Fallout 76 Review

Throughout its history, the Fallout series has more or less always been a single-player experience. As a role-playing franchise famous for its vast open worlds and a bewildering number of quests, this makes sense. Yet, things have changed with Fallout 76. Bethesda has switched up the standard formula.

Now, the entire focus is on online multiplayer. Unlike previous Fallout games, Fallout 76 puts the emphasis on working with or against other players. Although you can play it on your own, doing so is not encouraged or fun.

A Stripped Back Experience

Understanding exactly why Bethesda thought Fallout 76 was a good idea is difficult. After all, the Fallout series has a large and dedicated set of fans. Each new game sells millions of copies and becomes a huge hit. But one of the most important things about them is that they are single-player experiences. Having players go on a solo adventure means that they can explore the world at their pace. Meanwhile, isolating users allows the developers to include choices that truly alter the world. Without having to worry about the effects of other players, decisions can influence the in-game environment meaningfully.

To make Fallout 76 a multiplayer experience, the studio has stripped back much of what makes the franchise so great. Perhaps the biggest example of this is the lack of NPCs. Instead, recordings, journals, or robotic machines give out quests. Without human characters to interact with, the world feels bland and lifeless. All your actions lose impact as you are not really affecting the world. It would be fairer to say that you are performing cleanup more than anything else. Players end up being like a hazmat team sent to sort out the mess left behind after a disaster, only able to see the remnants of the people who once lived here.