Fallout 4

 PC
User Score
5.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 9559 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,044 out of 9559
  2. Mixed: 1,929 out of 9559
  3. Negative: 3,586 out of 9559
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  1. yogibbear
    Dec 5, 2015
    7
    Negatives:
    -Terrible UI, terrible M+KB controls, terrible UI, terrible UI, terrible UI, terrible UI
    -Terrible mouse acceleration (can be fixed in the .ini files) -Terrible Y-axis scaling (can be fixed in the .ini files) -Terrible performance (dropped Shadows to Medium & Godlight to Medium and I now get 45-60FPS on 770GTX, YMMV) -Weapon models are too large -FOV is horrible and    Negatives:
    -Terrible UI, terrible M+KB controls, terrible UI, terrible UI, terrible UI, terrible UI
    -Terrible mouse acceleration (can be fixed in the .ini files)
    -Terrible Y-axis scaling (can be fixed in the .ini files)
    -Terrible performance (dropped Shadows to Medium & Godlight to Medium and I now get 45-60FPS on 770GTX, YMMV)
    -Weapon models are too large
    -FOV is horrible and nauseating (you can and should fix this via the .ini tweaks)
    -UI colors OMG horrible
    -Removed complexity in levelling system, replaced with only perks, honestly this is horrible, but so far it works OK... [14 hrs in]
    -No companion army
    -Physical copy does not contain the entire game, you will have to download it still.
    -terrible UI, terrible UI, terrible UI, terrible UI.

    Positives:
    -Crafting weapons, armour, bases is cool and awesome
    -Scrapping stuff adds meaning to exploration and looting buildings
    -The gameplay loop is good
    -Building stuff is a new feature and it's pretty good, even though the UI and controls for it are stupidly wrong, but it works once you figure it out.
    -It's Fallout.
    -There's now a sprint button (like Skyrim added).
    -Boston gameworld is cool and art style is good.
    -Some character animations are better.
    -Getting in and out of power armour is cool.

    ---------------------------

    The above review was written after having played only 10 hours, I am now 67 hours into the game and need to make the following additions:

    Negatives:
    -Radiant quests are trash. There are too many of these thinly disguised "quests" that are just radiant go here, kill everything, repeating ad nausem trash quests for EVERY single damn faction in the game. This is not good game design. This is just bottom barrel scratching for something.
    -The dialogue system is completely trash with very little depth, frustrating "wheel" that doesn't explain what you're going to say, or what saying that will do to the conversation and ultimately leads you down the same linear pathway regardless.
    -The story is not interesting.
    -The settlement building mechanics and settlement happiness in relation to shops, defence, resources, etc. and settlement design could have had way better explaining. It's basically one giant mystery requiring exiting the game and seeing how someone else figured out how to get to 100 happiness, because it is not obvious at all what you are doing wrong.
    -Preston STFU stop giving me quests. Worst. Mechanic. Ever.

    Postives:
    -There are a lot of really cool designed places to explore, and the variety is really really good. Sadly despite all these brilliant places, with interesting tidbits and reasons for existing the actual stuff that you need to accomplish in these places boils down to the same repetitive radiant quest frustrations and ultimately boredom. If you designed any of the artwork, or levels, or world building in this game then you should truly be celebrated. But sadly the vision is not supported by gameplay, by sound, by RPG mechanics, by story, or by anything and the cracks show throughout and it all falls apart.    … Expand
  2. Ghua
    Nov 21, 2018
    7
    I finished it few days ago, a bit late to the party :)
    I must admit I started playing it without high hopes, I tried to play it when it was released and gave up after about 20 hrs. So I started from scratch this time and...
    ... initially it was really hard and boring, I couldn't find the original feel I knew from Fallout 3 and Fallout :New Vegas. I didn't like the quests which were of    I finished it few days ago, a bit late to the party :)
    I must admit I started playing it without high hopes, I tried to play it when it was released and gave up after about 20 hrs. So I started from scratch this time and...
    ... initially it was really hard and boring, I couldn't find the original feel I knew from Fallout 3 and Fallout :New Vegas. I didn't like the quests which were of standard Bethesda "go fetch" and "go kill" type.

    But then miracle happened: the main quest started to unfold and it turned out to be actually not bad at all. I must admit that final twist confused my feelings a lot (in a good way). Also, once I leveled up enough not to be killed in seconds it brought back curiosity and I started wandering around without fear :)

    So, let's start with cons:
    - lot's of standard, regular quests (it is not Witcher 3 unfortunately)
    - weird frame rate even on strong card, game feel sluggish
    - there is some weird problem with shooting things in FPS mode (no VATS), you should hit someone but because he moves fast you miss. Probably related to game being sluggish.
    -game quite linear despite having multiple endings

    Pros:
    - crafting system is step in the right direction, finally I had some use to all those cans and garbage. I enjoyed it
    - building mode was not bad, I especially enjoyed recycling my surroundings
    - weapon modding is actually useful
    - simplified perk system works good
    - game locations look nice, I also liked changing weather and day/night cycle
    - once you level up enough game feels like Fallout :)    … Expand
  3. alilsneaky
    Nov 10, 2015
    7
    + gunplay much improved
    +consistent frametimes
    +gun modifications +mod support -the dialog system is only a shadow of what it was in previous games, this was one of the bigger draws of fallout and now it's been stomped because the masses don't like to read or w/e -still the same bethesda jank with awful animations, glitches, dialog audio skipping, corrupted saves etc etc etc.    + gunplay much improved
    +consistent frametimes
    +gun modifications
    +mod support

    -the dialog system is only a shadow of what it was in previous games, this was one of the bigger draws of fallout and now it's been stomped because the masses don't like to read or w/e

    -still the same bethesda jank with awful animations, glitches, dialog audio skipping, corrupted saves etc etc etc.

    -characters and their dialog are extremely forgettable, new vegas was a lot more interesting

    -while the framerate is very consistent (no stutters whatsoever if you can stay above 60 fps, which is a huge improvement over previous bethesda games), the game needs a really powerful pc to get to that 60 fps at decent settings @ 1080p, imo it doesn't look remotely good enough to justify being so demanding

    -enemies don't react to being shot (other than a canned animation that triggers at a certain hp treshhold)
    It's the same issue skyrim has, you might as well be swinging/shooting at thin air, no feed back whatsoever until they die. It's especially jarring on the enemies with more health.

