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. bcaton
    Jan 7, 2016
    5
    + Good opening
    + Some companions (Piper, Valentine) are wonderful
    + Some quests (Silver Shroud) are moving AND tricky + Settlement system shows promise - Settlements are just for show - you cannot recreate the commonwealth - Settlement bugs are common - the spreadsheet will show no water, for example - Settlements can't defend themselves unless you are there - despite everyone    + Good opening
    + Some companions (Piper, Valentine) are wonderful
    + Some quests (Silver Shroud) are moving AND tricky
    + Settlement system shows promise

    - Settlements are just for show - you cannot recreate the commonwealth
    - Settlement bugs are common - the spreadsheet will show no water, for example
    - Settlements can't defend themselves unless you are there - despite everyone wearing power armor and carrying miniguns. They automatically fail, because Bethseda wants to force you to drop everything all the time and babysit them
    - the characters choices don't really matter. You are a pawn, never a General, despite what they tell you.
    - it's not an rpg - it's a shooter. It's not a PC game - it's a console game that PC players can sort of play.    … Expand
  2. mutterfujjer
    Jan 6, 2016
    7
    I'm new to Fallout series. I'm aware most die hard fans hate the dumbed-down dialogue lack of options, but that didn't hurt me as much, since I've never played any other Fallout. That being said:

    Positives: - Hard at first. Requires you to think before spending points in the SPECIAL thing. Once you define and stick with your build, the game becomes super easy. But that feels like it    I'm new to Fallout series. I'm aware most die hard fans hate the dumbed-down dialogue lack of options, but that didn't hurt me as much, since I've never played any other Fallout. That being said:

    Positives:
    - Hard at first. Requires you to think before spending points in the SPECIAL thing. Once you define and stick with your build, the game becomes super easy. But that feels like it was thanks to your choices. The game could easily be harder if I didn't stick with a build (I went stealthy/sniper);
    - Playing stealth is fun. The AI is not the worst I've seen, and sniping stuff with the right perks is rewarding;
    - Interesting side quests. More fun than the actual main story. It is not as interesting as The Witcher 3, but it still has funny dialogues;
    - Great atmosphere, SUPERB soundtrack. The music is the best in this year. And the post apocalyptic world is really immersive;
    - Crazy amount of content to explore. I didn't clocked it, but I've played it for more then 80 hours for sure.

    Negatives:
    - Settlements are completely useless and boring. I'm glad I've ignored it completely, because it wouldn't make any difference in the end anyway; If i want to build things I will play Sin City or something. At least give me some reward for investing time on it. This is the major fail in this game.
    - The graphics are terrible. Old gen stuff. When you're at close range all you see is blurry textures. God it's PSOne quality textures. And when you're out in open world prepare your fps to drop to the single numbers. Seriously, it almost froze my PC (and I'm with a 980 GTX Ti here).
    - Even thought some quests are fun, the game becomes really repetitive after some time. By the end of the game I was urging for it to end already, I couldn't take it anymore. You just kill stuff or do some dumb item bringing here and there;
    - The replay value is zero. I never thought I would say this about a Fallout game, after so many people recommended it for all the branches I could fork the storyline in. But I've lost all interest for this game after I finished it once, since I've heard all the endings are pretty much the same.

    All in all I'd say the game is OK. It's far from what all the masterpiece people told me it would be. But it provided good fun while it lasted. At least it had a lot of content to explore.    … Expand
  3. PowerGamer
    Jan 6, 2016
    10
    Just give it a chance.

    At first I saw the game, within an hour or two I felt like it was Fallout 3 but with some clumsy crafting system. Then after a few hours more, I thought that and then I'm some kind of junk collector. But after a while, maybe after a day I really fell in love with the game. The main thing, the game is just huge. There is really a lot of places to explore,    Just give it a chance.

    At first I saw the game, within an hour or two I felt like it was Fallout 3 but with some clumsy crafting system.
    Then after a few hours more, I thought that and then I'm some kind of junk collector.

    But after a while, maybe after a day I really fell in love with the game.
    The main thing, the game is just huge.
    There is really a lot of places to explore, interesting stories and side quests.
    Then the finally made the weapons and armor systems much more interesting (a problem I've had with all Bethesda RPGs).

    There is so much content, I've been skipping the main quest line and doing the side quests for many days now. So much to the game I think I might have to do a 2nd play through or spend the next few months playing and exploring everything.

    Ignore the bad reviews, like everyone else I know that actually plays the game they really like it.
    Even the crafting system that I thought was clumsy at first (leaves a lot of room for improvement) I got a handle on it after a while.

    Just give it a chance, you'll see, you won't be disappointed.    … Expand
  4. x_Demonic_z
    Jan 6, 2016
    4
    A 'good' game, terrible Fallout game.

    Fallout, one of my favorite RPG games, has been slaughtered, mutilated and transformed into a hideous mash of random dynamics that only lessened the core of a Fallout game... RPG elements are so watered down, i wouldn't even call this an RPG. The dialogue is less than poor.. Its disgusting.. The simplified dialolgue wheel and the absence of any    A 'good' game, terrible Fallout game.

    Fallout, one of my favorite RPG games, has been slaughtered, mutilated and transformed into a hideous mash of random dynamics that only lessened the core of a Fallout game... RPG elements are so watered down, i wouldn't even call this an RPG. The dialogue is less than poor.. Its disgusting.. The simplified dialolgue wheel and the absence of any special related dialogue options beyond Charisma is a major disappointment, and completely unnessesary. Just... why?

