Fallout 76 Review

Fallout 76 is the online prequel where every surviving human is a real person (player). Working together, or not, to survive. Twenty five years after the bombs fell, you and your fellow vault dwellers emerge into post-nuclear America.

As a re-imagining of Fallout 4 with a multiplayer approach, Fallout 76 plays very similarly with Fallout 4. In fact, you will see that there are more similarities than differences, so you can read in full about the gameplay on Fallout 4 Review. Let's highlight the two biggest changes: A first person shooter like any other game, the the first big difference here will be the real time VATS system. Whereas in Fallout 4 time would slow to a crawl, in Fallout 76 you get no time bending abilities. Everything happens in real time, all the enemies will keep shooting and swinging at you. Equipped with the appropriate perk, you can target different areas of the body and use those critical shots for some really critical moments. Believe us, starting a fight with a critical head shot is a sure way to survive!

Food and mutation effects.

The second biggest difference will be the "light survival" aspect of the game. You have hunger, thirst and deceases that you have to manage. They are a soft reminder that you are still human and surviving requires nutrition and care. In the starting area of the game you will find plenty of water and food laying around. As you dive deeper in more dangerous territories you will feel the lack of resources when your hunger/thirst bars start hitting red and you've got nothing to consume. For the decease part, being bitten by wild animals, or even swimming in waste water carry a chance of contracting some sort of condition that will debilitate you. Your choice of just waiting until your body naturally heals from it or, like most things in America, popping up a pill will make you good to go.

Strength Perk Card

Speaking of survival, the progression system for Fallout 76 is still based on the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. status. This time, from level 1 to level 50, you will get one point that you can distribute in any attribute up to the cap of 15. And on every level up, which is infinite, you will get to choose a perk card. You can equip as many perk cards as you can afford based on your S.P.E.C.I.A.L.'s. Having 15 points in Strength allows you to allocate 15 points worth of Perk Cards into strength. If you have only 1 Charisma, don't expect to be the wasteland most eloquent survivor. As in previous Fallout games, perks will range from giving you plain damage bonuses to special and/or convenient abilities. For example, reducing the weight of certain kind of weapons, allowing you to breath underwater or even to prevent mutations (more on this soon). Of special attention is Charisma, as it is the one attribute related to social play. Under the Charisma tree you will find many perks that work towards others, like "Team Medic", which will heal your team mates for some of the health you heal yourself.

Full Build.

Another interesting addition are the mutations. Receive enough radiation and you might find yourself developing some sort of "super power". These are mostly small changes that gives you an advantage somewhere, while costing you a disadvantage somewhere else. One of our favorites is the "Marsupial Mutation", where you get 20 pounds increased carry weight and your actual jump height triples, at the cost of 4 points of intelligence.

Weapon scrapping for material and mods.

To wrap things up, in Fallout 4 we had the CAP system serving as an easy way to transform unwanted loot into resources that you lacked, while the scrap/junk system was more oriented to building. In Fallout 76 we have the inversion: CAPS are much harder to come by and now weapons and armor have durability. Once they break you will require materials to repair them. Materials are also needed to modify equipment and to build your CAMP (a mobile version of a settlement, which we could make a whole post about). This way gathering junk from the wasteland is an essential part of keeping up your gear in top condition while vendors have very limited supply of wares and CAPS. And in order to learn how to modify your equipment you will have to disassemble similar gear. In order to learn how to make something, be it a weapon, armor or a construction you will have to find the plans for it. Nothing comes free in the wasteland... Except radiation, that's free.

One of our favorite pictures!

Fallout 76 plays very similarly with Fallout 4, but the multiplayer aspect brought changes and challenges that make for quite a different experience other than gun play. The map itself is gigantic, offering a level of detail and allowing for a much more pronounced change of environment. The material system is now properly integrated to the main loop of the game while the currency takes a step back. The light survival aspect is a great addition to spice things up while making for interesting opportunities of character builds. The camera mode allows for some great pictures and the lengthy quests can keep you entertained for a while. Unlike most online games though, it can still be fully played and enjoyed solo. While we keep a positive light, there is a lot that can improve and we are looking forward to what Bethesda has cooking up for us!
This became a much longer review than we intended, even only touching upon many aspects of the game. Thank you for reading this far!

May the wasteland provide all you need, Vault-Dweller!