    -base building/village managment addition adds nothing meaningful and isn't fun, it's just a timewaster

    Fallout 4 has basically reduced the 3D fallout formula to being a decentish shooter (except without the satisfying hit reactions from superior shooters like fear/max payne/painkiller etc) where you loot a lot of junk and do some crafting (which doesn't amount to anything more than raising stats on weapons, no cool creative stuff, it might as well not be in the game).
    The RPG aspects are not good in this game. The improved gun animations/behavior/sounds are what make this a 7, otherwise it would be much lower.    … Expand
  4. Ansatsu83
    Nov 14, 2015
    7
    The game is good but it is in NO WAY a 10 out of 10. The main complaints I have is in the combat. Without modding a decent gun you will be decimated. The new difficulty system is a double edged sword for me. Its best to slowly scale up the difficulty as you level your character, which is just odd to me. On top of this, melee weapons are pretty much pointless, right now. They have lots ofThe game is good but it is in NO WAY a 10 out of 10. The main complaints I have is in the combat. Without modding a decent gun you will be decimated. The new difficulty system is a double edged sword for me. Its best to slowly scale up the difficulty as you level your character, which is just odd to me. On top of this, melee weapons are pretty much pointless, right now. They have lots of them in the game, but you will get shot to death before you get close enough to melee the heavier types. Additionally, all 4 endings make me feel like I had no choice in the end, all of which caused me to sacrifice too much... Why cant I just play on a neutral path in the end? I started to lose interest halfway through because the sides are very much defined and I do not really agree with anything any of the factions are trying to accomplish. The other complaint I have is... I SWEAR they got M. Night Shyamalan to created the story as its nothing but obvious twists. 7 out of 10, its good but its not perfect, and it should never receive perfect scores.… Expand
  5. Rastrelly
    Nov 12, 2015
    7
    It's Fallout 3 the way it should be. But after New Vegas what adequate person would ever want Fallout 3, even if it's done properly? It has bad dialogs, it has poor roleplaying system, it has poor level balancing and leveling, all that stuff - as usual. Again, it's perfectly playable. It's just not a good Fallout game. Just like Fallout 3.
  6. Dethstar
    Nov 14, 2015
    7
    If you are not comfortable with modding and tinkering with the ini file, you might want to skip this one even if you liked all the fallout games prior. You could reply fallout 3 and mod it for more content to achieve something very similar. Indeed, the game is unplayable without modding anyway as it is clearly hampered by its not to run on a console. It even feels a bit small now we haveIf you are not comfortable with modding and tinkering with the ini file, you might want to skip this one even if you liked all the fallout games prior. You could reply fallout 3 and mod it for more content to achieve something very similar. Indeed, the game is unplayable without modding anyway as it is clearly hampered by its not to run on a console. It even feels a bit small now we have got used to having enough in game real estate to swing a cat.

    The story and the characters have been further sanitzed and made almost as character free as possible. This is fallout for the Middle East, afraid to offend anyone or challenge anyone with strong interesting characters behaving in character in a setting of this time. It is like global nuclear war never happened and I just popped into town for a Cappucino. I think this fear of doing anything at all for offending anyone at all (the ladies in this game either look like they are just going to church or are the children of good people being a little bit rebellious. Hardly the aftermath of generations of struggle in a post nuclear world Sure people do shoot at you a bit but even that is so random that there is nothing to connect with or make you care.

    It is hard to put a finger on it but the game feels smaller in 2015 (though the total KM simulated may even be the same as FO3 (which I also thought was too small) but it feels smaller in 2015 when I was expecting, more and bigger.

    OK. Lets get the obvious ou
    This engine / environment does feel quite dated now and I think it is time for a new engine. Physics does weird stuff, quest dialogues are fiddly and can be easily bugged. Many people report performance issues but personally, I haven't had any (playing on a machine with multiple Titan X's however, SLI is not engaged as it is not an option and I havent yet been running it on my Gsynch enabled 144hz monitor. There are a lot of reports at massive bugging at "high" frame rates. Coming from a console background, that could be any number of hz from 1980 on to the present day as TVs have not changed much in this regard. .

    Not going to list all of the bugs here, suffice to say, there are a huge amount. It is fallout after all, much of the game is based upon getting through a section without a bug stopping you or saving enough in different saves so you dont have to start out again.

    Keybinding is a notable disaster..
    AI - erm, what AI? It can barely get enemies through a building from one side to the other, forget the need for any clever strategy here. It is as dated as the rest of the engine.

    Let us be honest though, we bought this knowing that Bethesda have not been able to make a game for PC for a decade. So no wonder their engine seems frozen in time as that is the nature of the dinosaurs it has to run with. So, why am I still not unhappy?

    Modding is still wide open. So while Bethesda cant actually put together a bug free game they have enabled another world builder that is pretty accessible for those with the will to make it alright.

    Fix the fps limit, fix the field of view, upgrade the graphics, add content and textures and it starts to come together.

    One of the few really tangible and interesting additions is settlement building and development. It is an extremely welcome addition though it doesn't have a much to it as I would like and feels half implemented. and seems to have been implemented in a hurry. For example, the options to build anything bespoke involves some very clumsy components from a few very limited choices greatly limiting your creativity. However, I suspect modders are already hard at work, potentially making this a much deeper addition to the game that at first appears.

    Fully voiced dialogue. For me, it doesn't add anything to the game in terms of immersion but I know many people found it odd that it was never in Fallout 3 so I suppose it is a matter of taste.

