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Fallout 76brings the successful formula of the longtime RPG series to the world of MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games). You may have played Fallout 3, Fallout 4, or New Vegas, and wished you could experience a multiplayer version. But as the adage goes, be careful what you wish for.
Make no mistake, Fallout 76 brings a lot of fun elements of the series back, while also introducing a few gems, like the wild and wacky mutation system. New paradigms like Expeditions, public events, and Daily Ops bring elements of daily replayability once you have completed the game’s main story.
Updated on January 12th, 2024, by Andrew Scariati:As years of patches and added content continue to polish the experience, you may be wondering, “Is Fallout 76 good now? Should I give it another chance?” The short answer is “it depends”, as the solo experience vastly differs from playing with a group of friends.
While Fallout 76 draws from the masterful single-player experiences of prior entries, it can feel like a lonesome road to walk without fellow Vault Dwellers by your side.
Review
Fallout 76 is Bethesda’s first, tentative toe-dip into a vast, unexplored MMORPG world. While there are solid foundations to build on, the world can leave you wanting more if you crave the fleshed-out characters and conversations found in other entries.
List writer Roland Martinez noted that Bethesda is still up to its old tricks with a notoriously glitchy experience: “As is tradition… the game is full of bugs and glitches. Most of them are harmless but those trying to immerse themselves into the world may find it off-putting when a raider goes flying across the map like Team Rocket…”
While the draw of theFallout experience has always centered around playing alone, the ability to do so in 76 is treated as a luxury rather than a core tenet. Private worlds and unlimited scrap box storage are bothlocked behindFallout 1st:the game’s monthly subscription.
Not everyone is willing to cough up a $13 monthly fee just to play Fallout 76 by themselves. It’s a feature that sent a resounding round of applause and cheers throughout the community in the beginning, but quickly became the victim of backlash after it was revealed to be barred behind a subscription known as Fallout 1st.
While it’s clear that Bethesda expects you to play with others, trade gear, and exchange scrap fairly often, you’ll need to find some friends to do that. While many Vault Dwellers are friendly and willing to help on the game’s servers, in true Fallout fashion, you’ll have to keep an eye out for evil denizens of Appalachia as well. If you don’t want to be randomly attacked by others, ensure you set your status to Pacifist to avoid any undesirable fights.
Any Fallout 76 review wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging several bumps in the road, but most of what you could want from an online Fallout experience is here; just remember that the world of the Wasteland is a cold, unforgiving place.
Time Commitment
Fallout 76 was once an insurmountable peak for newbies, as the best weapons were no longer available via natural play. These incredibly powerful legacy weapons were hoarded by veterans as they were completely overpowered and trivialized fights against the hardest bosses.
Now that thepreviously unattainable perks have been removed from legacy weapons, everyone is on even ground once more, and the best way to acquire your weapon of choice is via crafting.
If you’re just getting started, themainquest should take about 34 hoursto complete.
Finishingevery achievement in the game will run you about 100 to 130 hours– a great amount of content for dedicated completionists. Some side quests are better than others, especially if you dislike fetch missions, so don’t expect to enjoy every last quest.
However, the most rewarding content involves daily and weekly activities, which include acquiring legendary modules and cores to imbue your weapons with legendary perks.
Daily Ops and Expeditionsshould take you aboutone to two hours per dayto complete, depending on your group.
Factoring in the time it takes to sell off unwanted gear and take advantage of the daily vendor currency resets, you can expect to play forseven to ten hours a weekif you’re looking to maximize your efficiency.
If you don’t care about completing tasks, then the game also offers youthe opportunity to set up a customized C.A.M.P.that you can use for farming materials, set up your vendor for others, or just chat with your followers for fun.
Value
Fallout 76 isavailable on Xbox, Playstation, and PC for around $39.99, or free to play as part of Xbox Game Pass andGame Pass For PC.
There is also aseasonal Battle Pass (Fallout 1st)that costs$12.99 per monthand earnable or purchasable currency (Atoms) which you may use to buy cosmetic items like weapon skins or items for your C.A.M.P. from the in-game store.
Atomscan beearnedvia daily and weekly challengesorboughtwith real money.
500
$4.99
1,100 (800+300 bonus+consumable items – Appalachia Starter Pack)
$7.99
1,100 (1000+100 bonus)
$9.99
2,400 (2,000+400 bonus)
$19.99
5,000 (4,000+1,000 bonus)
$39.99
The $13 per month for Fallout 1st is a steep price to pay if you’re playing other games alongside this one.
Spending either $100(if you buy a year)or about $156(if you renew month-to-month) every year is probably what it would cost to enjoy two or three games, but might be justifiable if this is your main squeeze or the only game to play with friends.
In addition to access to aScrapbox(with unlimited space), you will receive1,650 Atoms per month or 19,800per year.
According to Bethesda’s above pricing, it would normallycost about $160to acquire a similar number of Atoms(20,000).
The Atom Store also offersone item for free to everyoneevery day and anadditional item for Fallout 1stmembers.
If you’refree-to-play, you do receive quite a fair number ofAtoms for completing your daily and weekly quests, so you may feasibly buy most skins and building items that attract your fancy.
The seasonal battle pass or’Scoreboard' is completely free of chargeunless you decide to use Atoms to increase your level. Overall, the Scoreboard provides a wealth of useful items, including legendary cores and modules to keep you satisfied while playing.
The final few Scoreboard items are usually quite useful or at minimum very cute and worth the grind if you plan to play the game for quests or social interactions anyway.
What Players Are Saying
It Used To Be – Branden Lizardi
While messy and unoptimized, the early age of 76 provided a unique multiplayer experience. Even solo, it was a rich and dynamic world to explore. But after years of updates, all seemingly geared more and more toward promoting microtransactions, and with most player lobbies focusing on late-game mechanics, it’s become a less magical experience that you’re better off passing on.
No – James Kennedy
Fallout 4 is a game that looked dated upon release, featured a clumsy, haphazard story that fundamentally undermined the core concept of an open-world RPG that emphasizes autonomy, and had cumbersome, awkward gameplay. On top of that, it was a bug-ridden mess thatbarelyworked at the best of times. But we aren’t talking about Fallout 4, we are talking about Fallout 76, which is the same game but worse in every single way.
It doesn’t even really have the VATS system anymore. That is the only gameplay aspect of the Bethesda Fallout titles that are worth a damn. Oh, and it is more broken. I don’t know how they managed to do it, but they did. No. Absolutely not. Your time is valuable. Don’t do this to yourself.
Worth A Session With Friends – Andrew Scariati
If you and your buddies have been dying to scratch that Fallout itch, and you’ve all completed every game already, then Fallout 76 might be worth a few hours of fun. The opening quests give the impression of a living and breathing world with endless treasures to unearth, but it feels much more like the barren Wasteland it is once you get out there. Grab a few snacks and don’t take it too seriously. Maybe you’ll even enjoy your time with a few friends by your side as you explore the unknown.
Meh, Maybe On Cheap Sale – Sharnelle Earle
If it’s on a free weekend or on a big sale, there’s no harm in playing WITH FRIENDS. But it really isn’t worth it for the price and [especially not] for solo. Not an amazing game by any means.
