining game. To some, the damage may have already been done and the appeal may have already worn off, but with Bethesda's level of support, the game has potential to grow into something much more than it currently is.
Fallout 76 can be a great time thanks to its satisfying combat, gameplay loop, and handling of perks but the removal of NPCs and therefore any real impact the player can have on the story, systems that are currently glitched or in need of rebalancing, and way too many bugs to count make your time in Appalachia one where the fun times can truly shine only to quickly fade the next time a glitch or annoying system rears its head.
If you have a fondness for West Virginia, love the Fallout theming, and can put up with a lot of frustrating bugs and design choices then Fallout 76 can provide lots of hours of Wasteland-stomping fun. Everyone else should probably wait for improvements.
Although Fallout 76 offers the fans the opportunity to explore the wastelands of West Virginia, sadly it's only online. I say sadly, because the online elements don't really fit well with the established Fallout gameplay. The game also feels a bit aimless. If you enjoy exploring post-apocalyptic worlds, you should probably stick with Fallout 4.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Though it suffers from graphical issues and bugs, as well as unsatisfying combat, Fallout 76 is fun nonetheless, and the experience is only enhanced by cooperating with other players.
This is what makes Fallout 76 painful: many worthwhile moments surrounded by a game with just as many nagging issues. The bare-bones plot and general lack of direction mean you must make your own fun. It's set in a largely static world that doesn't care about the choices you make, and the few times when you can impact the world may be lost to you or circumvented by others with a mere server hop. There's fun to be had if you enjoy the thought of poking around a Fallout wasteland with a friend. Otherwise, very little here feels new, and it feels like a lot of content is missing in comparison to previous games in the series.