Fallout 4

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 6079 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,504 out of 6079
  2. Mixed: 1,171 out of 6079
  3. Negative: 1,404 out of 6079
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  1. Tyo28
    Nov 16, 2015
    5
    Honest Review

    I made a meta critic account to review this game because I am extremely disappointed. I pre ordered this game weeks in advance because I am a if fan of the fallout series. I enjoyed Fallout 3 and yes even New Vegas. I couldn't wait to sit down for hours and tell everyone how good this game is...alas it isn't so. The graphics for one are mediocre at best with game such    Honest Review

    I made a meta critic account to review this game because I am extremely disappointed. I pre ordered this game weeks in advance because I am a if fan of the fallout series. I enjoyed Fallout 3 and yes even New Vegas. I couldn't wait to sit down for hours and tell everyone how good this game is...alas it isn't so.

    The graphics for one are mediocre at best with game such as witcher 3 and assassins creed pushing the envelope. There is no excuse for this at all. Honestly it's comparable to the graphics in Fallout 3

    The story, I know how could they screw this part up. This is what I was like looking forward to the most. They were very lazy in putting the story together. There is no back story or time to get in to the character which is a staple with fallout games. The reviewers say they throw you in to the story. I say they were lazy plain and simple. The result is I don't care about the character or his journey.

    The gameplay smh. It just isn't fun. There is no yes moment when you kill your last enemy or go through the dialogue which is all bad. The main character sounds like he is one word away from going straight to sleep.

    In the end I am very disappointed. Bethesda had enough time to knock this out the park but gave us something that feels unfinished . I read through the positive reviews no and I understand people want to like this game honestly I get that. As gamers though we can't settle for mediocrity lets reward companies who push the envelope and berate those who give us slop. This is the first game I ever preordered and I'm honestly amazed at how mediocre it is. I would rent it first if you like it then buy. Shame on Bethesda though for releasing this knowing it was half crap.    … Expand
  2. et_phone_home
    Nov 12, 2015
    6
    STOP!

    Don't buy this game now and wait for the price to drop and buy it cheap. Cheap price for a cheap game. I'm not gonna repeat all that is said in the bad reviews, read them, it's all there. 1) Bethesda should fire all team. There is a clear lack of ambition and competence. You have the money, but you lack the professionals. Bethesda was a reference in RPGs but no longer.    STOP!

    Don't buy this game now and wait for the price to drop and buy it cheap.
    Cheap price for a cheap game.

    I'm not gonna repeat all that is said in the bad reviews, read them, it's all there.

    1) Bethesda should fire all team. There is a clear lack of ambition and competence. You have the money, but you lack the professionals. Bethesda was a reference in RPGs but no longer. There are emerging teams a lot better than you creating RPG games.

    Like in the Elder Scrolls series that afters a decade can't still even get a decent combat system.

    2) Get a new decent engine along with decent programmers, writters and graphical artists. Your employees suck. They lack vision, quality and ambition. This is 2015 and Bethesda no longer rule in the RPG kingdom.

    I should have bought Divinity: Original Sin for PS4 instead of Fallout 4. What a mistake...

    This game is no way a zero, but you get one has a punishment for trying to destroy what was in the past a decent game.

    Please Bethesda, if you ever read this, fire all your employees and get new ones. Why?

    I love Witcher as i love Fallout, Mass Effect or Elder scrolls, so i'm not defending or attacking no one...

    Witcher 3

    "Took 3.5 years to develope with a total of 240 in-house staff. The development and marketing costs was about $81 million USD."

    And they've created a great game techically, artistically and with amazing writting.

    So now, Bethesda, compare this values with your values to create Fallout 4 that has poor writting, poor artistic value and technically looks like a Fallout 3 HD Remaster.

    After all this years of waiting i must say i'm truly disappointed with this game.

    Now i have to wait another 7 years to review Fallout 5.

    Over and out.    … Expand
  3. Remall69
    Nov 17, 2015
    5
    What a big letdown! Bethesda promised FALLOUT and RPG so I quickly went out of my way to freaking buy this game. What I got is FARCRY+BORDERLANDS!!!

    This is not an RPG but an open world FPS! Gone are the brilliant sidequests in NV where you can finish a quest numerous ways and you can even be an evil bastard. Instead you get a quest, kill X amount, and go back to npc and be the good guy    What a big letdown! Bethesda promised FALLOUT and RPG so I quickly went out of my way to freaking buy this game. What I got is FARCRY+BORDERLANDS!!!

    This is not an RPG but an open world FPS! Gone are the brilliant sidequests in NV where you can finish a quest numerous ways and you can even be an evil bastard. Instead you get a quest, kill X amount, and go back to npc and be the good guy everyone wants you to be. Bethesda what the hell happened?

    Granted, a lot of gameplay has been polished but the RPG elements really took a step back. This game is great without the Fallout name but what I wanted is Fallout not FarcryLands!    … Expand
  4. CR2803
    Nov 10, 2015
    5
    Ehhhhhh. Disappointed is an under-statement, thanks a lot Last of Us.

    I know it's not the same game, the RPG feature being the major factor in why people buy the majority of Bethesda games. But with the setting being quite similar it makes it very difficult for me not to compare the two (especially after playing in 3rd person mode). The game doesn't feel like it's progressed enough    Ehhhhhh. Disappointed is an under-statement, thanks a lot Last of Us.