    The lack of character development and choice is an insult to the fallout franchise. Why main protagonist voice acting? Is this mass effect? Why limit character design for only the smallest addition of story telling? What happened to the skills? why is every character the exact same starting off? I remember having a Stupid brute at the start of one playthrough of NV, and a smartass scientist in another... The settlement system is underdeveloped and a waste of time. It literally has zero effect on the game.

    The factions are stale and their quest are all the same repeatable quests taking you to the same area... Not to mention they all lead to the same copy pasta ending scene. If Fallout 4 wasn't a Fallout game, i'd like it more. Just knowing what this could have been, leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

    After all of this, i still think it's a decent game. The world is beautifully crafted, and my only gripe is that it lacks depth. Almost every location is "Kill everything that moves and loot the simi relevent gear". Along with the "Kill everything" scheme, the gunplay has been well done. It really does feel less clunky. However, if i had to choose between gunplay, and RPG elements i'd choose the RPG side.

    To sum it up, If you like open world action shooters, this is a good game for you. However, If you LOVED Fallout 3 and New Vegas as well as their RPG goodness, Don't waste your money.. Wait another year, and maybe the modding community can fix Fallout 4.... or perhaps obsidian will take a crack at it? one can only hope..    … Expand
  5. BeanBuster
    Jan 5, 2016
    3
    The very simplest way i can explain how average the game is with a choice:
    If you want a fun, well made shooter, this game is very good
    If you want a RPG with good dialouge, lots of ways to build your character, this game is bad. This game has taken out lots of the things that made it a fallout game. Skills, good dialouge, diplomatic solutions, all of it has been ripped out to make    The very simplest way i can explain how average the game is with a choice:
    If you want a fun, well made shooter, this game is very good
    If you want a RPG with good dialouge, lots of ways to build your character, this game is bad.

    This game has taken out lots of the things that made it a fallout game. Skills, good dialouge, diplomatic solutions, all of it has been ripped out to make the game easier for console gamers.

    This game is WORSE than 3 and NV. Please, buy NV. It is a much better game in every aspect.    … Expand
  6. blade01
    Jan 5, 2016
    1
    Wow, where is the game in this desaster?I hated Fallout 3, loved NV and now they produce this kind of garbage that is even worse when i compare it to Fallout 3.Everything is dumbed down.The story is a joke, alle the sidequests are boring as **** sidequest is like "go to X, X says "hey kill or clear Y".No real choices that matter.When i played F1,2,3 or NV at least i had some feeling theWow, where is the game in this desaster?I hated Fallout 3, loved NV and now they produce this kind of garbage that is even worse when i compare it to Fallout 3.Everything is dumbed down.The story is a joke, alle the sidequests are boring as **** sidequest is like "go to X, X says "hey kill or clear Y".No real choices that matter.When i played F1,2,3 or NV at least i had some feeling the quest matters.NV was great when it comes to sidequests.

    Your skills are now useless in conversations.You need X amount of charisma, thats it.NV was so much better when you feel the build of your character matters in some way.

    The UI is a desaster!!!Its not only clunky as hell, its hard to navigate without a gamepad.In fights that sucks!THe VATS is a problem too because the time flows when you are in VATS and most of the time its hard to target certain bodyparts with the mouse.

    Tactical gameplay is not in this game.When you fight enemys above you level youll simply die.I tried just for fun to lure some tough raiders into a minefield with lots and lots of mines.They took nearly no damage.The scaling of the enemys is terrible.You will find it either too hard or too easy.Pop a dozen of ghouls, no prob, minutes later one raider might run you over.You cant roleplay that way i think and its no fun when a game scales so poorly i think.

    I saw some comment the shooting is so much better.Yes, compared to F3 and maybe NV yes but those where no great games.What the hell is your standard?This is clearly no RPG and when i want to play a GREAT FPS i play a great one, not an abomination like Fallout 4.I play Wolfenstein for example with great visuals, great sound and so on!The gunplay is not even ok because everything is so clunky and ugly.So many bad textures that i cant the enemys when they stand next to a **** wall.And the weaponhandling is weird too.I can talk about the framerate too.A great FPS runs with a constant framerate where i can shoot things with precision.Fallout 4 runs NOT smooth.If you think Fallout 4 is an ok shooter go and play Wolfenstein or Shadow Warrior!!!!

    Bugs!!!Bugs!!!Bugs!!!I had some issues with bugs.Power armor is bugged as hell.The HUD is not displaying anything for example!According to my HUD in the armor i have no ammo, no health, no fusion core.This is **** bugs are there, companions fell through the terrain and died(they came back after i fasttraveld) and so on.

    The crafting seems nice, at first.Until you realize that you can just wait when enemys drop better stuff.This way i had a perfect 10mm after hours without wasting resources.I had to build the basic addon, on another weapon of the same model, trade the pieces, done.I have done that with most of my equipment and i had upgrades that needed the last ranks of weaponsmith for example when i was on a low level.That is just bad design because Bethesda makes it so some res are artificially rare and expensive.With my way you dont need that ressources.Should never be that way cause the crafting is a way for YOU to determine the way you want to play.Thats the plan from bethesda i think and they screwed this up.

