Fallout 4

If you're like me and have never played an RPG before, Fallout 4 is an absolute blast. Wasteland exploration, settlement micromanagement, and endless tinkering can easily stack up your playtime. I spent countless hours in the game, and even more hours thinking about it when I wasn’t. Throw around 500 mods into the mix, and you've got yourself a guaranteed good time. Then I played New Vegas. Nothing has been the same since. Nothing will ever be the same.

In short – is this game worth buying? Absolutely! For the sheer amount of content and the general price-to-content ratio. I bought the GOTY edition for around $8, and it’s worth every cent. Even at the full price of $30, there’s enough content to justify the purchase. Is it a good game? Well… there’s a good game hidden away in it, but it’s easy to lose yourself in the chaos that this game is. Fallout 4 feels like five different games mashed into one. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — it’s an ambitious project — but I don’t think it’s handled very well. It’s a sandbox open-world action RPG you can play in FPS or TPS perspective, and it’s also a post-apocalyptic survival game with elements of settlement management, base building, and even tower defense. But if you want to play a good RPG, there are far better options on the market, even within the Fallout franchise. If you want a solid FPS/TPS, this isn’t the best either. Same goes for the survival aspect. The management/building part is actually my favorite — I don’t know if it’s the best game of that type, but it’s good and very addictive. Although the idea of combining different mechanics into one complex game is solid, Bethesda (read: Todd Howard) crammed too many components into it. They could’ve made one great FPS/TPS action RPG in the style of previous Fallout games, and a separate spin-off — an open-world survival/management game. And why is it better to make two games instead of one? Because when you go for quantity, you sacrifice quality — and in this case, also stability and playability. The most important thing for me in an RPG, besides the story and mechanics, is the character leveling system — and how it applies to your progress and battles. Fallout 4 (besides Fallout 76) has the most simplistic, streamlined, and downgraded leveling system in the franchise. Every time you level up, you get one point — invest it in a SPECIAL attribute or perk, and that’s it. So unfulfilling and unsatisfying. In previous titles, you could balance attributes, skills, perks, and traits — with a finite number of points that made your character just powerful enough to get through the game, but not some OP god coasting through with zero effort. That’s the thing with combat — depending on difficulty and your skill, the game starts off kind of challenging, and later becomes an effortless, tedious slog. Enemies, like in all Bethesda games, scale to your level. But instead of combat getting smarter or more strategic, enemies just get more hit points. So one raider can take 50 headshots with a sniper rifle — right in the center of the eye — and still function like nothing happened. Sometimes, you’ll burn through thousands of rounds in a single encounter on higher difficulties. So, what’s the problem — and is there a way to fix it? The biggest problem is the head of Bethesda — the “creative force” behind modern Fallout — Todd Howard, the Megalomaniac. His way of thinking is absolutely reflected in this game. The same way he mashed every genre into one title, you can be everything and do everything in one loooooooooooooong playthrough. No need for a second. You probably won’t even finish the first because you’ll get bored, overwhelmed, or just lost in the sea of content. I finished the game at level ~90, but you can go way beyond that. There are enough perks to choose up to level 286, and you can go even higher — become Todd the God. And what could be a solution to this mess? Make a shorter game. Go for quality, not quantity. Pick a path and close off the others — not at the end of the game, but from the beginning. Make a game where choices actually matter, where your decisions shape the world and your experience. Make a game you’ll want to play again — and have a different journey the second, third, fourth time. Finite resources. Finite XP. No more level scaling. No more radiant filler quests. Make battles strategically challenging. Make enemies smart and deadly — not bullet-sponge immortals. Give us a complex but rewarding leveling system that makes every point count. STORY is decent, but not the best in the Fallout universe. In my personal opinion, Fallout 1, 2, and New Vegas are much better — both in terms of story and overall RPG quality. This one is more like Fallout 3, but with more content. Fallout 76 still takes the crown as the worst on my list — in every aspect. The lore is rich. There’s a LOT to read and listen to, but the quality ranges from brilliant to downright stupid and nonsensical. Same goes for dialogue and decisions. There are great storylines and quests — but I feel like more than 50% of the writing is just filler. VISUALLY, the game is also a mixed bag — but overall, one of the better aspects. Sometimes I’m amazed by the beauty and the sheer amount of work that went into it. Other times, it feels like they missed the tone and atmosphere Fallout is known for. One thing I really liked is the asset design — enemies, weapons, armors, clothing, clutter, etc. I know many fans would disagree, but to me, the concept art, design, and 3D renders of the Super Mutants are the best in the series. Same goes for the Deathclaws — they look better than ever. Even the Ghouls look and animate great. In general, most enemies look awesome. Human NPCs? Not so much. Some are okay, but many look like dirty, uncanny half-caricatures. Weapons, though? Amazing. Great variety and design. Same for armor and clothing. Customization might be one of the best in gaming history — especially with mods. The scenery ranges from jaw-dropping to overly cluttered or too colorful — not always fitting the post-apocalyptic tone. GAMEPLAY — already covered most of it. It's a confusing mess, but very addictive. For me, the loop was always the same: Leave the settlement → explore → collect → find new locations → do a few quests → get overloaded → go back → build → upgrade gear → cook → repeat. Leveling is underwhelming, but you still have to plan your build early, especially on higher difficulties or in survival mode. MODS – Absolutely essential! I wouldn’t even touch this game without mods (same goes for any Bethesda game). It’s not easy — it takes time, some knowledge, and carries risks. If you don’t know what you're doing, you can break the game easily. But if you do it right, you can shape the game into something you want to play. Focus on the parts you enjoy and make them near-perfect. Make it more stable, smoother, better looking, more focused — whatever you want. There are around 70,000 mods online. Do yourself a favor — learn the basics, watch a few tutorials, and experience the best version of this game. 7.5 / 10

