Fallout 4

 Xbox One
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 39 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 39
  3. Negative: 0 out of 39
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  1. Giant Bomb
    Nov 10, 2015
    60
    At some point, I just want the games to work reliably. Fallout 4 follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, which is to say that it's a large, sprawling world filled with so many different quests and locations that most players will miss entire subplots as they scavenge their way from one side of the world to the other. That's also to say that it's occasionally kind of broken, from performance issues specific to the console versions to scripting glitches that might just prevent you from progressing to the same sort of "physics gone wild" moments that make for killer animated gifs and such.
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  1. The A.V. Club
    Dec 8, 2015
    In large doses, all that fighting can be tiresome, but the best thing about Fallout 4 is that it wants you to have something to fight for—more than just a vendetta, or some life-saving MacGuffin, or the player’s own bloodthirsty whims.

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best Xbox One Game of 2015
2
#2 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2015
2
#2 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2015

User Reviews

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User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 2300 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,367 out of 2300
  2. Mixed: 316 out of 2300
  3. Negative: 617 out of 2300
  1. Lillo
    Nov 10, 2015
    4
    No "Hardcore mode", no weapon/armor degradation, no reputation system, no "traits", and the plot and characters are flat.
    But you can build    No "Hardcore mode", no weapon/armor degradation, no reputation system, no "traits", and the plot and characters are flat.
    But you can build weapons, houses and interact with the "real" pip-boy, so who cares?

    If you enjoyed New Vegas, DON'T BUY IT.
    It's FarCry with Skirym features.

    Thanks Bethesda for ruining the Fallout series.    … Full Review »
  2. DukeSilver
    Nov 10, 2015
    5
    The main story in Fallout 4 is painfully unimaginative. Characters are extremely one dimensional. Dialogue is basically pointless unless youThe main story in Fallout 4 is painfully unimaginative. Characters are extremely one dimensional. Dialogue is basically pointless unless you just need it to carry on to the next part of the mission. As a whole, game feels like it has fallen into the same trap that a lot of the current gen over-hyped games are doing. It lacks creativity.

    Compared to previous Fallout games (including New Vegas) there is nothing that hooks you in and makes you want to play for hours on end. I have already run into glitches that are very similar to previous Bethesda games so that only takes off maybe one point for me. The bad rating comes from the fact that there is really nothing that is motivating me to progress through the actual story. I feel like wandering around and hope I find something that will temporarily spikes my interest.    … Full Review »
  3. Prescott
    Nov 10, 2015
    0
    This is not an RPG and therefore this is not Fallout. What's worse is reviewers are too afraid of ticking off Bethesda to give them the scoresThis is not an RPG and therefore this is not Fallout. What's worse is reviewers are too afraid of ticking off Bethesda to give them the scores they really deserve. Bethesda need to be made aware of the shortcomings so that the next iteration is the Fallout game we, they, and this series deserve.

    To begin, not only have Bethesda not improved enough from Fallout 3, but they even regressed in several critical areas. The dialogue is beyond simplified and therefore the core of RPG lore and world-building has been eradicated almost entirely. The dialogue "options" aren't informative at all and on top of that, the game's writing is putrid. The player character's voice is even predetermined for you and nothing you do actually alters the direction of the game's narrative. This doesn't deliver the masterful narrative potential Fallout has and initially strove to achieve.

    There is no choice and consequence, no reputation changes from your actions, and no feedback to anything you do. "Freedom" means nothing in an RPG when none of your available actions mean anything. I find this particularly disheartening since it saps me of any motivation to do anything when the narrative provided for those actions is not only weak, but nothing I do matters. What's truly astounding is that Bethesda actually regressed in this area since the days of Morrowind or even Oblivion where at least a basic reputation system existed and guards hailed me as the Champion of the Arena or something.

    The gunplay and actual gameplay beyond dialogue and decision-branching don’t fare much better. This game is too simplified in every way right down to leveling-up and the lack of a proper RPG difficulty curve (ie. start weak, play a lot, progressively get better). The game's internal logic is highly inconsistent and the world is most certainly not immersive as a result.

    Furthermore, the game is utter garbage from a technical standpoint. Remember Crysis from 2007? Heck, forget Crysis. Remember Oblivion from 2006? The game was very technically ambitious for an early 2006 title and its beauty and immersiveness benefited greatly as a result. Morrowind was the same way. However, now that Bethesda are more financially successful than ever, they've become content with recycling an ancient engine and associated assets. The result is this inconsistent Franktenstein-esque monstrosity with poor poly-counts, crap textures, archaic hardware usage, and severely lacking lighting and general effects. Bethesda from 2002 would be ashamed of this stagnant nonsense. No matter the resolution, no matter the hardware, this game is muddy and technically conservative. And yet it still performs like trash with countless bugs and glitches. Bethesda haven't advanced their animations despite all these years, either. There is no excuse for this. Bethesda have the cash, they just don't have the demand from their fans.

    I used to think Bethesda's games had the potential to be legitimate art back in the Morrowind days, but now I wonder. Despite their explosive financial success, Bethesda have only managed to stagnate at best and significantly regress at worst in their delivery of masterful RPGs. It's to the point where Fallout 4 simply isn't an RPG by any knowledgeable definition. Morrowind's setting and RPG mechanics once captivated my soul and mind and led me to dream great things about the future of Bethesda RPGs. Oblivion still wasn't half-bad, particularly with the Shivering Isles expansion. Bethesda's first Fallout game (Fallout 3) had its shortcomings but was a strong seminal effort. However, Fallout 4 has crushed my decade+ old hopes and failed to even deliver an RPG let alone any semblance of the creativity and ambition that once permeated throughout Bethesda's games or Fallout in general.

    I dream no more.    … Full Review »
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