    Visuals are pretty bad.Who gives this piece of ugly garbage a 95??Of course, IGN.Cause they had no bugs and a brilliant looking game i guess.The engine is outdated and they say its new.Lie!!!

    Conclusion:Boring as **** with bugs, clunky UI, no story, no immersion in the world and they dumbed down EVERYTHING.The 4 way dialogue-wheel is the nail in the coffin.Without the bugs the game might be a 2.With the bugs its 1, barely, because you can start it.I was never that bored when i played a game.Bethesda, you suck.You suck at writing, at programming and at building world where RPG players can immerse themselfes.All the people that think this is a great game:You suck, i dont care if you allowed to have an own oppinion.You are a person without taste!!!    … Expand
  7. SpazeGoat
    Jan 5, 2016
    5
    With over 270 hours and 100% achievements, you would think I'd give Fallout 4 a better rating. Instead I gave it 5/10 and still feel like I'm being generous. Please allow me to explain how I reached this conclusion.

    Upon leaving the vault and entering the wasteland, it feels like every other Fallout title. You can't wait to explore unique locations, find stronger weapons, get your    With over 270 hours and 100% achievements, you would think I'd give Fallout 4 a better rating. Instead I gave it 5/10 and still feel like I'm being generous. Please allow me to explain how I reached this conclusion.

    Upon leaving the vault and entering the wasteland, it feels like every other Fallout title. You can't wait to explore unique locations, find stronger weapons, get your first suit of power armor; ultimately, finish quests with the best possible outcome. Whether your character is good, evil, or neutral- your choices effect what kind of ending you get.

    My first impressions of Fallout 4 were pretty good. Graphics were improved, the main story was interesting, side quests reaped good rewards, gameplay was smooth (aside from a few bugs). I thought the settlements provided a nice break from questing and exploring. There was only 2 things that really bothered me. (1)The new perk/stat/skill allocation system being one of them. I felt like I had way less control over the development of my character. (2)Dialog options. With only having 4 dialog options, it severely limited the role playing aspect of the game. Obviously, this change was implemented for console gamers and/or casual players with a short attention spans.

    As with all my first playthroughs- no guides, no forums, no spoilers. Since I did not read or discuss Fallout 4, I remained blissfully ignorant throughout most of the game. I started getting a little nervous after doing 20+ quests for each of the factions. I found myself asking, "Um, when is this quest-line going to end?... this is getting repetitive". Shortly after, I realized these must be repeatable quests and I'm just wasting my time.

    I decided to continue the main quest and explore more. The progression of the main quest was a bit anti-climatic and predictable. Suddenly, every location seemed generic and heavily repeated. I had 20+ settlements and they constantly asked for help. Building became boring the second I learned how limited and inconsequential it was. After a while, I dreaded finding new settlements.

    It kept getting easier and easier. I periodically upped the difficult level until I was maxed out on survival by level 50. The amount of HP and armor enemies had made my weapon and armor selection extremely limited. Combat remained easy, but it became a chore. Around this time, I didn't need anything. Caps, stimpaks, ammo, armor, weapons, ect. were all a "non-issue." I was carting junk for my pointless settlements, that's about it.

    The final push was painful. After finding as many locations and completing as many quests that I could, it was time to finally beat the game. Around level 80, I saved before I became enemies with anyone significant so I could reload in order to explore other "possibilities." There was a cut-scene. Then there was confusion. I couldn't understand. I literally had to Google to make sure what I saw was the actual ending. Then I reloaded and beat it 2 other ways. I sat in awe as I realized how inconsequential every decision I made was. All those speech checks, settlements, and side-quests. I could have ignored 95% of the content and would have gotten the same vague, asinine ending.

    I picked up the few achievements I missed; closed the game and said good-bye for good. I've played every Fallout (besides Fallout Tactics) and this is the first one to have zero point zero replayability. I agree with the common consensus that it's not bad game, but it's not a great game either. As many have stated, it's less immersive and lacks the "RP" in "RPG". That's why I give it a 5/10 for it's complete mediocrity.

    For fans of Fallout 1 & 2, I recommend you check out Wasteland 2; if you haven't already. I enjoyed Wasteland 2 more than Fallout 4, which might sound crazy to some. Honestly, I wish Bethesda would bring Brian Fargo back to the Fallout Series. Pipe dream, really. Let's just hope this isn't Bethesda's "Jump the Shark" moment.    … Expand
  8. vault2wasteland
    Jan 5, 2016
    8
    Just spent 7 days in the Commonwealth and it was a great experience. I've made friends, saved a bunch of folks, crafted, base built, taken on deathclaws and assaultrons, traded a ton, perked up and loaded up with junk. Days disappear when I play this one. For me this is a sign of a good value game. But Fallout 4 is not for everybody.

    PROS -weapon and armour customization -companions    Just spent 7 days in the Commonwealth and it was a great experience. I've made friends, saved a bunch of folks, crafted, base built, taken on deathclaws and assaultrons, traded a ton, perked up and loaded up with junk. Days disappear when I play this one. For me this is a sign of a good value game. But Fallout 4 is not for everybody.