Next Gen patch literally bricked the game for me. I can't even launch it unmodded anymore.

id love to actually play this game again but after reinstalling recently i cannot launch the game by any means, ive uninstalled all mods, ive verified the game files 3 times, ive updated my drivers and still nothing, and non of the bullshit on the bethesda help site makes any difference.

Mid game not a good fallout(terrible plot) weapon and armor mods are cool tho

For those looking to try Fallout, it's a true wasteland survival experience with a great story, great side quests, and a game where you can still do something once you've finished the game.

A revisited second playthrough review years after an original playthrough: After a while, you just get fed up and uninstall a game for inconsistent hanging and unending load times, game breaking bugs, map indicators that indicate nothing, quests that don't trigger events forcing you to reload and repeat an hour of game play at a time, using the console to work around broken scripts, plot holes you could built an entire game in, unending procedurally generated quests that are all the same again and again, and random crashes to desktop that make you repeat segments of the game. There's a lot of slop in this mountain of garbage that Bethesda bulldozed together, and it's all different variations on the same flavor of moldy pizza, curdled milk, soggy chips, and MSG. You can taste what's supposed to be there, or what was there (from previous games), but once you've had a few rancid servings, there's no reason to keep eating the mountain of trash that is Fallout 4.

[h1]Still can't understand the praise for this game[/h1] I really gave Fallout 4 a fair shot. Multiple times. I wanted to like it, thought maybe I was missing something—but every session left me more frustrated than entertained. At this point, I genuinely believe a lot of the praise comes from nostalgia, they don't enjoy the game but just live of nostalgia fumes from Skyrim & New Vegas. I fail to see how anyone else could find this a good expierence if you look at it in a vaccum. [hr][/hr] [h2][b]Pros:[/b][/h2] [b]+[/b] The World & Level design/setting are visually strong Cool vista's , locations and propaganda etc. [b]+[/b] The worldbuilding has potential as a foundation [hr][/hr] [h2][b]Cons:[/b][/h2] [b]–[/b] Shallow roleplaying systems; choices feel meaningless and tacked on [b]–[/b] Braindead AI—combat often feels broken or pointless and like a waste of time [b]–[/b] Characters are completely forgettable, and a lot of the VO made me want to tab out and leave. [b]–[/b] Two separate quest-breaking bugs in my first 5 hours ( 1 of which was a main quest!!!) [b]–[/b] The world feels more like a [i]Fallout-themed Disney park[/i] than a living, breathing setting [hr][/hr] [h2][b]Bottom line:[/b][/h2] [b]Fallout 4[/b] is a shallow, theme park version of what the series used to be. Imo this game is completly overhyped becasue it's a bethesda property. If you're looking for meaningful choices, compelling characters, or immersive roleplay—look elsewhere.

