Just like Elder Scrolls Online initially received its fair share of criticism due to the fact that it failed to resemble the wildly popular Skyrim, I feel as if Fallout 76's primary crime to most is that its resemblance to the previous games in the series is lacking. After spending about 30 hours with the game in the first week of its release (yeah, I don't get out much), I can honestly say that despite some very annoying bugs that absolutely need to be addressed, the game is both a wonderful online experience and an underrated solo adventure if you enjoy the exploration aspect of games such as No Man's Sky. I feel if they continue to support the game and develop the parts of it that are analogous to sandbox MMOs, it could be fun for years to come.
I would like to preface this review by saying that this is going to come off as a defense of a game that has received a plethora of criticism from other gaming sites as well as that ever-present “internet”. There could be many reasons for that. Is it because I’m a self-professed Bethesda kool-aid drinker? Is it because the game in question takes place in my home state? Perhaps those things figure into some sort of unintentional bias here, but I’m writing a review about a video game, which is inherently a subjective pursuit, so… you know… suck it.
Ahem. Anyways, I may have spoiled my feelings on the game a little bit, but let’s take a look at some of the specific aspects of Fallout 76 and maybe we can figure out why I think it’s the proverbial hoot as well as the proverbial holler while most other reviewers have been treating it quite the opposite.
Story and Gameplay
Let’s start off by talking about what this game isn’t. It isn’t Fallout 5. Alright, I’m glad we got that out of the way. That was about to get really awkward. What do I mean by this? Well, the game doesn’t have a lot of story to speak of, and human NPCs are basically nowhere to be found. I very much enjoy that aspect of the previous Fallout games. Some of the dialogue and character interactions with NPCs have made for some great moments in other installments of the franchise. I suppose there are a few reasons why the absence of these things in Fallout 76 hasn’t bothered me nearly as much as it has bothered others. The first is that it was made clear very early on that this was supposed to be an online survival experience at the very least and not a new installment of the core franchise, so I knew what to expect and what not to expect. I felt as if Survival mode in Fallout 4 added a lot to the game, so I was really excited about the survival aspect of Fallout 76 as well. It is a game in itself just to stay alive by scavenging for food, water, and other supplies.
If survival is the game within the game, let’s talk about the story within the story. The second reason why I am not really bothered by the lack of a story is because there is actually plenty of story in the game. Makes sense, right? No? Why do you always undermine me?! Alright, I’ll explain. In every Bethesda Fallout game, in addition to the main story and the side quests, there have been plenty of things to find out there in the world that become sort of pieces of a larger puzzle that help us understand the lore a little better. An example of this in previous games is checking out the terminals when you visit any vault. You end up finding what kind of fucked up experiment Vault-Tec was conducting on the inhabitants, and it is often cruel and hilarious. This information wouldn’t usually lead to a quest or an explanation from an NPC. It would simply be something that you end up picking up on the side that enriches your experience if you’re a fan of exploration. This is mostly what the story consists of in 76. You find plenty of holotapes, which are sometimes incredibly long-winded, as well as terminals, notes, and plenty of other things that help you understand the larger story. For some, this kind of thing doesn’t make up for the lack of a true main story, but when you combine the exploration with the survival aspects of the game and then throw in the ability to play with a gaggle of your closest friends… I suppose it leaves me wondering why so many are unable to find any merit in this game.
Visuals
The West Virginia landscape in Fallout 76 is really unlike any environment we have ever seen in a Fallout game. Don’t get me wrong, the game still certainly has that Fallout post-apocalyptic charm; however, there definitely seems to be a lot more vegetation this time around. Traipsing around barren wastelands is a wonderful experience, sure, but adding in a little more of that Appalachian flora, albeit irradiated flora, has certainly added to the aesthetics of the game. I am assuming the seasons on the game will change as they do in the real world, but if it takes a nuclear holocaust to make everything look like Fall all year round… I say bring on the bombs. I’d sacrifice a large percentage of the world’s population for that. Wait… I’m being told… Yes, it appears I’m a sociopath.
Now that we’ve covered the positive aspects of the Fallout 76 visuals, let us now take a look at the bad and the ugly. The graphics can be very clunky at times, the frame rate can be downright awful, and I think it’s about time for Bethesda to consider the possibility that they need to change their outdated engine. Bethesda’s fierce loyalty to the Gamebryo engine, which the Creation engine is a modified version of, can be likened to someone becoming financially successful but still insisting on driving a car they’re holding together with duct tape.
Audio
I have very few complaints when it comes to the audio in Fallout 76. Environmental noises, irradiated creatures yelling at you, and the non-radio background music are all well-done but not really anything that’s going to jump out at you as overly special. Being able to hear footsteps as well as you can comes in awfully handy in this game because in addition to needing to be aware of where your friendly, neighborhood Super Mutant is, you also need to know when you have another player in close proximity. It could be the difference between life and… well… life without some of your crafting materials that you drop when you die.
The primary radio station has brought back many of the classics that you’re probably sick of by now. I will personally never tire of hearing all the ways that Butcher Pete hacks, whacks, and smacks, but they’ve also added a few new West Virginia related tunes to their repertoire. Unless I’ve missed something, though, there doesn’t appear to be a DJ for the radio station, which makes sense lore-wise because the world is basically just getting its shit together after the bombs, but the various DJs have added quite a bit of entertainment over the years, so it is sad to be without one.
Verdict
Just like Elder Scrolls Online initially received its fair share of criticism due to the fact that it failed to resemble the wildly popular Skyrim, I feel as if Fallout 76’s primary crime to most is that its resemblance to the previous games in the series is lacking. After spending about 30 hours with the game in the first week of its release (yeah, I don’t get out much), I can honestly say that despite some very annoying bugs that absolutely need to be addressed, the game is both a wonderful online experience and an underrated solo adventure if you enjoy the exploration aspect of games such as No Man’s Sky. I feel if they continue to support the game and develop the parts of it that are analogous to sandbox MMOs, it could be fun for years to come.
