Fallout 76 is a fascinating experiment that foregoes traditional narrative and moral choices in favor of pure gameplay. This will not suit everyone, but the number of players on the servers suggests that the game is already popular. Many gamers like the previous part’s aspect of constructing camps. The only thing lacking was the ability to share your own area with others. As a result, Bethesda decided to include group play in a new game, allowing players to go on adventures together in the post-war wasteland. We take on the role as one of the residents of Vault 76, who ventures out 25 years after the conclusion of the nuclear war to explore the world after the apocalypse. The entire plot boils down to just following in the footsteps of the crypt supervisor, who left the refuge ahead of us to complete a secret task. We begin our adventure and the long process of discovering West Virginia with no constraints on the route of investigation. Because there are no NPCs in Fallout 76 – except for a few robots – the tidbits and mysteries are mostly discovered via reading diaries and listening to recordings. Because players are the first to occupy the new world, mutants and monsters dominate the surface. All of this adds up to one coherent whole – it’s a game in which we build our own narrative and plot.
We must continually monitor a lot of indications. We monitor hunger, thirst, overall health, and even the load that might restrict sprinting ability. Eating stale food exposes you to irradiation and somewhat revised downgrades. Currently, in addition to increasing a single stat, we have access to perks in the form of trade cards, which we may associate with a specific stat. We can switch out perk cards at any moment to meet the demands of the team. This technique is especially useful for loners because some cards help us when we play alone. The basis of the gameplay is self-discovery of new areas, fulfilling objectives that activate spontaneously after entering a given region, shooting at ubiquitous foes, and collecting materials required to construct your own defenses. We gather almost anything, because even cans, cables, and other waste are a rich source of materials that we use to make things and all sections of our own base – this time we can set it wherever we want. There is a lot of gear, and each weapon may be customized, improved, and repaired. The latter is essential. When the weapon’s durability reaches 0, it is not fully destroyed, but it is no longer usable. This is especially true for the greatest gadgets in our armory, which must be continually maintained so that they do not fail at the critical moment.
The challenges are not particularly challenging, and some appear to be unnecessarily amusing. Some of them appear to believe that we shall perish, making it impossible to enter the post-nuclear atmosphere. A specific robot sent us on various trips, the purpose of which is always to maim or kill us. Because these problems are linear and insurmountable, we must either accept ludicrous assumptions or forsake the objective. The primary goal stands up well, but the majority of the side quests are uninteresting. In terms of exploration, the environment and visited locales are diverse and intriguing, yet they are a significant step backwards even when compared to Fallout 4. The new section is plain unappealing. It’s difficult to comprehend such a scenario in the year when God of War and Red Dead Redemption 2 were launched. Low-quality textures, lighting and shading issues in objects, and obsolete character animations and technical errors relating to the online game are only the beginning of the list. There are signal delays that mysteriously relocate opponents, create freezes, and even major “crunch” of the entire game on many occasions. However, it would be unjust to argue that the latest Fallout game is unquestionably horrible. This is not reflected in the number of users. The servers are modest, and we normally see approximately 20 people on the map, but we’ve never seen an empty server. The markers make it easy to locate companions for the game, and restricting PvP to mutual permission makes us far more likely to join teams and tackle more difficult sections together. The ability to target certain spots with an atomic bomb, which not only kills life but also provides additional loot and more dangerous foes in the explosion region, allows players to create their own narrative in this universe. We make our own decisions. Do we want to share shelter and hiding places with others, or do we want to make others’ lives so miserable that we transform their lovely part of the new world into a radioactive crater?
A lack of an intriguing tale can detract from the game’s enjoyment, and technical and aesthetic flaws are often unforgivable. Exploring post-apocalyptic Appalachia, on the other hand, may be entertaining – Fallout 76 is still a compelling proposal for lovers of cooperative exploration of vast environments and discovering their secrets.