Fallout 76

Bethesda takes the world of Fallout online.

Fallout 76 feels like an early access title and should have been labeled as such. The game was not ready for launch, and even hardcore Fallout fans will have a hard time ignoring its problems.

The positive strides that Wastelanders and its quests make are hindered by Fallout 76's numerous enduring issues.

Fallout 76 is a bold experiment with one of gaming's biggest and most beloved franchises. Unfortunately the experiment seems like a failure so far.

Fallout 76 is a total mess. It's filled with bugs, terrible AI and ugly graphics. Worst of all, it feels like there's a good game deep down in there, but it's limited by technical faults. Still, there's some fun to be had if you like the Fallout setting or progression.

I love Bethesda games. I’ve always embraced their janky, driving on two wheels brand of coming in hot. In fact, I could probably be considered a Bethesda apologist. You know, it’s not a big deal that the games seem like they might rattle themselves apart – just think of all the fantastic experiences you’re having and great characters you’re meeting! Fallout 76 breaks my heart. There’s a giant open world that teems with intriguing possibility… and that’s it. With each passing hour I see dozens if not hundreds of glaring red flags – why didn’t anyone stop the madness? Fallout 76 is a bad game th...

All in all, I dreaded every hour I had to keep playing Fallout 76 for review. As soon as the game was beginning to teeter on fun or interesting, a bug or a frustrating gameplay design element would quickly remind me that the game was otherwise. I'm interested to see whether Bethesda will continue to put work towards making this a somewhat enjoyable experience or if they'll just save their money for Fallout 5.

As a result, Fallout 76 feels like an atavistic reprisal of a late-2000s MMO. Worse yet, with its low server populations and absence of human NPCs, it’s as if it’s designed to feel like a dying late-2000s MMO. The whole play experience seems set up to make you feel as if you’ve arrived just after the fun is over. Indeed, the game’s opening, where you wake up having missed the start of Reclamation Day, and must trudge to the vault’s exit alone through drifts of spent confetti, couldn’t set the tone more succinctly. The party’s over before it’s even started.

While you can occasionally make your own fun in Fallout 76, this is still a game that is deeply flawed on multiple levels. While a lot of these issues can be ironed out by Bethesda in the coming months and years, there are some that are part of the game's DNA, and worryingly enough, define the entirety of the experience.

Fallout 76 is filled with intriguing ideas, set amid an appealing post-apocalyptic sprawl ripe for exploration. It’s also a mess.

Republished on Wednesday, 28th December, 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of January 2023's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows.

There are no redeeming features to be found in Fallout 76, and I’m not even sure if it can be saved. Technical issues just make what’s a boring and soulless experience at its core into something that’s simply more of an abomination. And even if you made Fallout 76 into an offline single-player experience I doubt it would set anyone’s world alight. Uninteresting mission design, borderline broken gameplay features, ugly graphics, and a whole smorgasbord of technical issues combine to make Fallout 76 one of the worst gameplay experiences I’ve had this generation, and I’ve played Super Street: The...