When I first stepped into the world of Fallout 4, I did not step lightly. The earth had been scorched, the skies forever dimmed, and the echoes of the old world still clung to the bones of broken cities. I had just lost all that was dear: [spoiler]my home, my love, and the child I swore to protect. In a single breath, the warmth of the past was turned to cold memory.[/spoiler] And yet… I emerged. From the metal womb of Vault 111, into a world reborn in ruin. The surface was not what it once was — no, it was something else entirely. Alive. Chaotic. Honest. Every step forward was a test. Sometimes, I survived with only my fists and will. Sometimes with a pipe pistol held together by rust and desperation. Other times, it was not my strength, but my words — a calm voice, a raised brow, a subtle gesture that allowed me to walk away from a boiling conflict unscathed. In this world, a sharp tongue is often deadlier than a sharp blade. The people? Oh, they are many and varied. Some cling to ideals like rust clings to steel: zealots who pray to atomic gods, raiders who laugh at the sun, scientists who twist the fabric of life in laboratories forgotten by time. And yet, some are simply lost: scavengers, builders, wanderers… like me. All seeking purpose in the post-apocalyptic dust. [h1] Fallout 4 does not offer a paradise. It offers potential. [/h1] You may choose to be a savior, a tyrant, a diplomat, or merely a tired soul gathering scrap to build a single, sturdy wall in a world where nothing stands for long. You can rebuild towns. You can ignite wars. You can even dress your dog in goggles and call it destiny. Yes, it is a dark world. Yes, it reminds us painfully of what happens when greed outpaces wisdom. But in that desolation, there is also room for laughter, for stories by the campfire, for sarcastic robots and teddy bears holding cigars. It is a world as absurd as it is tragic. Perhaps that is the lesson hidden in all the rubble: Even after the bombs fall, even when all is lost there is still something worth fighting for. And sometimes, something worth smiling about.

just short of 4000 hours played via Steam (and 2000+ hours on my original CD, long since lost to a flood), and this is one game that I will keep coming back to, again and again. Even after 9+ years, there are still things that surprise me. (Also, beware the Red Death! Save it for the post-game, when you've maxed out your weapons! And NEVER go "melee build" against it!)

Fallout 4 is a game of great scale and impressive worldbuilding. It has an exceptional amount of content, and the early sense of exploring the wasteland is thrilling . Unfortunately, it turns out to be a massive letdown. Here are four reasons why!   1. The UI is poor. Endlessly scrolling through the Misc section of your inventory to find the latest note or disc which you picked up is infuriating. The lack of any sort of indication of the locations of your companions is a glaring omission, especially given how prone they are to lag behind or disappear altogether (I had to use console commands to retrieve Dogmeat at one point).   2. It’s not a good RPG. You are rarely given compelling choices, and most of those are crude binary options. Skillchecks are limited to dialogue, based on RNG and are easily maxed out regardless of your character build due to the levelling system. I never felt like I was playing *my* character. I completed New Vegas six times just to try different character builds and choices. Once is enough for this game.   3. The writing is bland and forgettable for the most part. Nothing about this game made me care about the people, factions or places it depicts. It was hard to choose between factions not because each had strong merits, but because I disliked them all. As the story funnelled me into wiping out person after person, I realised that I didn't care about the named characters any more than the countless faceless enemies who I'd wiped out in the wasteland. It all felt so meaningless.   4. It’s packed full of busywork. Settlement building is utterly pointless and inconsequential; it doesn’t matter if my settlers have no food or beds. Radiant and miscellaneous quests just act as tedious busywork to fill out the playing time. If a fraction of the time spent on this was spent on the UI, the game would be a better experience.

dlcs are ass factions are ass gameplay is ass worse than new vegas which is surprising because new vegas was made in 8 months maybe focus less on patch notes every 2 weeks and more on outsourcing your games to obsidian again bullshit game company

