Fallout 76 is at the top of its game in 2024 but was somewhat of a disaster when the game first launched back in 2020. Fans of the franchise were slightly disappointed given how Bethesda decided to launch an online-only title. This led to a backlash among players especially those using consoles as they require an online subscription on their respective platforms. On top of all that, Appalachia seemed like a dead game having little to no NPCs to socialize with and repetitive quests to complete.
However, the game resurged in April 2024 due to the launch of Magic: The Gathering's Fallout collaboration and Amazon Prime's TV series adaptation. Many players decided to revisit the game and see if it would be enjoyable. Thankfully, the developers launched a plethora of new content for players to have a reason to stick around.
With all the hype surrounding Fallout 76 in 2024, we also decided to revisit the game and give our thoughts on what was once upon a time a disaster.
A Journey Back to Appalachia
Fallout 76 has come a long way since its debut in 2020. To our surprise, there were lots of new content to play around with. What was most notable for us was that Bethesda added life to the game by adding new NPCs to interact with.
As mentioned earlier, players can only access the game online. Given its nature in gameplay, the developers meant for it to focus more on co-op multiplayer. However, that's no longer the case in 2024.
When creating a character in Fallout 76, players still need to go through the same tutorial inside Vault 76. They will then need to visit The Wayward and speak to the Dutchess who'll assign players their first task. Before the most recent updates, there weren't many quests to select from at the beginning of one's adventure. The game felt more like a grind given the scarce amount of activities. But now, there's plenty to do the moment a player steps out of the vault.
Single Player Gamers Rejoice
Bethesda's goal with Fallout 76 was to create a wasteland experience wherein players could play with their friends and explore the world together. While that sounds like a great idea, not all fans of the franchise have the luxury to play with companions at all times. With that in mind, playing solo in Appalachia was boring due to the world being lifeless. Fortunately, that all changes in 2024 with the addition of new NPCs.
When stepping into a Fallout game, players expect to roam around the wasteland meeting new strangers and grabbing quests from almost everyone. Aside from accomplishing tasks, what makes Bethesda's franchise enjoyable is how players can interact with almost anyone in the game.
Thankfully, the developers realized their franchise's strengths and decided to add this dynamic to their online game. Having that said, there are now lots of NPCs to socialize with and get quests from. Fallout 76 now feels more like a real Fallout game and not some rip-off title.
From personal experience, I had fun roaming around Appalachia solo given the overwhelming amount of quests to accomplish. Honestly, I wasn't too sure which task to finish first, which isn't a bad thing at all. Back when I first started playing the game in 2022, leveling up my character seemed too grindy due to the game feeling linear. Now, there are many ways to climb the ranks, and hostile NPCs aren't as challenging to deal with as they once were.
Co-op Multiplayer has Never Been More Fun
After exploring the wasteland alone for a little while, I decided to call on a couple of friends to join me on an adventure. Given the amount of activities to do in modern Appalachia, playing with companions is more exciting than ever.
With a wide selection of quests to choose from as early as the beginning of the game, a party can easily get lost in time. At least that's how it felt like playing with my party. Whenever we headed toward a certain location for the quest we were trying to complete, we'd somehow trigger new side quests along the way, which distracted us from accomplishing the main goal. Having these side quests, we end up accomplishing those first before realizing we did an entirely different quest.
Honestly, that's what makes Fallout 76 fun in 2024. Players can now easily level up before even getting too deep into the game. It's especially easier to grind with a party thanks to the XP boosters players can acquire via the Perk Cards when they level up.
Fallout 76 2024 – Gameplay
While it's arguably fun to play Fallout 76 again, there's a lot to be said regarding the gameplay.
Lockpicking and Hacking
We dislike how Bethesda stuck to making players work to increase their stamina and unlock additional lockpicking and hacking points. In traditional Fallout games, a player's AP doesn't easily go down the drain. Unlike in the online title, new players will need to deal with losing all their stamina after literally three to five seconds of sprinting.
Then there's the lockpicking and hacking. In traditional games, there are various levels of expertise when cracking a safe or messing with computer systems. However, it feels more like a chore in Fallout 76 to upgrade constantly certain stats just to level up lockpicking and hacking.
Imagine, we found a small box that looks like it could easily be stepped on in real life. It requires a lockpicking skill level 1. Players start the game with 0. Now, if your lockpicking level doesn't meet the requirement, you can't unlock it at all. Normally in games like Fallout 4, players automatically start the game with a novice-level lockpicking, which allows players to unlock easy crates such as the one we found in the online title. The same goes for hacking.
This now makes us feel forced to level up specific stats to accommodate what shouldn't be a difficult task to perform. Think of it this way, players spend all their time focusing on improving their stats on essential gameplay skills such as gunslinging and persuasion. Then they come across a little box with a lockpicking level 1 requirement only to find out they can't open it because they're still at level 0. Imagine how frustrating that would be after hours of grinding.
