Fallout 76 - Review @ Gamespew

[Darth Tagnan]

Sure, and with Fallout 4's even mediocre and simplistic attempts at decent quest writing stripped away in favor of ROBOTS GONE WILD! and fetch quests galore.

Not really. The actual gameplay/quest structure is nearly identical - except for the open multiplayer events which are added on top.

The only difference is that most quests are started by picking up audio logs or interacting with terminals instead of clicking on a dialogue option.

Of course, there's no lack of fetch quests here - as is the case with nearly all CRPGs I've ever played.

As for a lack of NPCs - I think that was a wise decision. NPCs tend to promote a lot of waiting around in multiplayer games - because players all have to get the quest and the dialogue needs to be told.

Because the game isn't about the usual MMO grind - it would be a strange break in the flow to have that happen too often.

But I can see it being an issue for solo players who wanted more of the mostly bad Bethsoft dialogues.

Beyond that, I've always enjoyed games without NPCs where you have to discover what happened in areas - without overt exposition. This is one of the reasons I adore System Shock, Bioshock and Prey. They're mostly bereft of that - and the environment is telling the story.

In terms of the coop experience - a large part of FO76 is not dissimilar to games like System Shock 2.

In a way, it's just a 200+ hour version of System Shock 2 - with some overland exploration added.

Not for everyone, but not necessarily terrible either.

 

[Couchpotato]

Sure, and with Fallout 4's even mediocre and simplistic attempts at decent quest writing stripped away in favor of ROBOTS GONE WILD! and fetch quests galore.

[X] Collect 10 beers.

My favorite quote since they stripped everything out that makes a good Fallout.

Bethesda managed to make a Fallout game without any Fallout in it.

 

[Darth Tagnan]

I never thought I'd see the day where non-fans would consider Bethesda NPC interactions a "Fallout" kind of feature

But, yeah, I don't think FO76 is a great game at all if that's why you're playing Bethsoft games. There is some minimal interaction with Robots here and there, but AFAIK there's no actual dialogue interface. I've never seen it, anyway.

To be honest, it never really occurred to me that a lot of people would have wanted that in a game that centers around cooperative gameplay - but I can see the point, especially for solo players.

It's actually interesting, because it helps me to understand why some people might dislike Bethsoft games in general. They're probably a lot more interested in dialogue trees than I am

That's not to say ALL Beth dialogue is bad - but most of it is rather bland, in my experience.

The Dark Brotherhood stuff can be fun, though - but it's really just exposition with absolutely minimal player agency.

Ironically, ESO is vastly superior in that way.

 

[Couchpotato]

Dart just watch that video Joxer posted it had a bunch of good points.

Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxoYo0wf-0c

It's not just Dialogue tress that was stripped.

 

[tekulte]

Anti-shit-game bias. It's a crying shame.

LOL yeah, that's what I figured ...

 

[Darth Tagnan]

Dart just watch that video Joxer posted it had a bunch of good points.

Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxoYo0wf-0c

It's not just Dialogue tress that was stripped.

Oh, I've watched my share of reviews of this game

I can't stomach anymore, please!

I'd rather just play the game so I can actually know what it's like - rather than jump on trains. It's never been my thing to hate or love on principle.

But I can see where some people might dislike FO76. It's more the level of negativity that's surprising - but then again, it's not that uncommon with high profile targets.

 

[Couchpotato]

Another video that supports a few of Dart points about the game.

Warning: The YouTuber enjoyed the game but still points out it's flaws.

 

[SSIGuy]

2 outta 10 on that review, eh?

Well, the game is clearly better than I thought it would be.

 

[BoboTheMighty]

Yikes, what a disaster. This the worst "AAA" game..ever? Can't think of anything with as much backlash, on both sides. No Man's Sky was overhyped, but still impressive/technical achievement coming from very small indie team.
Should've delayed it, polish it as possible, then release free to play.
This is plain embarrassing, what the hell are they thinking they could sell this for same price as Division, Anthem, etc?
And worst part is they damn well knew it.
Beta had a bug that deleted the beta. And another bug that wouldn't let you uninstall it, unless you bought the damn thing. They also invited Ytubers for test run and it went as good as you'd expect. All the while Hines was busy making "Yo-bugs-are-funny-lol-get-it?" twitter jokes.

 

[joxer]

This the worst "AAA" game..ever?