    PROS
    -weapon and armour customization
    -companions are stealthy, entertaining and useful if you give them good gear
    -base building option gives xp
    - VATS and shooting from the hip improved
    -more streamlined action
    -option to use power armour for difficult battles
    -Don't need to choose between energy weapons and small guns
    -Loot is actually useful
    -Buildings often have exits to the outside so you can fast travel without having to backtrack once you've cleared them
    -Bobbleheads are back

    CONS
    -sometimes buggy (but not even nearly as bad as fallout 3). Pip boy and gun disappear, occasionally stuck in doorways and have to console command to get out. Some missions have to be reloaded because they won't progress. I wouldn't recommend playing on console for this reason
    -Repetitive fetch quests to locations already visited rather than new ones I haven't
    -Very vague about what you are supposed to do
    -Settlers can run off with your power armour

    Notable differences
    -no more skills like small guns/big guns/energy weapons
    -skills unlock as perks in the perk tree
    -No real option of evil run
    -Most choices don't matter very much    … Expand
  9. a20012322
    Jan 5, 2016
    2
    Poor story, poor UI, poor graphics. Stripped out the choice from FO3 (not that there was much there anyway) and converted it to a pick your ending game with everyone offering quests.

    The same old crappy buggy zombie not paying licensing fee's gamebryo engine still drives the game and it really shows through with old mini-games, old graphics, old bugs, ... It is a fallout game but not    Poor story, poor UI, poor graphics. Stripped out the choice from FO3 (not that there was much there anyway) and converted it to a pick your ending game with everyone offering quests.

    The same old crappy buggy zombie not paying licensing fee's gamebryo engine still drives the game and it really shows through with old mini-games, old graphics, old bugs, ...

    It is a fallout game but not only is the old (FO, FO2) spirit completely gone they even decided the new FO3/FONV was too much and stripped the game down even more while offering ARK survival evolved style building for no apparent reason.    … Expand
  10. Jazzmin
    Jan 5, 2016
    0
    Im sorry but I just don't understand the hype behind these games. The graphics look like late 90's games at best. I know its a RPG but I have definitely seen better than this especially in the PC market.
  11. Tilde_Gunderson
    Jan 5, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Short Review: If you liked Skyrim, you'll probably like Fallout 4.

    This game is not a perfect 10/10, but it's not a 0/10. It's a 7/10 game.

    CONS:
    The game has issues. The story is not exceptionally interesting. Saving your son seems like a worthwhile goal, but once you find him, things don't really progress that much. You're just doing some kind of checklist after that.

    (If you want to avoid spoilers, don't read the next paragraph)
    I joined the Institute, and the final mission felt somewhat empty. I was hoping to board the Brotherhood of Steel airship and kill the command from the inside. Instead, I just hacked Liberty Prime and it did the job for me (which didn't work until I used console commands). When my son died, I felt like there should've been more to do in the Institute.

    The conversation wheel is vague, but I think everyone knows this. Why didn't they just use the Skyrim conversation choices? I know voice acting in the game is an impressive addition and adding more choices would mean more work for them, but even if they just stuck with four options, allowing you to see what you're about to say would be nice. I found myself constantly autosaving during conversations.

    Graphically, the game could use some work. The frame rate's garbage, despite looking like Skyrim.

    Locations aren't are interesting as New Vegas' locations. There isn't much of a variety of location types beyond coastal location, urban location, or outside the city locations (I'm sorry if that's vague). Even Diamond City, the biggest settlement in the game, is really underwhelming and not much happens in it. I just wish I could kill the people in the upper bowl stealthily without the security getting on my ass about it. If you thought Nazeem from Skyrim was bad... well, don't venture into the upper bowl of Diamond City.

    I feel bad for anyone playing the console version because too many times did I have to fix a problem using console commands. I can't list all of the glitches I faced, but when I had to use a console command to complete the most important mission in the game, something's up.

    PROS:
    However, there are some good aspects of it. The combat has been decently improved over Fallout 3. Fighting without VATS feels doable, and using sniper rifles is even more effective than before. Weapon customization and armour upgrades makes collecting scrap a worthwhile endeavour.

    And most of all? NO WEAPON DEGRADATION!

    I don't think one person enjoyed weapon degradation... and if you did, I... I don't know what to say to that. Congratulations, I guess? I think when most people see their favourite weapon starting to wear away and you have to continuously repair it to keep it in perfect condition, it doesn't make them feel good.

    Companions are now more of a thing and the game rewards you for having them with companion-based perks (that stay even if you kill them! Hurray!). They don't hinder stealth anymore, and are generally well characterized.

    NEITHER HERE OR THERE:
    There are some things that bother me, but they aren't exactly pros or cons.

    In terms of equipment, I wasn't impressed with the power armour. I didn't like it when it changed my HUD, making it a little busier and changing my HUD colour. But I don't call this a bad thing since I primarily used sniper rifles and long-ranged weapons to fight, so my opinion on this matter is relatively moot.

    Still on the topic of equipment: I never changed my equipment from the first few items I got in the beginning because the game stopped giving me SPECIAL-boosting equipment after level 15. But this could just be my own experience with the game.

    Graphically, I actually liked the visuals. I don't think AAA games need to look photo-realistic. I just wish the game performed well and never really dipped in frame rates. Not entirely a problem, since this may be fixed later and it didn't hamper my gameplay too heavily.