    I know it's not the same game, the RPG feature being the major factor in why people buy the majority of Bethesda games. But with the setting being quite similar it makes it very difficult for me not to compare the two (especially after playing in 3rd person mode). The game doesn't feel like it's progressed enough since Fallout 3, certainly not enough for 7 years and on a new generation of consoles. The frame-rate consistently drops way below its capped 30fps, very frustrating bugs when playing and a broken autosave function that basically just doesn't.. save.. After about 4 hours straight gameplay, and after numerous "autosaves" I died. This returned me way back, literally missions back. I had trophies for missions I completed, then had to complete the missions again. After re-doing the missions, I found the only way to do it is to manual save, which can be quite frustrating as it's so easy to forget in 2015.

    Remembering when The Last of Us was released on Playstation 3, visually it was better than this is, the gameplay was a hell of a lot smoother and although it did have bugs they weren't game-changing, the gameplay was good enough to forgive and so was the story. For this being a story-oriented game, I expected a lot better after eagerly awaiting it since its announcements' teasing announcement. The last of Us, for me personally, has really set the bar for the whole post-apocalyptic theme and this game falls way, way short of it in any way.

    Despite this, the game is still playable to an extent and would hope that the game isn't so bug-filled and disappointing for others. I have full faith that Bethesda will patch the problems sooner rather than later, they really won't want to lose any more reputation on a big game leading up to Christmas. But until these fixes are popped-up in the top left corner of my screen with a v1.02 update, my copy is staying in the shelf.

    And people, I know it's bad right now, but giving it 0/10 implies it's one of the worst games ever made. We all know that award is a fight between the annual murder of the COD and FIFA franchises.    … Expand
  5. ButcherPete
    Nov 12, 2015
    5
    Atrocious settlement mechanic, **** dialogue wheel reducing every conversation to yes/no/sarcastic, zero nuance to quests or factions, hamboggled crafting system, lack of memorable characters rendering most of the npcs as props instead of people, and a forced role to play really make it hard to appreciate the fun aspects of this game.

    "streamlining" really soiled the game for me.    Atrocious settlement mechanic, **** dialogue wheel reducing every conversation to yes/no/sarcastic, zero nuance to quests or factions, hamboggled crafting system, lack of memorable characters rendering most of the npcs as props instead of people, and a forced role to play really make it hard to appreciate the fun aspects of this game.

    "streamlining" really soiled the game for me.

    disappointment/10    … Expand
  6. WasaStar
    Nov 12, 2015
    5
    Quite disappointing game. Pre-ordered the game well before launch and was waiting for release date.
    The graphics is okay in best case but rather ugly. In some scenes ever lagging.

    The quests are boring and dialogs are rather stupid. Mostly Yes, No.
    SPECIAL skill tree is pretty worthless.

    Will finish the story mode quickly and resell the game while still worth anything.
  7. Rouce
    Nov 17, 2015
    5
    Graphics are fine imo. Stability is questionable. Bugs are everywhere but most can be overlooked at. What really grinds my gears is the game being dumbed down and streamlined to Oblivion. (Sadly not the Elder Scrolls game)

    This is no longer an immersive post-apocalyptic roleplaying game with a coherent overworld, interesting stories/people/factions and different choices to make which    Graphics are fine imo. Stability is questionable. Bugs are everywhere but most can be overlooked at. What really grinds my gears is the game being dumbed down and streamlined to Oblivion. (Sadly not the Elder Scrolls game)

    This is no longer an immersive post-apocalyptic roleplaying game with a coherent overworld, interesting stories/people/factions and different choices to make which really matter and change the outcome of your surroundings.

    It's just a simple Exploration FPS with a Hub-like overworld, a lot of fetch quests à la "Go there, kill that, take this, bring back", mostly shoot and loot purpose-built locations and a lot of uninteresting characters. If they aren't simply generic "Settlers" etc. you won't be even alble to kill them. Nearly everyone of them is invincible and there's no more Karma or Faction system.

    You're just playing the concerned father through all of this game, without the ability to be someone else or even just evil. There are no more multiple ways of solving a situation and he Dialogue wheel mostly consists of this:

    Yes
    No (Forced to still do it)
    Sarcastic (Yes)
    Huh? (Just an explanation which will lead back to the same options)

    And occasionally a Speech check, but no more Barter/Intimidate/Medic etc. options.

    This is not Fallout anymore. :/    … Expand
  8. Fourthhorseman8
    Nov 17, 2015
    5
    I think that the hype that was built for this game is responsible for it's large scale disappointment.
    I have never played a Fallout game before this one, and never felt like I needed to in order understand the game. The story development was very well done, but that may be the only enjoyable thing in this game for me. The controls while aiming were slow and took some getting use to. The    I think that the hype that was built for this game is responsible for it's large scale disappointment.
    I have never played a Fallout game before this one, and never felt like I needed to in order understand the game. The story development was very well done, but that may be the only enjoyable thing in this game for me. The controls while aiming were slow and took some getting use to. The inability to use a weapon of my choice was annoying because ammo is virtually non existent. The companions seem to be a very dumb A.I. My next issue was the graphics and game play. Often time I felt the game was cheap looking and objects often disappeared or had jagged lines. My character often got stuck on objects, but that was the worst part. Very often I saw fps issues where the game went into a seizure and a few times even crashed the game making me restart from a distant save.
    The side quests and fort building feel like simple time padding to me, that had no real benefit to the game.
    Now the story -
    First it started strong, but depending on your choices, you may not be able to continue or trophy hunt after the end missions.
    The game felt short to me. Sure the game has tons of time killing missions, but I'm the type of gamer that needs purpose. A strong reason for grinding a boring battle system.
    The worst part of the game for me was the savaging. Looting everything for parts to upgrade crappy guns. Then not having room for anything else. I was annoyed way to much with this game.
    In closing, This game is a great rental, but I would not buy this at retail cost.    … Expand
  9. Kladfizk
    Nov 16, 2015
    5
    It's a Bethesda Softworks so it's full of bugs as expected.
    When it comes to the fallout experience i think it's sub par to New Vegas dialog options are streamlined and your S.P.E.C.I.A.L doesn't matter so much any more sens you can lvl them up each time you lvl.
    Story seams good tho and the new graphics style is refreshing so for a new player to the fallout series this game might be    It's a Bethesda Softworks so it's full of bugs as expected.
    When it comes to the fallout experience i think it's sub par to New Vegas dialog options are streamlined and your S.P.E.C.I.A.L doesn't matter so much any more sens you can lvl them up each time you lvl.