That crown belongs to Destiny and Destiny 2.
Dunno how FO76 or anything else can be worse than those two abominations. Okay, Anthem could be, but let's wait till it's released.

 

[ChaosTheory]

I just can't imagine how we can have a game like The Witcher 3 already being a few years old-- and then games like this.

And you think THIS is bad... Wait until Anthem hits.

 

[JDR13]

2/10 seems like hyperbole to me, but it doesn't look very good from what I've seen.

 

[Couchpotato]

Got anther one.

 

[Stingray]

The video mentions the game already dropping from $60 to $40…but now it's actually down to $35 on Amazon for all platforms :lol: They may pass it off as a "Black Friday" sale, but the writing's on the wall with this one, they've gotta dump that inventory.

 

[Couchpotato]

The video mentions the game already dropping from $60 to $40…but now it's actually down to $35 on Amazon for all platforms :lol: They may pass it off as a "Black Friday" sale, but the writing's on the wall with this one, they've gotta dump that inventory.

If I find a copy in the bargain bin for $2.50 I might buy, but then servers will be shut off due to the game failing. Though I foresee a F2P release coming soon as a re-release.

 

[TheRealFluent]

I look at this as a good thing. Fallout 76 MMO bombs, that means they have to bring their true AAA game for TES VI. I can see Todd Howard now revealing it and making a sly joke about how it's not an online MMO with no NPCs. Their tagline can even be "NPCs are back, baby!" :lol:

 

[Drithius]

I look at this as a good thing. Fallout 76 MMO bombs, that means they have to bring their true AAA game for TES VI. I can see Todd Howard now revealing it and making a sly joke about how it's not an online MMO with no NPCs. Their tagline can even be "NPCs are back, baby!" :lol:

Doubt it. Bethesda devs have shown to live in their own little bubble… I'm sure TES VI won't be as bad as a game primarily built via an acquired Austin, TX studio (76), but "learning" from prior titles will not take place. Hello New Vegas.

More likely: TES VI with Fallout 4 dialog 'choices', settlement building, even less of a skill system, and more of the same clunky combat. Oh, and Emil Pagliarulo writing for 10 year olds naturally.

 

[Arkadia7]

Yea, it's pretty damn bad when even game reviewers from the gaming industry are giving the game lousy reviews, when usually they will give any AAA release a minimum score of around 90 or so. I guess they even realized that this was one game where they would lose all credibility and become a laughingstock if they gave it the typical fawning, gushing review that they give most AAA game releases. Just too much of a hard sell, even for total sellouts such as them, the "professional" gaming reviewers.

 

[skally_wag]

Having read pc gamer review https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/fallout-76-review/ I think theres probably enough content for solo players, more fallout 4 is good for me, I really enjoyed the game.
I guess the only way im going to know is to try it out for myself, although im not sure ill be able to forgive the lack of NPC'S.

 

[BoboTheMighty]

Yea, it's pretty damn bad when even game reviewers from the gaming industry are giving the game lousy reviews, when usually they will give any AAA release a minimum score of around 90 or so. I guess they even realized that this was one game where they would lose all credibility and become a laughingstock if they gave it the typical fawning, gushing review that they give most AAA game releases. Just too much of a hard sell, even for total sellouts such as them, the "professional" gaming reviewers.

The veil has been lifted, no going back from Bethesda. Even Gamespot and IGN are tearing it up for exactly the same issues all of their previous games had, this time further exacebated by Multiplayer.
When you think about it: what do you do all the time in Oblivion, Fallout3/4, Skyrim, etc?
You receive a linear fetch quest, follow quest marker, go to dungeon, suffer through godawful combat, kill and loot everything, level up, return to town, sell, craft, talk to npcs, receive a fetch quest, etc, etc..
None of this is actually good, but mix as a whole serves as backdrop for immersing yourself into the world ( soundtrack and persistency of the world add a lot here).
By stripping this game to their traditional core gameplay loop, they've really exposed how flawed/shallow their design actually is: fails as rpg ( too easy, simplistic/only perks, uninteresting passive bonuses), survival elements ( worthless as you easily accumulate everything, few penalties, lack of risk/reward design), action/gameplay( AI, sound, visuals, animations, etc: simply everything), exploration ( overdrive on copy pasta dungeons instead of building coherent world) along with awful technical performance.
They need to work on a lot of things but it's absolutely critical they get better/far more upgraded and stable engine, full blown quest design team, and work on actually improving gameplay.