    Overall, this is a fun game that's well worth your time and $80 (depending on where you buy it).    … Expand
  12. Raimoraimo
    Jan 5, 2016
    0
    Utterly dissapointing. I did beat the game (rushing towards the end), so in reality I guess it would be a 6/10 or 7/10, but the 10's need to be balanced badly. Bethesda *really* should have just perma-hired Obsidian as their developer, as FO:NV is the only 3D-FO that has the good original Fallout vibe. And we don't need to compare this to the old classics either, coming to F4 from WitcherUtterly dissapointing. I did beat the game (rushing towards the end), so in reality I guess it would be a 6/10 or 7/10, but the 10's need to be balanced badly. Bethesda *really* should have just perma-hired Obsidian as their developer, as FO:NV is the only 3D-FO that has the good original Fallout vibe. And we don't need to compare this to the old classics either, coming to F4 from Witcher 3 highlighted all the flaws here very clearly. The writing, storytelling, graphics, worldbuilding, all sub-par, sadly.… Expand
  13. 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
  14. veyron2222
    Jan 3, 2016
    8
    It took the game a long time till it really "fired up" in my opinion, but after it did the game was great, the graphics are awesome and the game-play is great the only thing i hated was the settlements building mechanics, it is too hard to handle with, also the story was bad, i literally played the game just because it was Fallout 4.
    To sum up:
    Graphics- 9/10
    game-play-8/10
    story-5/10
  15. DouglasT
    Jan 2, 2016
    8
    Everything in this game is what I always wanted from a Fallout franchise game, from gameplay to graphics. I'm giving a 8 because the story is not that good.
  16. Bribarian
    Jan 2, 2016
    8
    I'm about 30 hours into this game. I'd have to say it's a solid addition to the franchise.

    Everything about it, besides maybe the storyline/writing, was improved upon. The UI and combat feel much better compared to the previous titles. A bit smoother if you will. I'm not a huge fan of VATS, but I will use it ocassionally for a slow mode kill. The map is somewhat small as many    I'm about 30 hours into this game. I'd have to say it's a solid addition to the franchise.

    Everything about it, besides maybe the storyline/writing, was improved upon.

    The UI and combat feel much better compared to the previous titles. A bit smoother if you will. I'm not a huge fan of VATS, but I will use it ocassionally for a slow mode kill.

    The map is somewhat small as many have pointed out. Let's think quality over quantity in this regard. The areas in this small map have a lot of character, lots of polish, and a lot of loot.

    The intro to the game was a bit lackluster, I think I was more amazed with Fallout 3's intro and emerging for the vault.

    The crafting and modding of weapons/armor are both nice additions. I've spent lots of time already building up Sanctuary, the first settlement you're given. It's the first time I've personally seen a single player RPG do something like that and it's pretty cool to be able to craft the world you're playing in.

    Anyways, it's a fun game and is really content rich, even if many of the quests are a bit shallow.

    8/10    … Expand
  17. wemelchor
    Jan 1, 2016
    0
    The Worst Fallout in the entire franchise I would totally forgive the half attempted story and lack of role play if my character wasn't a weak loser who suffers from polio every time he carries loot from 1 battle, and suffers a stroke every time he walks into a building.

    Litterally the only saving grace for this game is its mods. This act should not be rewarded, Shame on Bethesda those    The Worst Fallout in the entire franchise I would totally forgive the half attempted story and lack of role play if my character wasn't a weak loser who suffers from polio every time he carries loot from 1 battle, and suffers a stroke every time he walks into a building.

    Litterally the only saving grace for this game is its mods. This act should not be rewarded, Shame on Bethesda those money grabbing fools    … Expand
  18. dirkdeagler
    Jan 1, 2016
    3
    Playing Fallout 4 was such an unsatisfying Fallout experience that I went back and played New Vegas for the first time after reading how good it was from some of the other reviews here. I spent a couple hours picking up highly recommended mods. After getting everything running nicely, I was absolutely shocked when comparing the modded FNV experience with FO4.

    Modded FNV has: -Better    Playing Fallout 4 was such an unsatisfying Fallout experience that I went back and played New Vegas for the first time after reading how good it was from some of the other reviews here. I spent a couple hours picking up highly recommended mods. After getting everything running nicely, I was absolutely shocked when comparing the modded FNV experience with FO4.

    Modded FNV has:
    -Better textures
    -Better performance in fps
    -Better character faces and facial animations
    -Better weapon textures AND a huge variety of weapons

    And that's only considering the aesthetic improvements, the massive amount of additional modded content notwithstanding. I am frankly shocked that a AAA development studio is unable to meet or exceed the development quality of mods made by unpaid community modders in a game using the same engine. I can only guess that a priority on console development is why the PC offering is so poor in comparison.

    I would have been able to overlook the technical ineptitude of the game if there were anything resembling the soul of Fallout still present. As many other reviewers have pointed out, the essence of Fallout has always been choice and flexibility in how to resolve problems. In previous Fallout titles, everything from a total pacifist run to wholesale murder of nearly everyone were viable ways to play the game, with potential alternate routes depending on skill checks and your character's inclinations. Fallout 4 gives us improved gunplay, but has stripped out the ability to make meaningful decisions about how to resolve problems, as nearly every quest can only be resolved by going in and shooting up the place.

    The voiced protagonist contributes to this straitjacketing. This is a design decision that does not work within a sandbox RPG. Games like Mass Effect worked better with a voiced protagonist because the story and setting were more focused and the base character more developed. The dialogue was also more consistently written and voice-acted-- I have no desire to do another playthrough to hear the female voice actor, but the male voice actor at least was inconsistent in the tone and style of his delivery to the point of totally breaking immersion.