    It looks as though the Fallout series has run out of Steam. *no pun intended, oh ok, just a little one.    … Expand
  7. Ivan
    Nov 11, 2015
    7
    Mi aspettavo molto di piu' e non dico solo graficamente. La versione PC soffre di molti problemi. Gli fps a 1440p sulla mia GTX 970 passano da 80 a 45 in alcune zone. Spesso le conversazioni si bloccano e sono costretto a ricaricare la partita. Lo sli non e' compreso, c' e' una guida esterna per attivarlo ma sulla gtx 970 porta solo piu' problemi e crash. Le animazione sono le stesse diMi aspettavo molto di piu' e non dico solo graficamente. La versione PC soffre di molti problemi. Gli fps a 1440p sulla mia GTX 970 passano da 80 a 45 in alcune zone. Spesso le conversazioni si bloccano e sono costretto a ricaricare la partita. Lo sli non e' compreso, c' e' una guida esterna per attivarlo ma sulla gtx 970 porta solo piu' problemi e crash. Le animazione sono le stesse di fallout 3, il gioco e' lo stesso di fallout 3 ma molto meno originale . I progressi fatti con New Vegas a livello di reputazione,karma e la famosa modalita' duro tutto perso. Adesso abbiamo le conversazioni simili a Mass Effect, un personaggio parlante e la modalita' costruisci. Tutte cose molto belle a dirsi, peccato che le animazioni legnose e le texture in bassa risoluzione non aiutano certo il coinvolgimento nella trama. Gli sarebbe bastato essere fallout 4 per spiccare invece di avvicinasi ad altre produzione e ai nuovi arrivati che si volevano avvicinare alla serie. Poteva anche riuscirci con un motore di gioco corretto e rivoluzionato, ma in questo si e' solo persa parte della liberta' generale che si respirava nei titoli precedenti. Ci sono anche cose che invece mi stanno piacendo come la possibilta' di modificare armi e armature, molti piu' compagni da cercare, tutti con abilita' uniche ( anche se non tutti carismatici). L' editor del personaggio permette creazioni davvero soddisfacenti. Alcune citta' sono davvero realizzate bene, cosi come le conversazioni con alcuni npc. ( il problema e che con altri npc non appare nemmeno la finestra di dialogo, stanno li tnt per) Passeggiare in giro x il mondo di gioco e' sempre molto divertente. Spaccare la testa a mostri leggendari e tnt cose da raccogliere in giro sulla mappa rimane qualcosa di molto gratificante.. Voto 8 non appena fixano i problemi di fps e aggiungono il supporto sli. Per ora non consiglio il gioco su PC.

    google translate

    I expected a lot more. The PC version suffers from many problems. Fps in 1440p on my GTX 970 rose from 80 to 45 in some areas. Often conversations get stuck and I have to reload the game. Sli not 'inclusive.. The animation are the same fallout 3, then play 'the same fallout 3 but much less original. Advances with New Vegas in terms of reputation, karma and the popular mode 'hard all lost. Now we have conversations like Mass Effect, a talking mode and the 'build city system. All very nice things to say, but too bad animations and woody textures in low resolution do not help the involvement in the plot. It had only to be fallout 4 to stand out instead of get near to other productions and newcomers who wanted to bring to the series. He could also succeed with a new game engine and revolutionized correct, but in this you only lost part of freedom' general we breathed in previous titles. There are also things that are willing instead I like the possibility 'to change weapons and armor, many more' comrades to look for, all skilfully 'unique (although not all charismatic). L 'character editor allows creations really satisfactory. Some cities' are really well made, as well as conversations with some NPC. (The problem and that with other NPC does not even appear the dialog box) Walking around the game world and 'always very funny. Their heads bashed in legendary monsters and many things to gather around on the map is something very rewarding .. Rating 8 when they fix issues fps and add support sli.    … Expand
  8. harmattan
    Nov 12, 2015
    7
    Firstly, it's worth stating a "7.5" is my honest, "non-group-think" score, if FO4 had been released without predecessor or massive expectations therefrom.

    As for the game, Bethesda cannot expect to get away with releasing a game with middling graphics, AI and bugs (I hit two quest bugs in my first couple hours of play as well as a number of graphical glitches) like this in this day and    Firstly, it's worth stating a "7.5" is my honest, "non-group-think" score, if FO4 had been released without predecessor or massive expectations therefrom.

    As for the game, Bethesda cannot expect to get away with releasing a game with middling graphics, AI and bugs (I hit two quest bugs in my first couple hours of play as well as a number of graphical glitches) like this in this day and age, especially after we've seen such recent stellar entries in the genre such as DA:I and Witcher 3. This sort of half-hearted effort just won't pass nowadays for a AAA title. Where is the envelope-pushing Bethesda of the past, makers of Fallout 3, Morrowind and Oblivion?    … Expand
  9. Chomag
    Nov 12, 2015
    7
    This game is, astonishingly, a step backwards from Skyrim. Starting with the graphics, which are pretty average tbh.

    The game world feels empty, there are extremely few towns and for hours at the beginning of the game you won't find any npc to sell your loot to and when you do it's one of those roaming caravans and you can't sell much to it because you're not running around the wastes    This game is, astonishingly, a step backwards from Skyrim. Starting with the graphics, which are pretty average tbh.

    The game world feels empty, there are extremely few towns and for hours at the beginning of the game you won't find any npc to sell your loot to and when you do it's one of those roaming caravans and you can't sell much to it because you're not running around the wastes bent under the weight of the loot, so your loot will likely be in a container back at the base, and then you can't find the vendor anymore. And no, there are no carriages that take you to other towns, like in Skyrim.

    The power armor...I don't see its purpose. You can't use all the time because it runs on batteries which are pretty rare, so you can only fire it up when you have a hard combat zone to get through. Hell, if it was permanent, it would have made all other armors in the game pointless anyway.

    Stealth gameplay appears to be very frustrating as even with high agility mobs can still easily detect you. Add to this the fact that many areas are FILLED with mobs, such as ghouls, that pile up on you once discovered. Add to this the fact that the game world is teeming with hostiles and you can't really run from one threat without hitting another threat. Add to this the fact that you simply won't see most mobs until they jump you. Add to this the fact that ammo is pretty scarce and you can't use your best stuff on random dogs and ghouls or you will run out of ammo before you even reach that cave you need to quest in.

    The UI and controls are horrid on the PC. However, they don't interfere in combat like those from, say, Witcher 3 which imo is unplayable with kb&mouse. Still, looting (why the hell do we need two separate keys for looting, one for looting a chest/corpse and one for looting stuff off the ground?) and menu selecting are uncomfortable.

    The story is meh, nothing mind blowing, just the regular cliches and stuff and could have been written by a 6th grader.