    Story seams good tho and the new graphics style is refreshing so for a new player to the fallout series this game might be good but if you played some of the older games this will probably be a bad experience.

    TL;DR
    Good for new players to the Fallout series
    Bad for old players to the Fallout series

    5/10 it's an OK steam sale game but nothing more than that    … Expand
  10. MatthewAMEL
    Nov 16, 2015
    5
    Major disappointment from Bethesda. It's not even as engaging as Skyrim and nowhere near as good as Fallout 3.

    They spent all their time building the environment (which isn't as compelling as the Capitol Wasteland or even Skyrim) and completely forgot to write a story we would care about. Factions are gone. Karma is gone. Skills are gone. I'm a huge Fallout fan. Have the t-shirts,    Major disappointment from Bethesda. It's not even as engaging as Skyrim and nowhere near as good as Fallout 3.

    They spent all their time building the environment (which isn't as compelling as the Capitol Wasteland or even Skyrim) and completely forgot to write a story we would care about.

    Factions are gone. Karma is gone. Skills are gone.

    I'm a huge Fallout fan. Have the t-shirts, the artwork. Stayed up until 5am on Day 1 to play. Played 60 hours in the first week.

    I can only hope Obsidian can do awesome things with a New Vegas sequel using this engine.    … Expand
  11. guiiimkt
    Nov 10, 2015
    5
    This game feels like it's 4 years old already. Both in terms of graphics and mechanics. It is an inconsistent mess and - as always when it comes to this company games - buggy as hell. How long will Bethesta keep getting away with it?
  12. Lawgun
    Nov 10, 2015
    5
    I have played this game already when it was called Fallout 3 in 2007 and even then it was outdated product. Bethesda is totally inadequate and just changed graphics for a little and added Inappropriate features. To all blind fans - you were cheated once again and just wait for MMO as a next Fallout game.
  13. Vixzer
    Nov 10, 2015
    5
    Fallout 4 has the same performance as the Assassin Creeds Unity - needles to say I am asking for a refund.

    The story might be awesome but with the terrible frames and performance overall, no matter the excuses achieving Zero fps and all other frame rate issues is something that equals Bethesda with Ubisoft in my view. The frame rate problems affects the aim (how am I supposed to aim    Fallout 4 has the same performance as the Assassin Creeds Unity - needles to say I am asking for a refund.

    The story might be awesome but with the terrible frames and performance overall, no matter the excuses achieving Zero fps and all other frame rate issues is something that equals Bethesda with Ubisoft in my view.

    The frame rate problems affects the aim (how am I supposed to aim without seeing properly?), we get normally stuck on places, I lost some progress with this as I had to close the game and start again from the last save (multiple times)

    For all that, Fallout 4 deserves only a rating of 5 (and I am being generous).    … Expand
  14. blackdave666
    Nov 10, 2015
    5
    Tech issues and bugs classical Bethesda release .. game itself looks and plays great. Do not recommend buying now for PC. Wait for the first wave of patches.
  15. rammy
    Nov 10, 2015
    5
    This hurts..but..Fallout 4 feels unfinished and poorly done. The graphics, characters and interface are off and it's bugged like hell. It's just fallout 3 one more time, and that's not good enough for me anymore - not with other massive games like witcher 3 and phantom pain around. I think I'm gonna sell this off right away -what a massive disappointment (and I love the other games in theThis hurts..but..Fallout 4 feels unfinished and poorly done. The graphics, characters and interface are off and it's bugged like hell. It's just fallout 3 one more time, and that's not good enough for me anymore - not with other massive games like witcher 3 and phantom pain around. I think I'm gonna sell this off right away -what a massive disappointment (and I love the other games in the franchise).… Expand
  16. JoelCR
    Nov 14, 2015
    5
    The fallout series, it has one of my favourite games of all time (NV) and it also has my biggest disappointment of all time (Fo4). Note: this is a critique, I'm not mentioning the positives as Fo4 is still an ok game, not a good Fallout game mind you.

    Dialog system: While the voice acting of the average character is improved (mainly because there's more than 5 actors now), it goes to    The fallout series, it has one of my favourite games of all time (NV) and it also has my biggest disappointment of all time (Fo4). Note: this is a critique, I'm not mentioning the positives as Fo4 is still an ok game, not a good Fallout game mind you.