    The writing quality and pacing was bad. Your character wakes up a subjective 15 minutes after having breakfast with his family to a post-apocalytpic wasteland, and rather than giving us any reflection on the massive future shock and dislocation the character would surely be feeling, we're picking up power armor and a minigun and killing a deathclaw within an hour. I thought the power armor and minigun were fine as a teaser for things to come, since you don't have fusion cores and ammo readily available in the early game, but it would have been nice to have even a cursory nod toward having the character understand what the hell happened to the world around him.

    The main storyline serves to introduce the player to the main factions present in the Commonwealth. However, at a crucial juncture, the lack of choice in resolving conflict undermines the story, as the player is locked into wholesale slaughter of all the competing factions, with no chance for diplomacy or double-dealing. Most or all of the factions aren't really in diametric opposition, so this turn in the story feels incredibly forced, and like the writers just ran out of steam. The ending was so abrupt and underwhelming that I literally had to use Google to confirm that I really had seen the ending.

    The choice to implement random-style loot on legendary enemies and to tie equipment modding to junk scavenging are mildly interesting at first, but dissolve into tedium quickly due to the uselessness of most of the legendary affixes, and the hours of scouring forgettable locations for junk. It would be generous to call the settlement features half-finished. I don't get where the demand for Minecraft/Sims-style crossover gameplay was coming from-- it doesn't appeal to me in a role-playing title but that still doesn't excuse Bethesda's half-baked implementation.

    Bethesda chose to strip out the soul of Fallout games in favor of making a generic shooter that combines shooter, RPG, and builder elements, but does none of them very well. They've gone from a "must-buy" development studio to one that I will approach with heavy skepticism in the future, and wait on user reviews for an accurate representation of the game since it seems the professional reviewers have little integrity.    … Expand
  19. Junthor
    Jan 1, 2016
    2
    I was going to give this game a 4 for effort. Up to this point in time it has been a mediocre experience, but I carried on playing though regardless. Pretty much all negative reviews on here are correct, I didn't really feel like I needed to add my opinion to the thousands people voicing their disappointment.
    However I have encountered a serious bug with a main character called Desdemona    I was going to give this game a 4 for effort. Up to this point in time it has been a mediocre experience, but I carried on playing though regardless. Pretty much all negative reviews on here are correct, I didn't really feel like I needed to add my opinion to the thousands people voicing their disappointment.
    However I have encountered a serious bug with a main character called Desdemona and I now cannot progress through the story so I now give this game 2 and now feel compelled to review it.

    I think the user score of 5.4 is generous. Pretty terrible effort from Bethesda, this bland mess simply has no soul and is ridden with bugs. Avoid.    … Expand
  20. Talbis
    Jan 1, 2016
    5
    Fallout 4 is a good game, there's no doubt about that... but it's not a good Fallout game. One of the core aspects of Fallout was the role play, a thing that's been castrated from fourth installment almost entirely. Sure everyone likes to play the role of the hero, what's disappointing however is the fact that you can't play as... you. You can't even be an evil bastard - something that wasFallout 4 is a good game, there's no doubt about that... but it's not a good Fallout game. One of the core aspects of Fallout was the role play, a thing that's been castrated from fourth installment almost entirely. Sure everyone likes to play the role of the hero, what's disappointing however is the fact that you can't play as... you. You can't even be an evil bastard - something that was very enjoyable in first and second Fallout games. Here in a manner of minutes you're forced to help a group of survivors, equipped with Power Armor of the get go. On my very first sitting with the game I was a General of Minutemen and a Knight in the Brotherhood of Steel... and as much as I enjoyed my time with the game, for the life of me, I could not see a dialog option to be just pure evil bastard! Not to mention that the dialogues have only four (sic!) outcomes where three of them are always yes, no and I don't know... The story is boring, the side quests are repetitive, gun play is fun but again - what if I don't want to shoot everything? Not an option most of the time.
    Technically the graphics are okay. Nothing fancy but not horrible. I was able to keep the game at a stable 60fps most of the time. Few glitches happened, nothing gamebreaking. But the damned loading screens! They're everywhere! SSD is a must otherwise fast travel can be as slow as running on a lower spec PCs. The facial animations are a bit... out there. Music is there. Forgettable but fitting the game. Now... FOV is vomit inducing, thankfully it can be adjusted with a simple command prompt still it only reminds me that there's no options menu! Everything is set up from the launcher that has a very limited options to choose from. Also the default controls are totally counter-intuitive! Most of the time they require you to grow a third hand - one in WASD area, one on the mouse and third one near the Enter key.
    Overall, after around 150 hours of gameplay, I wanna play Wasteland 2 again and never go back to Fallout series as long as it's in the hands of Bethesda Softworks.    … Expand
  21. martinoli
    Jan 1, 2016
    9
    Ho letto molte opinioni negative, certo non è epico come i precedenti e non c'e' un grande passo avanti sul lato tecnico, però ho imparato ad apprezzarlo giocandolo. Alcuni aspetti del gioco non li utilizzo molto per esempio la possibilità di costruire edifici e di arredarli. Tutto sommato godibile.
  22. Wraithman
    Jan 1, 2016
    4
    After 11 days with this game..What i can say...Wonderful environment, not bad graphic, terrible combat mechanic, terrible npc ai, really stupid and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ main plot. Guys this scenario can write a 10 years, old without that big holes in plot. And when Fallout 3 was a big mistake, Fallout Nv was quite good with complicated world and characters. Fallout 4 i dont know what type this gameAfter 11 days with this game..What i can say...Wonderful environment, not bad graphic, terrible combat mechanic, terrible npc ai, really stupid and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ main plot. Guys this scenario can write a 10 years, old without that big holes in plot. And when Fallout 3 was a big mistake, Fallout Nv was quite good with complicated world and characters. Fallout 4 i dont know what type this game is, definitely not Crpg, shooter more. And this scenario...guys...please. You all Killed this franchise without mercy and, ♥♥♥♥♥ all mature players with Super Sledge. Start is fun..after that everything is dying. So many wasted possibilities, so many booring quests, and in mine loong career as a Game Master in few rpg systems you really really need to send that guys to read some good books. Maybe it will help.
    Anyway mine scores for this game:1 to 10
    Quests - total score 4, main story line beginning 7 ending 2.It start good and ...thats all. Lovercraftian quests toons of wasted potential.
    World - 8 Nice locations few really fun to explore. Prydven is beautiful.
    NPC Characters - 4 Some ok,some flat and boring. Nothing to be excited. Please return to bg 1 bg2 to learn how to build deep funny characters. It is all about story and fun.
    Mechanic - 1. Its booring, and stupid in soo many examples...
    Total not to solid -4.
    And i know for Bethesda last years succes is measured in number of copies sold- but Witcher 3 can do both things. Quality and profit.
    Recommended for easy shooters fans, not recommended for fallout, and post-apo fans.    … Expand
  23. Exeris666
    Dec 30, 2015
    3
    I feel this is high enough for a game that wasn't finished.

