Calling the launch of Fallout 76 rough is underselling the gaming disaster of the year heavily short. After a short positive anticipation period earlier this year, it feels like the more Bethesda shared about their multiplayer Fallout spin-off, the less enthusiastic fans were getting.
There’s the disappointment of series old-time fans who were hoping for an immersive wasteland experience like the previous games. A small portion of PC players also bemoaned the publisher’s decision to use their own client instead of using Steam, arguably the PC gaming storefront. These are rather small points and would have easily been forgiven by gamers if Fallout 76 delivered the usual joy of Fallout games.
That’s where the real troubles start however. Fallout 76 is just not good. We didn’t like it and so ist the major opinion across critics and gamers alike, which secured Fallout 76 the dubious honor of being the lowest rated Fallout game ever. Fallout games have rarely been cherished for their refined first-person shooting mechanics. It’s the world-building, lore and stories, coupled with a robust role-playing system that made Bethesda’s Fallout games so immersive.
Fallout 76 sadly neuters exactly these pillars by removing any form of NPCs and grand story. What remains, is a shoddy online shooter whose mechanics can barely keep it on par with the competition. Put the usual Bethesda game gripes of technical issues on top of it, and we have a perfect stew of disaster.
Bugs can be patched, stats balanced but improving the core of Fallout 76 ought to be a much bigger task. Bethesda today acknowledged that fans are frustrated in their first Inside the Vault article. In the coming months and even years, the publishers aims to improve and built upon Fallout 76. For now, two big patches for December are promised that aim to relieve some of the easier-to-solve issues, like increased stash size and improved base building.
Interestingly enough, there’s no mention of changing or improving the bigger criticism points like the lack of NPCs, the world feeling rather dead or the missions. Admittedly, stuff like that will take much longer to address and maybe Bethesda will disclose changes to those in the coming months.