    Dialog system:
    While the voice acting of the average character is improved (mainly because there's more than 5 actors now), it goes to waste on lifeless personalities that have no depth to them - their just so unremarkable compared to the cast of previous fallouts. The voice actors that play our protagonist is quite good, but a bit one note. The real killer is the 4 option dialogue system, it's not just horrendous 'cause its "bastardised" compared to previous titles but to me it destroys any sought of role-playing; the speech checks in NV gave a distinction between characters, a player who role-played as a low intelligence character would be somewhat different then a character who has more intelligence and vice versa, unfortunately Fallout 4 removes that entirely and the dialogue consist of (a) one demented response, (b) the "lets skip this conversation already" or simply yes, (c) asking questions, or (d) the "i'm not sure yet" response. To me option "C" is the worst offender, its just a lazy way of expending lore; remember, Bethesda, showing me rather than telling me is always better since it doesn't interrupt game time at all.
    Combat:
    I don't have much to say on the fundamentals of combat, but after playing the masterful combat that was MGSV, it feels extremely basic. Stealth is as "unrepaired" as it has always been, but even worst here, since you need a to perk to muffle your footsteps to be competitive when using melee. The "gung ho" approach that was always punished in previous games is the easiest and least risky way to complete each mission, while keeping constant covertness is just too difficult on harder difficulties. While the enemies do give challenge to the game, their AI is just if not worst than previous fallouts. The game has automated spotlights that try to detect threats but their so useless that they might as well not be their; when the AI hears commotion, instead of searching they move away from the commotion (how'd that get pass testing?); no matter how many times you're detected by the enemies, once you lose your state of caution they completely forget that you existed, they should at least add more guards after this confrontation (this is the same in previous games, but this 2015 not 2008, we have higher expectations); the melee is just awful, in NV most weapons had a unique animation when preforming a running attack, in Fo4... well, I hope you like the seeing the same clunky animation play repetitively; overall the melee and unarmed weapons are nothing compared to the plethora of NV's arsenal, nothing will beat smashing a guys head in with a nine iron (I'm not sure if that's in Fo4). I'm could go on and on but I beating a dead horse here.

    Other stuff:
    *Unique weapons have the same model as their standard counterpart (don't quote me on that).
    *The beginning of the game is so disjointed that it nearly killed it for me, like I have no other leads other than a drug addicts visions to go Diamond City? In NV, you already knew where to go, that city in the distance (show don't tell, remember Bethesda?).

    In conclusion, I've enjoyed myself but it could be so much better. I have yet to complete the main story, but so far the side activities are clustered but fun    … Expand
  17. Spunkmire
    Nov 12, 2015
    5
    I'd rather have some HD texture and graphics mods on fallout 3, and just play through that again. The pipboy app is the only thing I feel was innovative and refreshing on this game. Shame I can't port that to fallout 3.

    Animations and textures seem so random in quality. NPCs throughout the game look awful, but when I run into a random settler, his animations and textures look great.    I'd rather have some HD texture and graphics mods on fallout 3, and just play through that again. The pipboy app is the only thing I feel was innovative and refreshing on this game. Shame I can't port that to fallout 3.

    Animations and textures seem so random in quality. NPCs throughout the game look awful, but when I run into a random settler, his animations and textures look great.

    My score is based off of the inconsistent nature of how the game was assembled.

    Overall, it''s on par with the company's track record.

    Regardless, it's still something new to play, and I thank all the people for their hard work, supervisors and quality control department messed up though.    … Expand
  18. Gamecriticpro
    Aug 9, 2016
    7
    Fallout 4 is a good action adventure/FPS, but it is severely lacking in the RPG department. It's not a bad game, but I can't help but feel Bethesda outright ignores fans demands of endint casuallization.
  19. jml8080
    Nov 10, 2015
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Felt compelled to give an opinion on this one. This game is a massive disappointment so I bullet the reasons why. IMHO, I bulleted important and then made comparisons to previous games.

    - Voiced character/Commander Shepherd, accept much worse, has a dialogue box that destroys any form of imagination and immersion. Yes, like 5-8 word responses, sometimes taken exactly from the dialogue boxes. Codsworth, your robotic butler, has more emotion then your player character. He's like Commander Shepherd with a T-800 automated voice response. This is a major step backward for the game franchise. The opening narration and ending from your voice character was good and so was the end. There was no need to change the dialogue system and they did. It's really, really not good.

    2. Game world appears to be significantly smaller then FO3 and FNV. We are talking a DLC sized map. They spent seven years to bring us this?!!

    3. Game characters are inferior to the cast of colorful characters in FO3 and especially, FNV.

    4. Fallout 4 asks the question what would happen if we reversed the main plotline with the two main cast of characters? Still confused? Don't worry, you'll find out when you play.

    5. A lot of game glitches and optimization issues. This is handing a broken game to gamers for $60. FNV was attacked on release by major reviewers, but most are sold (bought, kaching, kaching) on this one.

    6. Get BOS power armor in 20 minutes and kill a death claw.

    Now with those impressions out of the way, I really don't know what to say. FO3 and FNV are superior games . The game reminds me of a good launch title to show off a system, sort of like what it did at the E3 press conference. It reminds me of the game RAGE. In fact, I was having more fun with Rage at this point. Meaning a colorful vibrant world, but a lack of dialogue, depth, speech points, and a story recycled and rehashed from FO3. Diamond City looks like Megaton. The lack of any type of ingenuity or progression in this game is staggering.

    Fallout 3 is a phenomenal game, possibly one of the best games of all time. FNV had some flaws, but made up for its hilarious dialogue, quirkiness of Characters and plots (Yes Man flipping general off Hoover Dam, ding a ding ding baby, crossdressing, super mutant Tabitha, the Elvis gang, ghouls in rocket ships, the lottery winner, the excellent idiocy of Fantastic, the various factions, and moral choices throughout the game). FNV was flawed but it was hilarious and sometimes was superior to FO3, having the dark comedy of FO and FO2. The fun of the characters, along with the snide and hilarious responses are gone. I named my character Commander Shepherd btw lol.

    The issue of this game stems from the continued lack of ingenuity, sequelitis, and a half polished game for a cash grab.

    The game is a 6. The graphics are of a good quality and the locations are good, when you're not talking. It's not groundbreaking in any way shape or form. Personally, this is the worst disappointment since the ME 3 ending. Yes, I think its that bad. It may actually be worse. We'll see.

