With the BETA nearly over (today is the last day!) and the full release of Fallout 76 next week, we wanted to share our impressions of the game in its current state and what we hope to see improved by November 14th.
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All of the clips in this article are from the CDkeys’ Twitch channel. We stream at 6pm PST almost every day; and if you can’t be there for the live show, you can watch our recent streams in the “videos” tab. In addition to Fallout 76 we’ve been playing Red Dead Redemption 2 and Soulcalibur 6 recently– and you can expect more streams of all the top new releases!
Post-Apocalyptic Appalachia
What we loved:
- The map in Fallout 76 is huge (4 times bigger than Fallout 4); it’s interesting, and it’s atmospheric. It’s filled with post-apocalyptic West-Virginian landmarks which really add to the overall aesthetic of the Fallout series.
- During the day, when all the lighting effects are at their peak performance, the landscape looks really gorgeous.
- Even though Fallout 76 is a multiplayer game, there are many moments when the open world feels really empty and lonely. At times, Bethesda absolutely nails the premise of the game; it really feels like you (and your fellow newly released Vault-mates) are truly the only human survivors around.
What we hope to see fixed by the 14th:
- Lens flare, motion blur, depth of field, and other effects can be a bit much sometimes, and there aren’t enough display options to customize these settings.
Combat and Enemies
What we loved:
- The combat in Fallout 76 feels tighter and more visceral than any other Bethesda RPG.
- Melee combat especially is a lot of fun, and the creative weapon choices really feel unique!
- So many new weapons have been added, including deadly new legendaries.
- Mutated monsters abound in Fallout 76, many of them originating from American folklore.
What we hope to see fixed by the 14th:
- It would be helpful if throwable weapons had an arc or some other kind of visual guideline to judge where they’ll land.
Leveling-Up and Stat Building
What we loved:
- The new Perk Cards system works really well. You earn certain bonus skills each time you level up, and the best thing about them is that you can swap them out at any time! Need to pick a lock? Equip your lockpick Card. Need to smash a feral ghoul’s face with a golf club, equip your melee bonus perk.
What we hope to see fixed by the 14th:
- When you level up, you also choose a permanent point to add to one of your stat categories. The way this process is laid out is a bit confusing, and you could accidentally place the point in the wrong category if you’re not careful.
- Some Perks seem far better than others.
Questing and Crafting
What we loved:
- It’s really a lot like Fallout 4… but better. Same workbench idea, same breaking down junk into spare parts. But in Fallout 76, this cycle of scavaging, scrapping, building, and repairing is much more streamlined and balanced. So the whole process feels a lot less tedious than Fallout 4.
What we hope to see fixed by the 14th:
- The weight limit of your “Stash Box” (a personalized chest that only your player can access) needs to be larger! Currently, it’s set at a 400lb limit. It would be great if the Stash Box in Fallout 76 was unlimited like an Ender Chest in Minecraft.
No Human NPCs – Holotapes Instead
What we loved:
- Instead of having a back-and-forth conversation with an NPC like you would in Fallout 4, in 76 you listen to audio logs. While you explore an abandoned home, you can listen to the stories of the inhabitants who once lived there. While you trek across Appalachia to your next waypoint, you can listen to the backstory of your quest objective. The new reliance on “holotapes” to move the narrative provides a new layer of atmosphere that Fallout 4 didn’t quite have.
What we hope to see fixed by the 14th:
- Sometimes the holotapes can accidentally cut off before you’re done listening when you engage in certain in-game actions. They then end up in a jumbled list in your inventory, and it’s hard to tell which ones you’ve listened to.
New Multiplayer Features
What we loved:
- Exploring post-apocalyptic Appalachia with your friends is just as much fun as Bethesda promised it would be.
- Group members can be scattered across the map and still quest together– not to mention share XP, fast travel to each other, and voice chat.
What we hope to see fixed by the 14th:
- It would be great if there was text-based chat as well as voice chat. This exists in Bethesda’s other big MMO (Elder Scrolls Online), so the technology is there.
Bugs
As with any game that’s not quite finished, there are a number of bugs that need squashing in Fallout 76– some of them bigger than others. However, helping developers find these bugs is the whole point of a beta. We’re looking forward to the final release of Fallout 76 because we’ve been having a lot of fun with the game so far, and all the bugs we’ve noticed (including the ones above) are all really fixable. We’ll see you out there in West Virginia on November 14th!
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