    Also lots and lots of corner cutting such as very simplistic dialogue system, run of the mill kill X quests, etc etc etc

    Final rating: slightly above average.    … Expand
  10. Schuback
    Feb 27, 2016
    7
    Fun to explore and you do what you want to do as expected in a Bethesda rpg game. It's no overhaul from Fallout 3 as the graphics and combat gameplay are only slight improvements. But the core of what makes Fallout 3 or New Vegas fun is still here in Fallout 4 - immersing yourself in an open world, roam around, never in one place, just roam from town to town as you are the wanderer.Fun to explore and you do what you want to do as expected in a Bethesda rpg game. It's no overhaul from Fallout 3 as the graphics and combat gameplay are only slight improvements. But the core of what makes Fallout 3 or New Vegas fun is still here in Fallout 4 - immersing yourself in an open world, roam around, never in one place, just roam from town to town as you are the wanderer. Overall improvement in terms of graphics, combat.. but.... there are some other downsides besides the small improvements or lack of innovation.

    - Story not as good as New Vegas (better than FO3)
    - Followers are uninteresting compared to NV.
    - Boring factions
    - No slavers (hope it's not because Bethesda is aiming at younger audience under 18)
    - Lack of adult contents like the ones you see in NV (Kids mustn't see these..... or Bethesda afraid of backlash?)
    - Lack of epic moments like blowing up Megaton or stopping Mr Burke in FO3
    - The towns and societies in FO4 seem to lack soul. It's not like that feeling you get when you visit Megaton, Rivet City or Tenpenny Tower which gives you a weird feeling.
    - Side stories are uninteresting.
    - Aimed at casuals. No more using stealth play like sneaking in the casino in NV to rescue the kidnapped guy. Now it's just sent to a location, clear the place of bad guys. And that's it.
    - No major decision making. Or lack of them cause apparently (to Bethesda) gamers are dumber these days.
    - It's no longer an rpg with action play. It's now an FPS action game with rpg elements. =( Sad to see this. Hope Bethesda won't do this for the next Elder Scrolls.
    - Season Pass BS. Paying upfront without knowing what you gonna get.... Hmm... Not you too Bethesda.

    Anyway, despite these downsides it's still a solid game as Bethesda has added many other things. One of the major addition is settlements where you manage and grow your settlements. Which can be quite fun.

    It's still Game of the year 2015 for me (another bad year for gaming). Hopefully the dlcs add more to the game. Please Bethesda, I'm still holding my breath that you can be top again.    … Expand
  11. Beanbag
    Nov 21, 2015
    7
    Solid entry in the Fallout lineup.

    Graphics are nothing special, though it does look better than Fallout 3 or NV. Characters are somewhat forgettable and stiff, like most Bethesda games. Shooting feels a little sluggish, especially when aiming. The new settlement building is a LOT of fun (if you enjoy building, anyway) The main quest isn't terrible, but it isn't fantastic    Solid entry in the Fallout lineup.

    Graphics are nothing special, though it does look better than Fallout 3 or NV.

    Characters are somewhat forgettable and stiff, like most Bethesda games.

    Shooting feels a little sluggish, especially when aiming.

    The new settlement building is a LOT of fun (if you enjoy building, anyway)

    The main quest isn't terrible, but it isn't fantastic either. It will, however, require two play throughs at least to get a complete picture of it.

    The SPECIAL and perk system is much simplified, very similar to Skyrim. I was wary of this at first, but it's not bad at all. Doesn't feel like an improvement either though.

    Needs a bit of polish, as always. It's not overwhelmingly awesome nor is it hideously terrible and feels very much like an intentional direction. Not great, not bad, but good enough.    … Expand
  12. mwak
    Nov 12, 2015
    7
    It's a good game if you're seaching for a sandbox post apo shooter. A bad one if you're seaching for a RPG.

    Fallout 3 had its drawback from the first Fallout RPGs. Then came Fallout:NewVegas that was pretty good. Now we have Fallout 4 and it's not a RPG anymore, it's more like a shooter with pre-made choices. Visualy, The environment is gorgeous and more beliviable than ever but the    It's a good game if you're seaching for a sandbox post apo shooter. A bad one if you're seaching for a RPG.

    Fallout 3 had its drawback from the first Fallout RPGs. Then came Fallout:NewVegas that was pretty good.
    Now we have Fallout 4 and it's not a RPG anymore, it's more like a shooter with pre-made choices.

    Visualy, The environment is gorgeous and more beliviable than ever but the lack of dialogues options make it empty and frustrating.
    The major drawback is that you can't be the person you want. You are forced on some choices that are not the one you'd take. So you don't attach to your character because it doesn't feel like the one you'd play.
    Eventually you can do some side quests but even there it's really poor in story writtings and globally lack of fun.

    The funniest part are :
    - the exploration and find all the eastereggs and the attention to details.
    - the construction workshop

    I just hope some mods will do the trick and make it a good RPG game.

    I should have waited for the goty version :)    … Expand
  13. megaD
    Sep 15, 2016
    7
    Fallout 4 feels like an old game with refreshed graphics. In my opinion open-world games these days shouldn't load when entering a building or a new small area. What saves the game is an excellent story, the 50's like post-apocalyptic retro-future setting and some new elements like the Vertibird helicopters or more focus on the companion characters. On the other hand if there is fuel forFallout 4 feels like an old game with refreshed graphics. In my opinion open-world games these days shouldn't load when entering a building or a new small area. What saves the game is an excellent story, the 50's like post-apocalyptic retro-future setting and some new elements like the Vertibird helicopters or more focus on the companion characters. On the other hand if there is fuel for the Vertibirds why is there no single vehicle in thr entire Commonwealth? Again this feels like a limitation of an old game engine. The graphics is really good in my opinion but it's full of glitches at least on AMD. In terms of performance the game is terrible. On a high end AMD system you need to decrease shadow draw distance and reduce tesselation to make it playable with the rest on highest settings. Still on places high up in the air the framerate drops dramatically. Clearly a lack of optimisation because there are mods that reduce shadow draw distance dynamically or mods that add distance fog. Both something the developers could have implemented. What shocked me most is the amount of game play bugs. Some quests are almost a year after release and many patches later broken. I had to re-play some quests or just wondered how quirked they were. Often simple things like the weight limit of items you carry stopped working till I reloaded thr game.… Expand
  14. JUSTLIKEYOU
    Jan 4, 2016
    7
    + A great world with many locations, every place looks different, they didn't notably reuse buildings
    + Indirect storytelling in the world is good, maybe a bit worse than in FO3 and NV
    + Best gunplay so far, no more pointless weapon repairing + Crafting and legendary items are great + Settlements are also a good feature + The graphics look good, not worse than e.g. battlefield 4, as    + A great world with many locations, every place looks different, they didn't notably reuse buildings
    + Indirect storytelling in the world is good, maybe a bit worse than in FO3 and NV
    + Best gunplay so far, no more pointless weapon repairing
    + Crafting and legendary items are great
    + Settlements are also a good feature
    + The graphics look good, not worse than e.g. battlefield 4, as in they fit and are artistic, though not super realistic. I just never had the feeling that it was bad.
    + New levelling system is an improvement. Skills were unnecessary in previous games, also it didn't make sense that you could have 100 science with 1 intelligence. You can complete the game with many different playstyles, also on the higher difficulties.
    + Companion system was also improved.