    So do yourself a favor and buy this at your own risk. This is not a revival of the game franchise. It is a devival of the highest caliber. Unless you a hardcore fan, you will be disappointed with this one. Hopefully, this allow gamers to think twice about this one, before buying it if at all. The game is anywhere between a 5-7 on a scale of 1-10.

    Not a 9-10 from all of the game reviewers and Let's Players who broke street date, thank you so much so drop a "like" and then get cash and repeat, like Bethesda. I worry about Elder Scrolls and hopefully they'll learn from this one. So please complain and speak up. They need to hear it.

    YOU'VE BEEN WARNED. I'm out.

    -    … Expand
  20. Noiseblock
    Nov 10, 2015
    7
    So this is Fallout 4, the title some gamers have been waiting for with devotion since its announcement. I had played big chunks of Fallout 1, completed Fallout 3 and New Vegas and especially appreciated New Vegas` great storyline/characters and liked Fallout 3 for making such an hard transition into the FPS-Genre without losing the feel of the franchise. That said, I wasn´t very much hypedSo this is Fallout 4, the title some gamers have been waiting for with devotion since its announcement. I had played big chunks of Fallout 1, completed Fallout 3 and New Vegas and especially appreciated New Vegas` great storyline/characters and liked Fallout 3 for making such an hard transition into the FPS-Genre without losing the feel of the franchise. That said, I wasn´t very much hyped for Fallout 4 since I didn´t really see too much variety in gameplay to keep me entertained after the already quite similar New Vegas and 3, plus one can see the nuclear wasteland and all its factions only so many times till it eventually gets a bit too familiar.

    Now that Fallout 4 is out, I feel a bit sad for all the ones who have so eagerly awaited this game.

    Technical aspects: Fallout 4 is not the most beautiful game ever put before the eyes of gamers, but the quality of the graphics and textures suffices for the most part. For the most part, that is, because there are still some annoying textures that pop up or just won´t load properly or seem very grainy when directly looking at them. That´s not very much desired, but in a game this big it´s forgivable and no real buffer. What is a buffer, however, is that the framerate leaves a lot to be desired on the consoles, regular framedrops are the norm. The AI, too, varies from being ever-observant to degenerating into plump, brainless bullet-sponges that get stuck behind small bushes and walls, ready to be riddled with gunshots. Such glitchy behaviour is so regularly encountered, I started to incorporate it in my startegy of survival to predict that at least one enemy would be easily taken down due to that behaviour. However, we were warned, Bethesda-games are usually riddled with bugs. This may not suffice as an apology, but it didn´t diminish the fun of playing too much that I wanted to quit.

    The world: No doubt, this is what Fallout 4 has going for it. It´s a wasteland with heart, where nice little surprises await in some seemingly abandoned cars/houses, the paths are all but beaten and feel bursting with mysteries that want to be unravelled. From interesting scrap-metal-palaces to the ruins of gloomy suburbs to just wandering the wasteland, there is much to be seen. The new, slightly lighter colour-pattern helps to create the feel of a wasteland-world that is slowly starting to feel very natural to its inhabitants. Thus it looks bleak overall, yet still strangely inviting. However, one cannot shake the feeling of "been here, done that", especially when having played Fallout-titles before. The world is as inviting as ever, yet it feels a tad too familiar and close too Fallout 3/New Vegas by now, without real higlights like the life-filled casinos in New Vegas, which is why strong gameplay is needed to shake things up a little.

    Gameplay: Sadly, gameplay is the least riveting thing about all of fallout 4. It does very little to exceed the expectations that people had, it still feels as sluggish as ever, guns don´t give that much feed-back as one would have wished and feel very similar to each other, so that once again the VATS is the saving grace of Fallout not becoming too stale over time. Furthermore, enemies do not need some special tactics to deal with them, it usually boils down to "shoot it till it doesn´t move" which gets very familiar very fast. The customization is nice, but why should I feel excited about customizing guns that do not really have much of a feel to them and are quite similar in the first place? On the other hand, the house-building is maybe the freshest idea bethesda has had in a long time and I will give them credit for that, if it is not me, at least many other gamers will have fun playing Wasteland-Architect for some more time in F4, good job on that one.

    Story & Questlines: I will not talk about the story for obvious reasons (spoilers), the game is too fresh out the oven to discuss that. What can be said: It´s enough to keep you engaged, but it doesn´t reach the heights of NV and falls flat when compared to the strong competition like Witcher 3 and even GTAV. A fortiori, I was very dissappointed that not even the normal questlines tried to be something special, they´re typical fetch-quests, shoot-up-the-bandit-quests, go-there-look-at-that-quests. Sure, those are the standard for open-world games, but Fallout 4 has no stories in that quest-lines to keep me engaged, GTAV and Witcher (that often have similar quests) have the decency to make me care for the quests through meaningful dialogue and superb characters. Fallout 4, on this aspect falls flat, it just indulges in its own sense of dark humour yet completely forgets that it also needs good characters to make me care for the tasks they´re posing.

    Overall, Fallout 4 plays, looks and feels familiar and if it wasn´t for the engaging premise of the nuclear wasteland per se, it would be a standard open world. Furthermore, technical issues pile up and thus drag the game down. 65/100    … Expand
  21. lefix
    Nov 10, 2015
    7
    I don't think the level of quality deserves a better rating. The graphics look dated, the world doesn't feel very alive, the characters feel awkward. If this was some unknown game, I don't think it would be gain much attention.
    However, the setting is pretty unique and the story is starting to grow on me (about 15 hours in). Overall an enjoyable game.
  22. herrmoekl
    Nov 10, 2015
    7
    Entering the Wasteland for the first time: "Oh W3 had much nicer environments"
    Entering Diamond City: "Oh Novigrad was much more lively. And i could actually enter it without any loading screens."
    Playing through the main quest: "Oh W3 had much more epic and impactful storyline" Playing through the side quests: "Oh W3 did that way better, too!" Talking to NPC´s: "Well oh, W3´s    Entering the Wasteland for the first time: "Oh W3 had much nicer environments"
    Entering Diamond City: "Oh Novigrad was much more lively. And i could actually enter it without any loading screens."
    Playing through the main quest: "Oh W3 had much more epic and impactful storyline"
    Playing through the side quests: "Oh W3 did that way better, too!"
    Talking to NPC´s: "Well oh, W3´s dialogues were so much better written. NPC´s and their backstories were much more realistic."