    When you keep seeing things like cars with their doors open and not even a tiny piece of garbage inside, it looks like someone just cleaned the inside of the cars. And the tugboats most of them don't even have a interior. Trying to snipe someone can be quite hard when the draw distance at max is so damn low, use the scope    I feel this is high enough for a game that wasn't finished.

    When you keep seeing things like cars with their doors open and not even a tiny piece of garbage inside, it looks like someone just cleaned the inside of the cars.

    And the tugboats most of them don't even have a interior.

    Trying to snipe someone can be quite hard when the draw distance at max is so damn low, use the scope and most of the game disappears in the distance.

    Overuse of sprites to, but i can understand them on this point. Must have been quite the challenge trying to get this to work on those console ****

    It's worth playing but by far the worst Fallout game to date, emotionless, cold and unfinished.

    Feels like the developers disliked the making of Fallout 4, it bleeds through while playing and gets worse the longer you play.    … Expand
  24. BigBountyBar
    Dec 30, 2015
    6
    Ok at best.

    Fallout is a game with a low graphical fidelity for 2015s Triple-A standards. This would be fine if the game would be well optimised, but it simply is not. The main story and each "factions" story and quest lines arent that entertaining as i would have liked them to be. I enjoyed Fallout 3 a lot more regarding that matter. The map itself is quite large, and what i like    Ok at best.

    Fallout is a game with a low graphical fidelity for 2015s Triple-A standards. This would be fine if the game would be well optimised, but it simply is not.

    The main story and each "factions" story and quest lines arent that entertaining as i would have liked them to be. I enjoyed Fallout 3 a lot more regarding that matter.

    The map itself is quite large, and what i like in particular is the fact that enemies scale in a certain level range according to region/ ares other then to the players own level. That means, that if you are very far into the game and have a high level and go back into the starting area, you will be able to crush anything that comes near you with ease. On the other hand, certain areas will be set to high lvl enemies in which you would get crushed if you were to face them early on. I feel this is the more immersive way to go.

    Gunplay is good, quite simply put.

    However, the way they changed the lvling and skilling system in Fallout 4 is an absolute joke to me. Instead of having the old Fallout 3 way , they decided to go for a very lazy approach in my eyes. The only thing you now get from lvling up is a point you can use to choose a perk for one of the S.P.E.C.I.A.L attributes. We did have this before, but with the addition of you being able to put points into each of these attributes, up to 100 everytime you lvl up. Now you can only go in a rough direction by applying a few points the each attribute at the start. A change i absolutely dislike and influenced my gaming experience quite a bit.

    In General , it seems like Bethesda have shifted their focus from an RPG to an Open-World Shooter by dumbing down the role playing elements such as the skill system and dialogue options while significantly improving gun play. Some people may like this change, however, i personally prefer the more RPG based approach of the older titles. The crafting system for me doesnt really fit into the game that well and does not enhance the gaming experience at all, which is a shame. All in all this game is OK, but not quite entertaining enough for me to warrant a price tag of 60 euros.    … Expand
  25. Heaves
    Dec 30, 2015
    8
    I really don't understand some of the reviews on here. Some of the people who have given it a negative score have done so after 100+ hours of playing so it can't be that bad. Yes, the game could be better (if it was all that was promised, it would have got a 10) and, as usual with bethesda games, there are a few annoying bugs but the game is enjoyable nonetheless. If you want a game thatI really don't understand some of the reviews on here. Some of the people who have given it a negative score have done so after 100+ hours of playing so it can't be that bad. Yes, the game could be better (if it was all that was promised, it would have got a 10) and, as usual with bethesda games, there are a few annoying bugs but the game is enjoyable nonetheless. If you want a game that achieves everything that it sets out to do then fallout 4 is not for you. If you can look past a few bugs and one or two other features (the morality system for example is great in theory but poorly executed) then you will thoroughly enjoy this game.… Expand
  26. youbetterwork
    Dec 30, 2015
    4
    Small and disappointing. I'm a big TES fan and have never played a Fallout title. Diamond City in FO4 has about half the quests of Solitude in Skyrim and half the named NPCs. All factions in this game have the same quest. I would have been unhappy if in Skyrim, all the guilds had the same end story. They were similar, sure, but at least featured different people in different places.Small and disappointing. I'm a big TES fan and have never played a Fallout title. Diamond City in FO4 has about half the quests of Solitude in Skyrim and half the named NPCs. All factions in this game have the same quest. I would have been unhappy if in Skyrim, all the guilds had the same end story. They were similar, sure, but at least featured different people in different places.