    - Main story isn't great, not far worse than in FO3 (NV was best of the 3). The factions are cool though.
    - Perks should have had more use than what it says in their descriptions. As in Barter / Intimidation should have been a requirement for some dialogue options, not just randomized dialogue success depending on your Speech level. And Perks should generally have been used for dialogue, like Skills in FO:NV and FO3. Things like science should have had more use for repairing elevators etc.
    - Repeating Settlement quests are bad
    - Runs quite bad with AMD graphics, especially godrays are not usable with decent fps    … Expand
  15. Ib2deadly
    Jan 9, 2016
    7
    A superb 1st person action game that lacks the magic of an all time great game.

    I prefer my Fallout experience more grounded as an rpg. A great rpg I play, beat and repeat, repeat, repeat. I put hundreds of hours in the great ones. I try new builds and am constantly diving into the atmosphere to squeeze every detail out I can. I did not do this with Fallout 4. I played it quite a    A superb 1st person action game that lacks the magic of an all time great game.

    I prefer my Fallout experience more grounded as an rpg. A great rpg I play, beat and repeat, repeat, repeat. I put hundreds of hours in the great ones. I try new builds and am constantly diving into the atmosphere to squeeze every detail out I can.

    I did not do this with Fallout 4. I played it quite a bit, over 100 hours. I would say I got my moneys worth. I will not being headed back to Boston anytime soon.    … Expand
  16. JimCorbett
    Nov 27, 2015
    7
    Fallout 4 is certainly disappointing, but I don't think it deserves all the 0's it's getting. It is without a doubt a step back from New Vegas is just about every way other than texture quality and gunplay. The story, characters, and setting are all generally uninteresting. There are a few good characters and quests here and there but they are few and far between. The big thing that theyFallout 4 is certainly disappointing, but I don't think it deserves all the 0's it's getting. It is without a doubt a step back from New Vegas is just about every way other than texture quality and gunplay. The story, characters, and setting are all generally uninteresting. There are a few good characters and quests here and there but they are few and far between. The big thing that they hyped up prior to release was the settlement building. This mode is tedious and frustrating. It is impossible to create anything original since there are only a few preset structures to create and the way that things have to clip to each other makes it a pain to make something that the developers didn't envision. On top of this, the mode serves no purpose in the overall game. You build a settlement that looks like crap (because there are no nice looking options) and then it sits there and has no effect on anything. It's very disappointing. The world is not interesting and other than a few landmark buildings, it doesn't even look like Massachusetts. New Vegas has more interesting things going on and it was in a desert! I could live with all these problems, but they also decided to tear out the core RPG skills. I'm not even a huge fan of RPGs, in fact I prefer shooters, but this was a lame idea. When you level up you can pick one "perk" to get or you can level up one of your SPECIAL skills. Most of the perks are painfully boring or just plan useless. This means that you don't feel your character getting more powerful, and you have little control over them. You also can't be a bad guy. In NV you could choose multiple paths to take, NCR, Legion, Mr. House, etc. There is none of that here and it is very much a linear game which kills any interest I have in replaying it. I normally don't mind linear storylines, but this is Fallout and frankly the story isn't any good. Despite all these issues, I still enjoyed the 40 hours i put into the game. It's not bad, but it's not great. I feel like if i tried to play longer, or starting a new character then my score would go down, but i don't plan on playing this again. I'm also not looking forward to the next game by Bethesda Game Studios.… Expand
  17. CoolDadTx
    Oct 15, 2016
    7
    Nowhere near as good as FO3. The story starts out strong but quickly becomes boring. The plot twist in the middle of the game would be awesome if I was really invested in the characters or story but as it is I could have cared less about it.

    The way you are forced to side with one of the factions limits any sort of real choice. I personally didn't like any of the factions but I was    Nowhere near as good as FO3. The story starts out strong but quickly becomes boring. The plot twist in the middle of the game would be awesome if I was really invested in the characters or story but as it is I could have cared less about it.

    The way you are forced to side with one of the factions limits any sort of real choice. I personally didn't like any of the factions but I was forced to work with a couple of them just to move the main quest forward. Pretty lame.

    The crafting system was a joke, the settlement system is an utter waste of time that I was forced to use for a few questions. The perks were OK but the perk UI was horrifically designed.    … Expand
  18. Baronz
    Nov 19, 2015
    7
    Not a bad game overall, but texture looks terrible even at ultra settings, like someone puked on my armor :|
    Having to run around to gather every single piece of junk to build your settlement is tedious. Worth playing but not worth 60 euros
  19. krammerlock
    Nov 20, 2015
    7
    The game is ok. It is basically Fallout 3 with a less satisfying story and without the subway crawl to get to areas in the city. There is nothing new in the game and that is probably why most of us are underwhelmed by it. But it is still a game that is fun to play. Its just that the fun wears off pretty fast.
  20. Nemo7777
    Dec 22, 2015
    7
    First the bad news:

    This game is not as good as its predecessors. If you have played and enjoyed Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, you will be disappointed at what got left out. The repair system is gone. The skill system is reduced to a shadow of itself. To improve a skill, you select the skill in the perk tree on leveling up rather than having points to spend, or having skills    First the bad news:

    This game is not as good as its predecessors. If you have played and enjoyed Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, you will be disappointed at what got left out. The repair system is gone. The skill system is reduced to a shadow of itself. To improve a skill, you select the skill in the perk tree on leveling up rather than having points to spend, or having skills improve with use a'la Skyrim. There is no karma and no in-game consequences for being evil- except you may lose traction on any romance you may have going. The romance system is so rudimentary it falls to the level of parody. Worst of all, there is no way to craft ammunition- the single biggest improvement in F:NV. Have 2000 rounds of .38? Too bad. Sell it for 1/10 the value and buy 20 rounds of .50 from a gouging vendor. This is my single biggest complaint in the game- ammo is at a premium but 3/4 of what you find is of no use to you.