Next Gen patch absolutely bricked all my mods, I even tried uninstalling the game, deleting EVERYTHING fallout 4 related, re-downloading the game, and playing it 100% unmodified. To my surprise, a bone stock install with a fresh "new game play through" still failed! As soon as I would get close to the small bridge that goes over the creek at the start of the game it would crash to desktop. I had to do some Google searching to find out that the next gen update borked this game so bad that now even to play the vanilla I had to turn off "weapons debris". My system is a 3080ti and a 12700k just in case you think I'm complaining about the game while trying to run it on a potato. I used to love this games, mods made it so much fun, and to top it all off I paid for a bunch of DLC just months before the next gen update hit breaking everything for me. I haven't even had a chance to use my DLC content I purchased. I wasted my money on DLC I cant use because I'm not playing this game vanilla and as someone with a full time job and a life I don't have time to go through all the mods that work and the ones that don't. So I may be retiring from this game now entirely, I do not recommend this game until they fix the update that broke so much.

The next gen update made the game unplayable. Lower my FPS so much it became a turn base RPG.

As long as you mod the game its great! its a lot of fun! but get good with modding. otherwise its unplayable.

I know it may be sacrilege, but I played this Fallout game first, and its really the only one I like. It makes me feel S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

Next-Gen updates completely bricked my game. Can't get past the title screen no matter what.

The plot is great. Side-quests are fun and engaging. The companions you meet throughout the game are also well written as characters. The game let's you explore so much and each time you star playing again, there are still more places, things, and people to discover.

Amazing game really fun if there was a amount of stars i could rate it would be a 4/5 because the dlcs are too expensive

i love this game the husband is really hot and if you play as the woman she is also hot aswell life is good damn hes hot.

The game has the crappiest bugs ever. Playing in Survival, so no saves or anything. I am okay with it, but anytime you get near a bed to save the game likes to either crash or hang up its pants to dry and go to sleep. Paid for it so forcing myself to play. Do not waste money on it. If it's free, enjoy yourself.

maybe not as deep as other Fallout games but still amazing fun and super camp and quirky. world is amazing fun to explore and gunplay is the best in the series.

The game all around is okay, definitely not the best Fallout... by quite a bit. The only reason I've bought, "playing" and would recommend this game is for the mods, Fallout London and the upcoming New Vegas FO4 mod. Not currently willing to play through the base game once more. To sum it up, I've bought Fallout 4 to play the British simulator mod and experience what it is like living as a British man.

I don't want to set the world on fire I just want to start A flame in your heart Gud gameplay, gud explosions, I should start looking for my son...

This game is the definition of overhated, it is so hard to NOT have fun in this game. Want to just shoot people? Games got you covered, want to build a utopia for the people of the commonwealth? Games got you covered aswell. The only thing this game is lacking is its somewhat linear story but other than that you will have a blast playing this game. Don't let other people sway you from playing this game!

“War, war never changes..." Coming in without playing Fallout 3 or New Vegas, I didn’t have a lot of expectations about what a Fallout game “should” be, and maybe that’s why the story and dialogue worked for me. I really enjoyed the narrative, the whole emotional arc of searching for your son, the factions, and the way your choices shape the world. Some people say the dialogue is too simple, but I liked it. It kept the pacing smooth and helped me stay in the moment. What I loved: Story and characters actually hit hard for me. Nick Valentine, Piper, even the Brotherhood’s drama, it all pulled me in. Combat is solid, which is something you can’t always say about Bethesda games. Shooting feels satisfying, especially when you’ve modded your weapons into ridiculous death machines. Crafting and settlement building, totally unexpected time sink. I thought I wouldn’t care, but I got sucked into creating elaborate fortresses for settlers who barely thank me. Exploration feels rewarding. I love how every corner of the map has some weird side story or hidden item. A few downsides: Some quests can feel repetitive, and yes, Preston will remind you about another settlement needing help every 10 minutes. Visually, the game is starting to show its age, though modding can work wonders. About the hate: I know this game caught a lot of heat from longtime fans. Some saying it was dumbed down, too action focused, not RPG enough. But as someone who didn’t play the earlier games, I didn’t feel any of that. I just found a world I enjoyed being in. Maybe it’s not the deepest RPG ever made, but it’s immersive, it’s packed with content, and it’s a hell of a good time. Platinum hunting: I was aiming for the platinum but then I realized some of the achievements are tied to DLC. That’s pretty frustrating. Locking the 100% behind a paywall feels like a cheap move, and it killed some of my motivation. Still might get the DLC someday, though. Very fun and enjoyable game. 9.5/10

I played this game on my ps4 and after thar on my ps5 and got the platinum trophy.I was very pleased with the storyline bethesda coocked up. I strongly recommend.

this game isnt a rpg its more of a open world looter that has missions sprinkled about. the factions arent that good at but other than that it helped me pass time while i was wating for my wife to be done with fred in the bedroom.