    Its a fun Game but since W3 came out this year you can´t shake off the feeling that it seems kind of outdated after that...    … Expand
  23. ascedentevil
    Dec 9, 2015
    5
    Update:

    Despite how much time I have spent playing Fallout 4, I can't help but feel disappointment, disdain in knowing that this game should be better than it is, the inescapable feeling that Bethesda didn't give this 100% I am updating this review because I have finally gotten around to playing The Witcher 3 and by comparison alone, Fallout now looks terrible to me. The gameplay is    Update:

    Despite how much time I have spent playing Fallout 4, I can't help but feel disappointment, disdain in knowing that this game should be better than it is, the inescapable feeling that Bethesda didn't give this 100%
    I am updating this review because I have finally gotten around to playing The Witcher 3 and by comparison alone, Fallout now looks terrible to me.

    The gameplay is good but not a lot more is brought to the table, the crafting system is good for weapons and Armour but becomes absolutely useless when building up settlements; and you'll constantly be over encumbered because of all the junk you're carrying around. Radiation has been nicely tweaked however.

    Visuals, once upon a time I thought they were good and to a certain extent they are; the lighting is brilliant and the radiation storms look amazing but on a whole, the creation engine is very old and even swimming, looks the same as it did in The Elder Scrolls IV. Textures are horrid and so is most of everything else; even the reflection in you weapon when it rains is a preset SUNNY image, what!? Overall, it just looks dated and not next gen, granted the world is big in this game and there's a lot too it but on this generation there really is no excuse.

    Characters are dull and not very memorable, the only memorable one I found, I was forced to kill as part of the story because my charisma was too low to save them, really? Thanks for the freedom Bethesda. I felt betrayed by my own character a lot due to the new "speech wheel" which has options that are essentially: yes, no, not sure, sarcastic and EVERY SINGLE TIME they will say something you really didn't want or intend them to say and it will ruin you relationship with your companion.

    The story is mostly predictable with one main twist that makes you think someone at Bethesda quit and someone new started telling the story. The side quest I found through exploring were more memorable.

    Bugs wise there are a few but none to serious, other than a time I killed someone for a mission, they died and the marker stayed on them telling me I had to kill them, I missed out on some loot because of this.

    Overall, distinctively average from Bethesda, it's painful for me to write a review like this for this game, I was so hyped up for this release but given that a huge company with a huge budget made this, when you compare that fact to how good the Witcher is, it makes you think; should war have changed?    … Expand
  24. Zantos
    Nov 10, 2015
    6
    in Summary cool world nice shooting system but awful controls on pc with mouse and keyboard and the dialogue system is complete trash. Its absolutely no fun to talk to other people. Every time 4 answer possibilities most of them are yes no or maybe and the third is a one-liner too. not a worthy successor for Fallout 3 or New Vegas. Maybe Mods will do it
  25. DJPolish
    Nov 30, 2015
    5
    I'm one of those RPG players who are most disappointed because of the crap dialogue system, the linear quests, the less than moderate effects of our character's actions on the world around, and hence, the zero replayability of the game.

    I think I figured out what's the elementary difference between the F4 quest system and the predecessor games'. In F3 or New Vegas, a quest dialogue    I'm one of those RPG players who are most disappointed because of the crap dialogue system, the linear quests, the less than moderate effects of our character's actions on the world around, and hence, the zero replayability of the game.

    I think I figured out what's the elementary difference between the F4 quest system and the predecessor games'.

    In F3 or New Vegas, a quest dialogue usually happens like this:

    - the NPC proposes the problem;
    - our character can choose between about 2 or 3 options what to do, how to solve or not to solve the problem;
    - If we choose Option 1, and the NPC reacts, it moves forward to about 2 further sub-options: - the quest can end with End A or End B;
    - if we choose Option 2, and the NPC reacts, it offers another 2 sub-options: - the quest will end with End C or End D;
    - and likewise, if we have Option 3 as well.
    This is about 3-4-5 possible ending of an average quest, and they are irreversible (the world around will go on with the End you chose). This is the non-linear quest-structure.

    In Fallout 4, a quest dialogue happens like this:

    - the NPC proposes the problem;
    - our character can choose between 4 options what to do (although, by default we don't know what he/she will actually DO, it's just a guess);
    - if we choose Option 1, and the NPC reacts, it leads our character BACK to the other starter three Options;
    - if we choose Option 2, and the NPC reacts, it leads BACK to the original Options;
    - if we choose Options 3, and the NPC reacts, the quest moves forward with the only one possible outcome;
    - if we choose Option 4 which means "no, I won't do it", the quest takes a break, offering you to come back later to choose the only one possible Ending.
    This is an average 1 possible quest ending (if we don't count "no, I don't do this" as a second ending). This is a linear quest-structure. - - And I hate it.