    The good:

    And yet, at the end of the day, the game delivers most- not all, but most- of what a Fallout game represents. The world space is detailed and large. There are many quests, both scripted and radiant. They take you all over the world space. Weather and other environmentals are well portrayed. The interiors are well put together. Probably the most radical new component is the settlement building system- you finally have a use for all the random junk you keep finding. Combat is good and V.A.T.S. is vastly improved into a sort of bullet time rather than the old -freeze everything, place your shots like a game of Battleship, unfreeze and watch what happens- model.

    If this had been the first Fallout using the Bethesda engine and design philosophy, it would be an exceptional game. Problem is, it isn't. And it's 2015, not 2008. F3 was a great game that I still play to this day. F:NV took the good things about F3 and gave us more and improved on the original. Fallout 4 is a step backwards. It feels flat. It almost feels like they decided to put out a baseline vanilla game knowing the mod community would improve it. It's the same disappointing taste I had with Mass Effect 3 though not as shattering.

    Still, worth playing and once the GECK comes out, mods will address the shortcomings. I'd wait for it to be on sale though.    … Expand
  21. GoneTomrrow
    Nov 14, 2015
    7
    Although this game certainly doesn't match up to it predecessor, it's not an outright horrible game. The mythos and world is still there.

    I'll just list my own pros and cons: Pros: 1. Excellent combat, one of the only accolades this game has received. AI can be genuinely hard, not relying just on how much damage an enemy can take. 2. Graphics are decent enough, though only    Although this game certainly doesn't match up to it predecessor, it's not an outright horrible game. The mythos and world is still there.

    I'll just list my own pros and cons:

    Pros:
    1. Excellent combat, one of the only accolades this game has received. AI can be genuinely hard, not relying just on how much damage an enemy can take.
    2. Graphics are decent enough, though only marginally better than Fallout 3.
    3. Settlement building is a neat idea and a great way to make use of the confetti items like fans, cups, etc.
    4. Reasonably lengthy game like most Bethesda titles.

    Cons:
    1. Some unforgivable glitches right from start. No matter what configuration I select for my character's appearance, the moment I leave the vault I either get a pasty freckled face with black irises or sometimes a hilarious jet black face. Dare I say blackface? RACIST BETHESDA!

    2. Graphics are nothing special. Very mute color scheme and potato-faced NPCs.

    3. As has been mentioned profusely, you get way too much way too quickly. After just 15 hours I was level 12+, had powered armor, and had most of the weapons in the game.

    4. Very weak dialogue writing and phony voice acting. I cringe whenever the main character speaks.

    5. Lackluster story compared to Fallout 3. Character origin is rushed and spelled out for you.

    So in conclusion, this lacks a lot of polish, but it's still fun enough to occupy my time.    … Expand
  22. Vel
    May 5, 2016
    7
    If you've played Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, and wanted more Fallout, this quenches that thirst. If you are hoping for a vastly improved experience....meh, not so much.

    The good: -The graphics continue to be very good. Not amazing or game-changing, but very very good. -The gameplay is simple and familiar to those who have played Fallout 3 or Fallout:New Vegas, making the    If you've played Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, and wanted more Fallout, this quenches that thirst. If you are hoping for a vastly improved experience....meh, not so much.

    The good:
    -The graphics continue to be very good. Not amazing or game-changing, but very very good.
    -The gameplay is simple and familiar to those who have played Fallout 3 or Fallout:New Vegas, making the transition easy.
    -There are endless little side quests, mission, and characters that make the game have enough depth to warrant the price.

    The bad:
    -The storyline is pretty boring and not particularly compelling.
    -The 3 main Factions that make up the game are interesting, yet their storylines and the choice you make as part of a faction don't tend to make a lot of sense. Granted, it is may be a little refreshing that there are no clear good/evil sides, but the factions are so morally ambigious that you tend to not care about their causes, either.
    -The missions, especially when it comes to settlements, are often boring and repetitive.
    -There still is not a great variety of ways to solve problems, so you are invariably going to end up with some sort of gun in a firefight with a bunch of raiders/supermutants/bad guys, and it always plays out in pretty much the same way. Opportunities to do things like sneak, or hack computers and turn the turrets against the unaware guards, are few and far between.

    Overall, it's a good game worth playing. And as I mentioned, if you liked Fallout3 and New Vegas, you will like Fallout 4. But it falls short of being some sort of truly amazing, game of the year game, and in the end is just pretty good.    … Expand
  23. Tubey
    Nov 11, 2015
    7
    I was torn between a 6 and a 7 for this game, opted for the higher end because of this reason - ultimately, even after the glaring flaws that exist, this is a "decent" game if you take it on it's own merit and ignore the fact it's a Fallout game and just a standalone title instead.

    Yes, comparing it to Fallout 3 and New Vegas makes it harder to swallow. Fallout 4 lacks the general RPG    I was torn between a 6 and a 7 for this game, opted for the higher end because of this reason - ultimately, even after the glaring flaws that exist, this is a "decent" game if you take it on it's own merit and ignore the fact it's a Fallout game and just a standalone title instead.

    Yes, comparing it to Fallout 3 and New Vegas makes it harder to swallow. Fallout 4 lacks the general RPG elements that were so immersive in those titles, with a heavier focus on combat that screams Battlefield Fallout rather than what we expect from the Bethesda franchise by now. It also has bugs and glitches all over the shop, but manages to just about stay roped together enough to avoid this being a complete disaster.

    Graphically, this is sub-par. Not much of an improvement on, say, Skyrim really. But with all those flaws aside, this is still a massive, well made post-apocalyptic experience, which I'd class as an FPS with RPG elements, rather than a first-person RPG.

