Fallout 76had quite a turbulent launch, struggling both critically and commercially. The game was criticized on a number of fronts, with a majority of complaints concerning the frequency of bugs and the large but empty game world. At launch, were it not for the classicFalloutstyling of the game, it would have been impossible to identifyFallout 76as aFalloutgame because of the lack of NPCs or interesting missions that made the series so popular.
However, since then, plenty ofcontent drops forFallout 76have been released, leaving the game in a drastically different state to what it was in all those years ago.Fallout 76is unrecognizable from its day one state, and is probably worth checking out for those who haven’t played since launch. The laundry list of changes Bethesda has made toFallout 76is long, but there are a few key changes that stand out.
RELATED:Fallout London Mod Could Give Fans What Fallout 76 Didn’t
Fallout 76’s Quality-of-Life Improvements for Bugs
WhenFallout 76launched in 2018, fans had a number of major complaints, but the most glaring issue was the frequency of bugs and glitches. These bugs were varied, including enemies who would T-pose and float around the map instead of having a usual walk cycle. But not all bugs were quite so humorous, and a couple proved to be game-breaking. Notably, at launch traveling to the eastern section of the map brought with it some significant risks, as there was a bug that would make the player’s game crash, rendering them unable to load back in. These bugs proved to be much too frequent for players to avoid or jokingly dismiss as being a feature in typical Bethesda games.Fallout 76’sbugswere majorly hampering the overall experience.
Years on from release,Fallout 76’supdateshave left the game in a different state, and Bethesda isn’t done yet. Players are highly unlikely to encounter similar issues to those that were faced byFallout 76’searly adopters. Bugs and glitches are a fact of gaming and their presence will always be felt, but if they don’t dominate the experience they can be easily overlooked.Fallout 76has released a number of updates since launch to address issues with the game, the most recent coming this month that was comprised almost entirely of bug fixes. It seems that despite its rocky launch, Bethesda has not given up onFallout 76, and has instead dedicated resources to fixing the game, molding it into the experience fans hoped it would be. However, bug fixes weren’t the extent ofFalloutfans’ complaints, and nor have they been the complete focus of Bethesda’s attention.
NPCs in Fallout 76
Upon release, one of the biggest issues withFallout 76was the lack of NPCs in the game world. TheFalloutfranchise had to that point been built upon the foundations of story-driven single-player experiences.Fallout 76was always likely to change up the formula, but the changesFallout 76brought felt extreme. Players were stranded in a world that felt more likeRustorDayZthan anyFalloutexperience to that point, and fans heavily requested the inclusion of NPCs. Pete Hines has since confessed the Bethesda team was surprised by how few players wanted PvP, as mostFalloutfans’ preference was to team up for PvE battles. However, Bethesda has remedied this issue, introducing a broad range ofNPCs intoFallout 76starting with Wastelanders in April 2020.
Fallout 76Wastelanders was a free DLC, and it did plenty to bring the world ofFallout 76to life. The game now feels a lot more like an authenticFalloutexperience, and less like an MMO survival game with aFalloutskin. Wastelanders’ NPCs also brought with them some pretty major improvements to the dialogue system when compared to evenFallout 4. One of the main criticisms ofFallout 4was the dialogue system, which many believed was shallow and ultimately inconsequential.Fallout 76has addressed this issue, reverting to aNew Vegas-style dialogue systemin which the player’s speech and intelligence skill can have a real impact on the outcome of conversations. If the player doesn’t allocate their skill points carefully enough, they’re prone to coming off as a fool in conversation, which can have some hilarious outcomes.
RELATED:Fallout 76: Who is K.D. Inkwell?
Fallout 76 Nuclear Winter And Daily Operations
Aside from bugs and the lack of NPCs, players also encountered issues with a lack of content outside of the game’s main objective. Players soon grew tired of exploring themap ofFallout 76and craved something different to take up their time. There have always been plenty of enemies to face inFallout 76, including ghouls, robots, and a variety of regional beasts. However, battling the same enemies time and time again was always unlikely to hold players’ attention for long, so it needed a solid endgame. The endgame at launch was fairly repetitive, which proved to be an issue when the grind it took to get there seemingly wasn’t worth the hassle. This is another issue that has been addressed by Bethesda over time, with the game containing plenty of content to satiate players’ desire for action-packed modes.
Fallout 76has two modes outside of the main game to provide players with variety, preventing the gameplay from getting too stale. Nuclear Winter has been met with fanfare asFallout 76battle royale mode, essentially. It allows for up to 52 players, which makes its battles smaller in scale than other battle royale games such asWarzoneandFortnite.However, it is very popular amongFallout 76fans. The novelty of playing a battle royale within aFalloutgame alone makes Nuclear Winter worth checking out, but players may stick around for the addictive gameplay.
The otherFallout 76game mode is Daily Ops, which as the name suggests provides players with daily missions to complete. They function as aFallouttake on dungeons, and aim to provide a scalable challenge for the more experiencedFallout 76player. These daily ops can be repeated as much as the player likes while they are available, and the player faces no repercussions for dying, making them harmless fun. Compared toFallout 76at launch, the game now has plenty to hold the players’ attention outside of the game’s main objective. With the quality-of-life improvements, the additions of NPCs, and all-new game modes,Fallout 76is a vastly different experience from what it was at launch. Despite this, the game shows no signs of slowing down, with more content to come.
Fallout 76is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