    Those folks, who created and wrote the quests for F4,
    1. never played any roleplay games;
    2. consider us to be total idiots who buy this as "RPG quests". I'm personally annoyed by this.    … Expand
  26. GuyDudeThing
    Dec 1, 2015
    5
    I wouldn't call it a terrible game, just disappointingly unimpressive, not only on a technical level but as an overall experience. The only improvement to the franchise was a building system, but everything else I enjoyed has been utterly gutted or simplified.
    I can understand how people could enjoy this, but I've found myself bored to death with this painfully average game.
    As a    I wouldn't call it a terrible game, just disappointingly unimpressive, not only on a technical level but as an overall experience. The only improvement to the franchise was a building system, but everything else I enjoyed has been utterly gutted or simplified.
    I can understand how people could enjoy this, but I've found myself bored to death with this painfully average game.

    As a fallout fan I feel somewhat alienated from the series now, I just hope Obsidian gets another crack at it.    … Expand
  27. LoveeLand
    Apr 21, 2016
    6
    Fallout 4 is a good video game, but a subpar Fallout game. While the mechanics and gameplay are "smoother" than it's predecessors, it is still below average for next gen console games. Parts of the game get laggy, especially when you go downtown, and the game still suffers from the usual bugs like every other Bethesda game. The story is basically Fallout 3 in reverse but it does have someFallout 4 is a good video game, but a subpar Fallout game. While the mechanics and gameplay are "smoother" than it's predecessors, it is still below average for next gen console games. Parts of the game get laggy, especially when you go downtown, and the game still suffers from the usual bugs like every other Bethesda game. The story is basically Fallout 3 in reverse but it does have some interesting twists down the road, however the first part of the campaign is not enjoyable at all and is very time consuming. The factions in the game are quite disappointing and underwhelming when compared to the factions of other fallout games. The Institute could have been so much better and more formidable and the railroad consists of like 20 people. This on top of the fact that another faction, The Minutemen is basically where the player is a one man army. This leaves the Brotherhood, and while I like them, I am getting tired of them being a major role in every fallout game, however I do like the direction Bethesda took them in, back to their old ways of preserving tech rather than being peacekeepers. All of the factions are accessed way too easily except the Institute obviously, and until the story's climax, they have you run around as an errand boy solo doing small missions. The game is filled with radiant quests which become more annoying than useful, and often times are unavoidable. The power armor makeover was not a good decision, as you now need fusion cores to power it and it is very clunky and difficult to move around in and overall discourages it's own use.
    The Commonwealth is probably the worst wasteland ever created in a fallout game. The city in no way reminds me of Boston, and the game has a design struggle between buildings: some look very old (revolutionary era), some have that 50's design to them, and some have this futuristic, colorful, plastic look to them. This is probably the worst part about the game. The Capital Wasteland, and Mojave were full of interesting places to explore with unique loot scattered throughout their wastelands. The Commonwealth is full of inaccessible buildings, and the ones that can be accessed are very dull and filled with either raiders, ghouls, or mutants. Outside the city it is basically a massive swamp scattered with useless prewar towns and buildings that contain nothing unique or interesting. And Bethesda tried to make the game world pretty, while failing to realize these game worlds should not be pretty, but they should make you feel like they were before the war. However a great addition they added were the new crafting tools (without them I would've given this game a 4) as they have greatly expanded what the player can do in the game. I personally love building things so I found it to be a great addition, however many people do not enjoy building, so this will not suit everyone. Overall I was disappointed with the game's quests and the world (including everything in it), and I found the gunplay to be simply decent, as well as the graphics. The crafting was the best part in my opinion, as without it the game would not have much replay value. But if you want a great fallout game, go with Fallout 3 or NV.    … Expand
  28. EliteGames
    May 13, 2016
    7
    Have always enjoyed the Fallout Franchise but alas this rendition has fallen short. Honestly I was able to easily walk away from this game numerous times for other games. It took me about 6 months to actually finish the game, thanks to the total lack of a compelling storyline. The gameplay feels very stale and outdated and the graphics are extremely outdated, they really don't feel muchHave always enjoyed the Fallout Franchise but alas this rendition has fallen short. Honestly I was able to easily walk away from this game numerous times for other games. It took me about 6 months to actually finish the game, thanks to the total lack of a compelling storyline. The gameplay feels very stale and outdated and the graphics are extremely outdated, they really don't feel much improved from Fallout 3 to be honest. I would recommend waiting for the definitive version of the game to be released with all the DLC included and picking up at the much lower price. Bethesda needs to up their game big time for the next Fallout.… Expand
  29. Slightconfusion
    Aug 16, 2016
    7
    Oh, Fallout 4... what is there to say about this game?

    Perhaps, first and foremost, that Bethesda had some tough luck with the hype around Fallout 4. Mix in the vitriol that surrounds most of the fan communities for Bethesda games, AND the controversies of script releases and the fake release countdown site... all of the press release wasn't exactly beneficial to the game. And, in the    Oh, Fallout 4... what is there to say about this game?

    Perhaps, first and foremost, that Bethesda had some tough luck with the hype around Fallout 4. Mix in the vitriol that surrounds most of the fan communities for Bethesda games, AND the controversies of script releases and the fake release countdown site... all of the press release wasn't exactly beneficial to the game. And, in the minds of everyone - Wasteland Wanderer and Newblood alike - Fallout 4 was sounding like the perfect mesh between first person shooter and RPG, prepared to blow Fallouts 3 and New Vegas out of the water in every regard.

    ...Aaaaaand what the game turn out to be?

    A decent open-world shooter, with a few Role Playing elements shoved in for good measure.

    That isn't to say that Fallout 4 is a BAD game, no sirree Bob; in fact, as a game in itself, it's a rather GOOD game! Nothing spectacular, but a good game! The mechanics in use are solid; the crafting systems for weapons, armor, and base building are very well-developed (aside from a few issues with placing base materials, which torments the obsessive personality within me), and can give the player a grand diversion from the rest of the game, if not be the main focus for a player. Seriously, going out into the harsh wasteland to find a couple of tubes of Wonderglue can be one hell of a motivator for popping raiders' heads.