    You can safely wait to pick this up on sale quite frankly, but you won't regret playing it. If you're new to the idea of Fallout, you'd be best served going back and playing Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas before picking this up. The low scores for Fallout 4 are a result of the hype before the game not meeting the reality of the release, rather than a score of the games actual quality - the zero scores are even dumber than the nines in this regard, and are kneejerk, hysterical overreactions.

    That said, the practice of over-hyping games needs to stop. It is a direct result of the pre-order culture. People, start learning lessons, wait for a games release, try a demo if you can, THEN buy it if you want to, instead of buying into a game that doesn't exist yet.    … Expand
  24. Ghost67
    Oct 25, 2016
    7
    I'm having flashbacks to when Dragon Age 2 released and the game was flooded with mixed reviews, many of them angry Bioware fans feeling betrayed by Bioware's design choices. But DA2 wasn't a bad game. It's the same thing with Fallout 4. The thing is this, Fallout 4 is not a bad game, but Bethesda is clearly losing ground with their fanbase and making the wrong decisions in their games.I'm having flashbacks to when Dragon Age 2 released and the game was flooded with mixed reviews, many of them angry Bioware fans feeling betrayed by Bioware's design choices. But DA2 wasn't a bad game. It's the same thing with Fallout 4. The thing is this, Fallout 4 is not a bad game, but Bethesda is clearly losing ground with their fanbase and making the wrong decisions in their games. There has been a disturbing trend of Bethesda continually simplifying their games. This started with Oblivion and now it has made its way to Fallout.

    Of course, theres a bit of hypocrisy here from many fans. Skyrim was certainly dumbed down, yet has stellar reviews and has not received the hatred that Fallout 4 has gotten. Its as if all of a sudden the Bethesda fanbase has woken up to the fact that Bethesda has been dumbing down their games.

    But F4 is not a bad game. The 1 - 4 reviews are completely UNWARRANTED for this title.

    Both the Fallout series and Elder Scrolls are known for deep, complex immersion RPG games where player choice is supposed to matter. If you want to be an evil **** you can. If you want to be a goody two shoes, you can as well. There used to be a choice and consequence system that is sorely absent in F4. Its either friendly factions or raiders. There is little in between - there are a few notable quests that give you some choices, but in general you are forced to be the good guy.

    Bethesda has also once again simplified the character development process, instead of working on both SPECIAL perks and skills from F3, it has now just come down to just SPECIAL perks, and that's it - you also gain 10 HP when you level up. Wow. What happened Bethesda?

    Clearly the time Bethesda spent on development was the crafting system. F4 features a deep crafting system. As you explore, you pick up "junk", (which actually isnt junk at all) and use those parts to craft things, like weapon mods and upgrades, and your power armor. But this is where it gets funky - theres too much focus on crafting. Eventually, you are almost forced to get a "Settlement" - an actual town, so to speak. And you craft it from the down up, we're talking power generators, light poles, walls - etc. The problem is that I dont really want to do this, and clearly theres been plenty of time devoted to this sort of thing. You play Fallout for survival and exploration, not building towns and cities.

    It becomes extremely grindy, because you are constantly picking up junk and storing it. And it gets crazier, because you have other parameters, like town happiness, food, water - this is some complex stuff. Is this a town management game or Fallout 4? What was Bethesda thinking? If they added the complexity of town building to character development the game would have been much better off. Actually, yeah, ok, I see where they were going with this. But it doesn't work for F4.

    Another gripe I have is the fact that there is a bit of a Borderlands feel to it. There is a focus on combat, a bit too much. There are legendary enemies which drop super items akin to Diablo and ARPG suffix's (Pistol of Wounding). These items have special effects which cannot be crafted but are always superior to crafted items. This is cool and all, but adds another element of GRIND. This is not really Fallout. If I want to play Borderlands, I will play Borderlands.

    But F4 is NOT a bad game. Yeah, it has the typical Bethesda bugs - Bethesda is well known for their bugs and glitches, and F4 has plenty of them. But F4's combat system works beautifully. Its thoroughly enjoyable sniping that super mutant or smashing that hound to bits with my sledgehammer. F4's combat is extremely well done, and VATS makes it all the more fun! It was really, really fun exploring the South part of the map, where combat gets really hairy and requires you to stay on your toes. This is where F4 shines.

    F4's musical score is excellent and probably the best out of series and possibly the best out of any Bethesda game. 10/10 for music.

    Overall, F4 is disappointing, and just shows how too much hype can kill a game. I just wish Bethesda would have spent more money developing their game than making cool ads. The disturbing trend of Bethesda dumbing down their games continues. I dont see how they can do go any further, but they might just find a way in Fallout 5. Bethesda, please go back to your roots and make complex immersive RPG's where player choice matters. Please.    … Expand
  25. effataigus
    Aug 5, 2017
    7
    I'm having to change my review after realizing I've put maybe 25 hours into this game. That's a lot for me. At a blush, this game is terrible. The first few hours of the game is your character emptying entire clips into bad guys and them continuing to beat on you while you reload. The rest of the game is you staring at one of a million different inventory screens trying to decide whichI'm having to change my review after realizing I've put maybe 25 hours into this game. That's a lot for me. At a blush, this game is terrible. The first few hours of the game is your character emptying entire clips into bad guys and them continuing to beat on you while you reload. The rest of the game is you staring at one of a million different inventory screens trying to decide which random junk in the world (and OMG is there ever so much of it) is worth waiting through the constant barrage of loading screens to bring back to sell/scrap/whatever. I quit and left the game a terrible review with a clean conscience. I couldn't be paid to play that inventory management game. However, I decided to give the game another chance after finding out that there was a cheat that allowed your character to just carry everything. Between that and "favorite flagging weapons" the tedium of the game has been reduced by maybe 80% (still constant and unnecessary loading screens). This allowed me to get deep enough into the game to realize just how huge and dynamic the game is. Truly impressive that they've made a game that is this deep and that functions (if limpingly) as a FPS on both PC and console platforms. Ultimately, I'd say the game is underrated, but I absolutely do not blame the legion of players that didn't cheat, didn't give the game a 2nd chance, and just left a terrible rating. Without cheating, the game deserves the rating. A follow up recommendation for the game studio would be to have multiple difficulty sliders. One for difficulty (functioning as it currently does) and another for realism (affecting carry weight, radiation exposure consequences, healing, and all of those other things that make post-apocalyptic survival a drag).… Expand
  26. theirrelephants
    May 25, 2018
    7
    Update: Changing this from a 5 to a 7 after the horrible bugs at release that made me rage were fixed.

