Fallout 76

Fallout 76 is the series’ Freshman introduction into the world of online, multiplayer games. As a result, we are experiencing all of the awkwardness and clumsiness associated with that season of life. It is imperfect and a bit uncomfortable, but I see opportunity for Fallout 76 to be more than it presently it - to be a truly great, rich Fallout experience.

It seems war does change things after all. If you’re expecting this release to be Fallout 5, then yes, you’ll be disappointed. Approach with an open mind, and you may be nicely surprised. [Issue#157, p.94]

Though it suffers from graphical issues and bugs, as well as unsatisfying combat, Fallout 76 is fun nonetheless, and the experience is only enhanced by cooperating with other players.

Fallout 76 is a blast to play. It's easily my favorite Fallout title to date. Fallout 76 has it's fair share of problems but they don't make the game unplayable. Fallout 76 isn't for everyone but for those who stick with it will definitely find what it has to offer.

Multiplayer, camping/building, and sustenance management to me are all neat concepts, but feel incomplete or forced. There are plenty of survival games where sustenance is an option. I am seeking immersion in the sense of storytelling and character building, not the monotony of sifting through a menu system, interacting with robots, diaries, or building camps. In the end, fans of the series will still find Appalachia worth exploring, but not the game of choice for newcomers.

Fallout 76 is in no way an indispensable title or suitable for all palates, but can still prove to be a surprisingly rich and enjoyable experience, especially in the company of a friend.

Behind a mess of technical problems and bad decisions, hides a Fallout: a post-apocalyptic survival game, with mechanics from another era, but which is undoubtedly fun. If you can see beyond all the mistakes and consider yourself a fan of the universe, you may enjoy Fallout 76 (especially playing with others), but there's still plenty to do to improve.

Underneath the extremely rough and laggy exterior, Fallout 76 has the makings of a great and entertaining game. To some, the damage may have already been done and the appeal may have already worn off, but with Bethesda’s level of support, the game has potential to grow into something much more than it currently is.

Fallout 76 is basically Fallout 4. That’s the reality. It shares many of the same strengths and many of the same flaws, but the addition of online play and a new map offers a fresh spin on the franchise. Players who regularly roll with a group of friends, or adore the Fallout franchise, are likely to find a place in this wasteland. We’re not sure everyone else will see the appeal, however — or if Fallout 76 will keep players coming back once the launch luster fades.

If you can re-frame Fallout 76 as a survival crafting game in the Fallout universe rather than viewing it as the next instalment in the series then you will have a better time. It is not without its faults, but there is a base there that has the potential to be improved upon as time goes by.

I want to love Fallout 76, namely for its addition of co-op play and the representation of a region dear to my heart. I simply can’t. I wouldn’t say the latest Fallout title is abysmal or even bad, just very middling. It removes many of the series’ strong suits and attempts to make up for it by adding in new mechanics or strengthening lesser ones.

Many of the issues Fallout 76 currently faces could eventually be fixed, which is why this mess is such a pity. The potential is clear, but a reluctance to commit to one direction or another leaves the game in an awkward and broken void.

Fallout 76 is a good co-op Fallout in a new charming land, but it's a poor solo Fallout, and a poor survival game, with poor graphics.

Fallout 76 is an evolving game, and we've no doubt it'll become better with time, but for now this is not what we were expecting. The multiplayer idea behind the game is somehow interesting, but technically the game is terrible and gameplay talking is clumsy.

Although there's fun to be had in Fallout 76, the game itself feels like it has an identity crisis. Besides that, it definitely feels like an unfinished game. Even for former Fallout standards it has an abundance of bugs.

It is a pity to say that the great foundations of the series are there, but in the end, they have been completely overshadowed by the problems that I mention and of course, by experiments that in theory sounded like great ideas but in practice, are lacking. We can already dub Fallout 76 as the big disappointment of 2018.

As of today, Fallout 76 feels more like a rushed game that turned out to be a failure than a true member of the Fallout family. If the whole feels broken, there is potential, and after months (or years) of patches, it could become a good option for Fallout fans.

Fallout 76 isn't your typical fallout experience. You don't have NPCs or dialogue, but instead get real players that should fill this void - that ultimately fails to do so. It does some things right, but as of now I cannot recommend getting this game as long as it stays a broken and boring mess that it is right now.

Fun to play with friends, not so much on your own. There's potential here, though a huge load of bugs manages to annoy and frustrate the player, leaving him or her with the impression that this full-priced game is far from a finished product. Shame.

Fallout 76 tried to take the series in a new direction, and while Bethesda has done great things with the franchise in the past, this ultimately feels like a misstep. Fallout has always excelled as a single player experience, so hopefully we can see a proper Fallout 5 in the near future.

The multiplayer integration of Fallout 76 opposes the core tenets of the Fallout games at every turn – utterly undermining the core formula. What’s worse, it then fails to justify the multiplayer in any way. Buried beneath the bugs, network issues and multiplayer allowances, it is possible to see what could have been a wonderful single player experience in a fascinating time and location – but one that we will never experience.

Fallout 76 can be super fun with friends or strangers, but you will mainly find bugs and half made up game mechanisms.

Fallout 76 has many bugs, but that is not its main problem. That is the wrong focus. The fun aspects of Fallout are gone now that you always have to be online.

Forcibly pushing players together in order to tackle the later main quests isn’t the experience fans wanted, nor is a PvP system that requires consent before it really kicks off, regardless of where you are.

The rich wasteland map of Fallout 76 is wasted on a mess of bugs, conflicting ideas, and monotony.

Despite Appalachia's appeal, Fallout 76 is broken mess of a game that, in its current state, feels nothing more than a shamefully unfinished cash-grab that isn't fit to use the Fallout name.

Fallout 76 feels like an early access title and should have been labeled as such. The game was not ready for launch, and even hardcore Fallout fans will have a hard time ignoring its problems.