Worst Games of Q4 2018
Fallout 76
Oh Bethesda, all you had to do was release a Fallout: New Vegas-esque solo adventure and fans would have thrown their cash at you with screams of “yaaaaas” being heard around the world.
Alas, Fallout 76 proved to be a massive misstep for Bethesda, as it deftly followed the ‘games as a service’ and ‘everything has to be multiplayer’ trends we’re seeing far too often in the industry nowadays.
At its core, Fallout 76 had the potential to be something great –a true, multiplayer Fallout experience, set in the wasteland of West Virginia that’s not only a darn sight prettier than past wastelands we’ve explored but teeming with the mysterious creatures and sights to behold.
Instead, Fallout 76 feels like a botched job, something quickly rushed out to satiate fans’ desires for another entry in the series, while also trying to maximize the figure on the bottom line. Let us explain.
As a shared world experience, everything now plays out in real-time. Accessing the laborious Pip-Boy menus doesn’t pause the world around you, and enemies like to spawn nearby spontaneously at the worst possible moments.
One moment you’re quietly scrolling through your arsenal of weapons, the next you’re being harassed by six Super Mutants that appeared out of thin air. Not to mention its PvP system is half-baked, kind of nullifying the entire point of a shared world Fallout title, to begin with.
Without any NPCs, Fallout 76’s world of Appalachia feels devoid of life. Moreso than a wasteland should. Its missions are often simple fetch quests asking you to trek across its giant map, defeat a couple enemies, grab an item, and take it back to a specific location or utilize it in the crafting system.
Simply put, Fallout 76 was a missed opportunity and one that, had Bethesda spent some more time polishing it rather than rushing it out for the holiday season, could have actually delivered an enjoyable multiplayer experience.
In its current form, however, it’s difficult to really recommend Fallout 76 to anyone outside of the most hardcore fans, and that’s a real disappointment considering the studio’s stellar back catalog of titles.