    I want to give this game more than a five, I really do. But I can't, and the following is why. 1) Awful optimization and graphics. I have a geforce 550 gtx. Old card, but still a great one. I can run skyrim on max settings, and it looks WAY better than Fallout 4. Try to put    Update: Changing this from a 5 to a 7 after the horrible bugs at release that made me rage were fixed.

    I want to give this game more than a five, I really do. But I can't, and the following is why.

    1) Awful optimization and graphics. I have a geforce 550 gtx. Old card, but still a great one. I can run skyrim on max settings, and it looks WAY better than Fallout 4. Try to put Fallout 4 on anything above high (or just turn on "godrays") and the game dies. Everything 10-20 feet away looks cartoony at times. I don't understand why this is happening when, as I said, the game looks worse than Skyrim.

    Right after I got the power armor I got into a fight with a deathclaw. I failed to blow up some cars near it, and I figured I was dead since it was closing in on me and my gun overheated.... nope. It just ran around in circles 10 feet in front of me. Maybe this is a "feature," though.

    3) Keyboard controls, to the point that it almost plays like a bad port. You can hit M to bring up the map, but you have to hit tab to close it. The keys for switching around screens in your pip boy are equally dumb. You have to manually edit ini files just to change mouse settings.

    4) The story and writing are meh, but this is Bethesda so I kind of expected that. A voice acted main character is stupid, and so is the mass effect dialogue. I want my lines back where I can actually see what I'm saying before I say it. There are several instances where I wanted to ask a question and ended up starting a fight.

    Pretty much everything I've listed is fixable, which makes it that much more disgusting that they released the game in this state.    … Expand
  27. GroinyGroin
    Nov 11, 2015
    7
    It's just okay. Everything is okay. The settlement building (which is a grind) is a bit more fun than the rest of the game... I am not even butt hurt about the bugs (we all knew there would be bugs).
  28. TheBeast
    Dec 6, 2018
    7
    I just thought I'd review this game because of the idiots that gave this game a 0... I mean really? do you not know how reviews work? Fallout 4 is pretty good, I've got about 80 hours on it, haven't played the DLCs yet though. Sure it's lacking in the RPG elements, Bethesda tried something new with the dialogue options and it just didn't work out too well. It was a good idea, a naturalI just thought I'd review this game because of the idiots that gave this game a 0... I mean really? do you not know how reviews work? Fallout 4 is pretty good, I've got about 80 hours on it, haven't played the DLCs yet though. Sure it's lacking in the RPG elements, Bethesda tried something new with the dialogue options and it just didn't work out too well. It was a good idea, a natural progression from simple text to an actual voiced protagonist.

    Shooting is improved, animations, graphics are a pretty big improvement.

    Yes it's not a perfect game but is it a 2/10? 3/10? 0/10?!! that is absolutely stupid    … Expand
  29. papirnehezek
    Nov 16, 2015
    7
    Some thoughts:

    - The game engine shows its age, it does not look great, and it runs bad compared to other games - Combat encounters are dull, involving shooting each other from short distances - Overall AI is pretty terrible - Map should be bigger, or at least stuffed with more things to do - Some people you cannot kill - Weapon crafting/modifying is too grindy - Base building has    Some thoughts:

    - The game engine shows its age, it does not look great, and it runs bad compared to other games
    - Combat encounters are dull, involving shooting each other from short distances
    - Overall AI is pretty terrible
    - Map should be bigger, or at least stuffed with more things to do
    - Some people you cannot kill
    - Weapon crafting/modifying is too grindy
    - Base building has some issues, for example you can place things in the air if there is hillside in the way
    - No hardcore mode
    - Better gunplay mechanics than before
    - There are colour which look good, but that is just time that they changed from a washed out palette
    - The introduction is ok
    - People are still ugly
    - Pip-boy interface is a chore to use (still)

    I am disappointed. New Vegas had some many great things added to the core FO3 experience, that I thought they would keep them and improve on them. There are iron sights, but most of the things are gone, and as Obsidian works on their own projects right now we will not have another great improvement on the basic Bethesda game. Modders might do it, but that is only half solution. I better get back to my NV, add a few mods, and forget this one.    … Expand
  30. Kingbingo
    Nov 19, 2015
    7
    On balance good.

    This is a good game. It just could have been a lot better on the PC had Bethesda bothered to optimise it for the PC. Its not quite in the league of the greats like Fallout 3 or Skyrim, but its not far behind either. I had fun in the game and will sink many more hours into it. 7 out of 10, in what could have been 8 out of 10 if they optimised it properly, or 10 out of    On balance good.

    This is a good game. It just could have been a lot better on the PC had Bethesda bothered to optimise it for the PC.
    Its not quite in the league of the greats like Fallout 3 or Skyrim, but its not far behind either. I had fun in the game and will sink many more hours into it. 7 out of 10, in what could have been 8 out of 10 if they optimised it properly, or 10 out of 10 if they were quite as fastidious as they were with Skyrim or Fallout 3.

    Still worth playing though for sure. Will be greatly enhanced I suspect by the mods on their way.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Best PC Game of 2015
2
#2 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
2
#2 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. CD-Action
    Feb 4, 2016
    80
    After terrible first couple of hours Fallout 4 pulled itself together and ultimately was almost as fun as The Witcher 3. There’s a huge chasm between these two games in terms of technology (F4 looks like a X360 game), but their open worlds are equally good and Bethesda did a better job with crafting. [01/2016, p.42]
  2. PCWorld
    Jan 19, 2016
    70
    This isn’t the step forward I expected, though. Here we are, the first Bethesda game on a new hardware generation, and I can’t help feeling like we’ve regressed—like Fallout 4 really is Oblivion-with-guns. A decade later, it certainly makes many of the same mistakes.
    Read full review
  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Jan 4, 2016
    92
    It’s easy to get carried away by Fallout 4’s massive open world. While the gunplay is much improved and the quests fun, I found the UI lacking on the PC. The inventory and build menus are really tedious to use. [Dec 2015]
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