    The shooting is better than it's ever been in a Fallout game; I can't quite compare it to anything in particular, but people have been throwing around comparisons to Rage's shooting system. I wouldn't know.

    Speaking of shooting, there are quite a few interesting weapons this time around, with actual potential for people to go into melee builds! In fact, what with power armor being such an accessible mechanic of the game, it's recommended to know something about melee weapons; bladed bats, chainsaws, super-sledges, and combat knives are all found in the nooks and crannies of the wasteland, as are all manner of guns, both of bullet and energy capacity.

    And, if you want to get the most out of Fallout 4, exploring those hidden places of the world will be a BIG part of your experience. Like in the change from Oblivion to Skyrim, more of an emphasis on exploration exists in Fallout 4, with many beneficiary items being scattered about the place, like magazines and... well, magazines. They're a nice bonus to exploration, if a little monotonous

    But THEN we get to the not-so-good.

    If you've been anywhere on the internet related to games, you've probably heard about Fallout 4's story, and how people aren't quite digging it. Or, at the very least, how they wish it had been more comparable to the likes of New Vegas, or the earlier isometric games. Fallout 4's narrative - while passable - gives the player very little choice in driving the bus, and its character... a surprising amount of motivation, actually.
    He/She is led along a relatively narrow - albeit enjoyable - path, leading to a couple of endings that depend on a choice of factions. Nothing really stands out in this campaign, aside from a few interesting setpieces that the player catches in the face. They ARE rather enjoyable, however.

    The dialogue has also taken a few wounds this time around; no doubt you've heard consumer's contempt over the new system. This time around, players get something close to a dialogue wheel, reminiscent of Mass Effect's general system. The options for you boil down to:
    -Good Guy/Girl Choice
    -Inquisitive Choice (with potential for SECOND inquisitive choice *le gasp*)
    -Douchebag Choice/Sarcastic Choice/Profiteering Choice
    -Leave
    And this would be fine! If it weren't the layout for nearly...every...single......'conversation'.
    Effectively, is it any different from the older Fallouts? Not really. You're still left with a limited number of conversational topics, and very little need to converse with somebody after you've exhausted those topics.
    However - because there's so little weight to the player's 'decisions' in Fallout 4 - even the decisions that SHOULD feel like they're important don't make the player feel like they've done something! "Oh, lead the Minutemen? Cool." "What? Join the Railroad? Nah." "Kill this potential synth? Okay, sure, buuutt.... what's the point?"

    And then, you have the quests. They're... for the most part, unimaginative. A few faction quests can feel interesting, and the odd side quest can be very fun to mess around in, but the vast majority are uninspired. Also, with all of the factions, there is an abundance of radiant quests... and these radiant quests make up the majority of the faction-related content. Not necessarily a BAD thing, but, again, there's only a bit of decision making found in the end of the game; otherwise, you're just the errand boy/girl for these groups.

    TL;DR: Fallout 4 is an enjoyable, open-world shooter set in the Fallout universe, with a heavier focus on FPS gameplay than RPG mechanics. It's fun, but... not a great RPG.    … Expand
  30. CanadianBacon95
    Jun 22, 2017
    7
    When I heard about Fallout 4 I was all aboard the hype train and when we got the game lets just say I was more than just a little disappointed. I am going to go ahead and say right off the bat fallout 4 is a "Good game" It's perfect for those who are just entering the series and it is overall very smooth and enjoyable. However I am a big fan and when I found out that they took away almostWhen I heard about Fallout 4 I was all aboard the hype train and when we got the game lets just say I was more than just a little disappointed. I am going to go ahead and say right off the bat fallout 4 is a "Good game" It's perfect for those who are just entering the series and it is overall very smooth and enjoyable. However I am a big fan and when I found out that they took away almost all RPG elements out of the game I was horrified. Chat dialogue you were given 4 basic choices "Yes, Sarcastic Yes, Detailed Yes, and No...which turns out to be YES most of the time." Besides making player choice and illusion the game delivered on most of everything I had expected. Good fluent combat, great perk system, detailed customization for weapons and armour.

    Overall I would say its a good buy. Some people may vote this game lower but I believe it is worth it. Especially to those who aren't familiar to the series. However for your loyal fallout fan. I am afraid to say you will be sorely disappointed. The game is becoming a lot more "mainstream" and "casual" to broaden the player base. Money over fans. Always remember that.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

16
#16 Best PS4 Game of 2015
3
#3 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015
2
#2 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 58 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 52 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 58
  3. Negative: 0 out of 58
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Dec 16, 2015
    80
    A strong return for the franchise, boasting incredible customisation, a fascinating world and brutal yet brainy shooting, slightly tarnished by lacklustre AI and tedious inventory management. [Christmas 2015, p.88]
  2. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Dec 15, 2015
    90
    Feral Ghoul ugly in many ways, but beneath its iffy exterior beats the heart of one helluva great RPG. Get past the graphics deficiency, and the sheer thrill of Fallout 4’s combat, crafting options, and exploring will hold your attention for months. [January 2015, p64]
  3. GameOver.gr
    Dec 11, 2015
    70
    Fallout 4 leans to the Shooting side of things. It strips down the gameplay from the actual RPG elements and offers a meta-nuclaer shooting gallery which of course keep its charm and gameplay wealth but also feels a little too friendly for the new comers. The Base builder mode is unnecessary, boring and irritating. Unfortunately, overall, there are no steps forward for this Nuclear Holocaust Behemoth of the video games industry. Only steps sideways.
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