    Very low replay value compared to current TES titles. I've played thousands of hours of TES but at only a couple hundred hours of FO4, I feel "finished."    … Expand
  27. LordNighthawk
    Dec 30, 2015
    5
    Fallout 4, the long awaited sequel to a long line of successful predecessors.

    I am not sure if it was Todd Howards own decision or if the management level told him to design the game like this, but Fallout 4 is just a hull disemboweled from all elements the previous Fallouts made so famous. The good side of the game are the improved graphics (still no challenge for other 2015 titles,    Fallout 4, the long awaited sequel to a long line of successful predecessors.

    I am not sure if it was Todd Howards own decision or if the management level told him to design the game like this, but Fallout 4 is just a hull disemboweled from all elements the previous Fallouts made so famous.

    The good side of the game are the improved graphics (still no challenge for other 2015 titles, but if you look at Fallout 4 and then start up Fallout: NV you know what i mean) and the really nice looking gameworld and the new gun handling that feels fantastic to previous fallouts and upgrading your weapons is a better version of the module upgrades from Fallout New Vegas. But thats already the point where the positive stuff ends.

    Beeing able to build settlements is a nice feature but at last it´s only a time sink for to increase your ingame time as it does not affect the game world/progress with anything.

    The negative parts are that Fallout 4 got rid of everything that made the old Fallouts out. The Dialogue system has no multilayered choices anymore. In previous Fallouts saying "no" to an npc often opened the option to be able to talk to another person and get another quest or something else. Nothing like this left, 4 options where 3 are all the same (say yes, yes ironically, yes with getting some options) or no. And no only ends the dialogue leaving you with... nothing. Quests are not multi-layered anymore and Fallout 4 is filled up with repeating radiant quests mainly. 3-4 interesting mini-multi-layeres sidequest lines, the rest is simple: go there, kill everything, get something that is done in normaly 5 minutes.

    The rpg part is the most controverse i have seen yet and it´s design (and player reactions) remind me a bit of the Diablo 3 desaster. It is not your character in Fallout 4 anymore as the perk system is that way simplyfied that it forgives every wrong set point in the next few levels. And you can´t really set wrong skills as only the weapon affecting skills are really useful, the rest will nearly never change anything of your experience. Where lockpicking/hacking was a useful skill in previous fallouts to get a better armor/weapon at some point it will only give you 10 shots ammo and some bottlecaps more in Fallout 4.
    Exploration gets not rewarded, in absolute no point as nearly all special items are directly placed on your mainquest route.

    Fallout 4 turned out to be a nice looking shooter with a Fallout shirt put on, but from it´s rpg demanding and good rated predecessors is not really much left. I really don´t like the direction Bethesda went with this franchise, they could also have called it Wolfenstein:The Fallout.

    I give it a 4 points as the graphics are still okay and fitting for the theme and it gave me some hours moving through the game world. Everyone who is looking for more should take a step back and maybe choose another title.    … Expand
  28. yronnen
    Dec 30, 2015
    10
    My wife was mad at me for having a romance with Piper Wright. I told her I'm doing it just for the additional perks...that was a poor choice of words.
  29. Absolutionv8
    Dec 30, 2015
    0
    Bethesda told us that the freedom of the player was their first priority. Well...NO!
    - No karma
    - No reputation, no factions - Most of npc are so-called "essential" and unkillable - You have NO CHOICE except for your haircut - You are a "good boy" boring character with his own idiot voice who does everything that he's told to. - Dialog sucks, only 4 words to say and it doesn't    Bethesda told us that the freedom of the player was their first priority. Well...NO!
    - No karma
    - No reputation, no factions
    - Most of npc are so-called "essential" and unkillable
    - You have NO CHOICE except for your haircut
    - You are a "good boy" boring character with his own idiot voice who does everything that he's told to.
    - Dialog sucks, only 4 words to say and it doesn't change anything. Sarcastic is useless.
    - You become a killing machine, peacefull options don't exist anymore, you are send here and here to murder billions of raiders.
    Let obsidian make another "NewVegas" style or drop the liscence.
    Please bethesda, you are ruining fallout. It's all about the money...    … Expand
  30. Klewer
    Dec 29, 2015
    9
    Fantastic continuation of the series that lives up to the expectations. Comparing to the previous versions can be hard at stages, as a few features are removed that probably stop this from being a 10. Any fan of the other games or a FPS with a bit of RPG elements should take a look at this.
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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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