Gunplay
When playing on a stable server, the gunplay in Fallout 76 feels smooth and fluid. It feels satisfying landing headshots on Ghouls and other wastelanders as their heads immediately pop off when using strong guns. Compared to Fallout 4, I'd say Fallout 76 feels like it has more accuracy. Quick scoping and hip firing in the online game can still get you to land headshots or even simply hit your target. At least based on my experience from the single-player Fallout games, quick scoping and hip firing put you at risk of missing your shots.
Aside from the fluidity, the game gives players a vast collection of guns to pick up. Fallout games are typically labeled as looter shooters. That is still the case in Fallout 76, however, most quests and achievements reward players with special guns that are more powerful than what they normally pick up from NPCs or crates. Gone are the days when players needed to explore for strong weapons to help boost their early gameplay.
It's also easier to find ammo in Fallout 76. Whenever players kill enemy NPCs with a specific weapon, their corpses would automatically drop the ammo used to kill them most of the time. In fact, it only takes a couple of bullets to kill a Ghoul early in the game then they drop 10 bullets of the same ammo type. Not only do players get their ammo back but they also extra as a reward. Based on my experience, I managed to accumulate almost 1,000 .308 ammo for my hunting rifle after only a couple of hours of gameplay.
I remember my days playing Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4, I struggled to find bullets for my guns. There were moments when I'd find a pile of ammo but not for the guns that I have, which pissed me off. With that in mind, we commend Bethesda for making their online game a player-friendly experience. This will also benefit newer players in the franchise. At least they no longer have to go through the struggle of more seasoned Fallout players.
NPCs
One major aspect Fallout 76 lacked for years was the NPCs. Appalachia was more filled with robots to interact with back in the day. Most human NPCs were bystanders who players couldn't talk to. As for the other human NPCs players can socialize with, there wasn't much meaning to it. The online game didn't give players the option to befriend them or even throw in the occasional flirting. This led to a lonely experience, especially for solo players.
However, in Fallout 76 2024, it's safe to say that the game feels more like a traditional Fallout game. Bethesda added a plethora of human NPCs that have full dialogues for players to interact with. There are even a few romance options to pursue, specifically for male characters. The developers made the NPCs more meaningful to talk to as they also give quests and rewards to collect. Playing solo no longer seems like a bad idea.
Bugs and Glitches
Bethesda has always been notorious for developing buggy games. Nevertheless, fans find these glitches amusing as they think that it adds to the game's charm. Hence why many players say that a game can't be considered a Bethesda game if it isn't broken.
With that said, the developers didn't disappoint as there are still many bugs and glitches in Fallout 76. But in all fairness to them, they surprisingly reduced the amount of bugs. Based on my previous playthrough, the only instances I found myself glitching were when using the benches and crafting stations. When interacting with a weapons crafting station or something similar, it takes a while for the prompt to pop up. There were moments when I was stuck for a minute or two waiting for the crafting options to appear on my screen.
Considering how it's an online game, it could be a latency issue or a server delay. However, we wouldn't be surprised if it was an actual bug.
Other than that, the only other bugs and glitches we encountered were mostly on the textures of the environment. There were several moments when some rock formations would suddenly blackout and then pop right back up. It isn't too concerning as these glitches seldom happen.
Server Stability
Maintaining a live service online open-world multiplayer game is a daunting task for developers. This is especially true for Fallout 76. The game accommodates a maximum of 25 players in one open server consisting of randoms and parties. But given the vast world the game has to offer, we noticed that the server still struggles with responsiveness and it isn't surprising at all. With the amount of players dealing with multiple quests and engaging in combat with many NPCs, the server is bound to have difficulty prioritizing every input each player makes.
Nevertheless, the laggy inputs don't take away the fun of playing the game, especially if running it with friends. However, some people might not see it in the same light as we do.
Fallout 76 2024 – Graphics
For a game that came out in 2020, we can't say that the graphics look spectacular. Some might even argue that Fallout 76's graphics practically look the same as Fallout 4's if not worse. But that opinion was a thing of the past.
Bethesda did a great job improving the game's visuals. The resolution of the game seems clearer, the lighting effects are more prominent, and the overall textures look slightly improved. The developers didn't make any drastic adjustments, but at least one can tell that the online title is a more modern game compared to its predecessors.
Review Verdict – Is it worth it to play Fallout 76 in 2024?
After several hours of gameplay hopping back on a couple of years later, it's safe to say that Fallout 76 is worth it to play in 2024. The game offers replayability worth players' time with the overwhelming amount of news quests, DLC expansions, and areas to explore.
Players no longer have to worry about jumping into a session solo as the game no longer feels restrictive to a multiplayer-only experience. Plus, players don't need to worry about getting bored given the amount of activities to partake in. They can easily get lost in Appalachia without noticing how long they've been playing.
Score: 7.5/10
That's all for our review of Fallout 76 in 2024. For more gaming content, be sure to check out ClutchPoints Gaming.
#worth #play #Fallout