Probably the best Fallout series game. Excellent story as main quest, Multiple side quests and you you want base build and management. DLCs are also a plus and with the multiple mods the fun never ends.

One of my favourite games of ALL TIME, i love collecting power armour and legendary items. Just moved from console to pc and I am amazed at all the mods i now have access to 10/10 must play game

Worst lore and dialogue of the franchise, but the gameplay is awesome. Some DLC are worth it, specially the robots one....

You know what you are getting into. Buy it on sale for less than $20 and then go install 50 mods. Also treat yourself and cheat in 500 ceramic, copper, adhesive, and aluminium.

While not having the most complex story of a fallout game, it is certainly the most engaging in terms of gameplay, not to mention that I feel as if the game is overhated. It's not really as much of an rpg as other fallout games, but it's the most fun while you're playing it

Next gen update ruined the game without mods. Load times can and will take 5min+.

I love skyrim and fallout 4, but i prefer the combat and setting of fallout.... apocalypse now, then, and forevermore....

Next gen update obliterated this game. Used to be something I didnt care about but now that I have like, a life, and a job, and actual things to do, I cant spend two straight weeks rebuilding my 498 mod setup. Obviously no sane person plays this game vanilla it wouldn't be as popular as it is if there wasnt for mods and bethesda seems to love fucking mod users on a yearly basis.

I want to experience this game for what it is, but the next gen update with the dialogue box at the title screen will not allow me to play the game or use my controller or kb&m if anyone sees this and has a fix let me know

The game constantly crashes, usually after you've completed something and haven't saved for a few minutes. I've tried all the fixes, recommendations, and non-working mystery cures. I've uninstalled, deleted folders and files, reinstalled and it still crashes all the time.

needs mods to make it playable. cant even get past the introduction without crashing

Broken game. Broken Mod support. Broken everything. Not even worth getting at $25 AUD. This game used to be bearable before the next gen update. Just go buy Skyrim for the 100th time or something, they've made it clear what game they love more.

10 years later this game is still full of bugs and glitches that breaks the game. Bethesda instead invested their energy and money on high res pack that breaks the game even more while keeping the game looking the same while burning your cpu and gpu instead of fixing their game. Buy only if this is heavily discounted.

This game is one of my all time favorites. I have played several playthroughs on ps4 and pc. Never get tired of it. Settlement building was a genius idea.

Great game. Lots to explore. Love having the dog as a companion.

It had or have problems but it was truly goated game and I didn't realise this fact 'til I was rethinking experiences with games that released after 2020. had wonderful 550 hrs of playtime with this on my other acc.

i watched my wife die i wake up fridge and exit bunker meet robot befriend robot meet dog protec dog i love dog game good

Never really much liked Bethesda games but a few years back (~2022) I had played this Fallout on Playstation but at one point in the game this entire part of the map just got glitched and I couldn't enter it. I lost too much progress so I gave up interest. Picked it up again and glad I did. It's a very immersive world, and killing raiders is satisfying. I played without mods, but I'd at least recommend the ones that decrease load times. I would have probably played with a few more had I known.

Great game, revisiting in 2024-25, played it on xbox originally runs like a dream on PC 10/10

probably the best fallout game for modding. to fix the performance and bugs, aswell as tweaking the overall gameplay, please use The Midnight Ride below: https://themidnightride.moddinglinked.com/intro.html there is ZERO reason to not be using this as a starting guide to fallout 4 modding. it's super simple to follow unless you have some physical problems within you.

Fallout 4 is a game that I have owned since launch on console, and it remains a constant staple of games I come back to. Does it have bugs? Yes. Does its age show? Yes. However, none of it matters when Diamond City Radio starts singing, I'm the wanderer and Im out to see this world. You can catch this game and all its DLC on any of the seasonal sales for about the price of a tacobell meal, so Why not?

It runs like a potato, at least on my pc, but it is a great game. its also my first fallout game ever, so thats cool. 9/10 would reccommend.