For the longest time,Fallout 76was the butt of many gamers' jokes. The multiplayer game lacked the cohesive narrative of its RPG-based predecessors. Bethesda’s attempts to support the game also faltered, asnew updates would cause new glitches.However, the game’s latestWastelandersexpansion attempted to restore some goodwill - and it seems to have succeeded.
WastelandershasbroughtFallout 76to the series' roots by introducing NPCs and a storyline. With these additions, Bethesda has been able to introduce some classicFalloutelements to the latest game’s open world, like dialogue options and factions. Sincethe update was released,Fallout 76’s negative reviews have been gradually replaced with brighter reviews from fans.
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After sitting at “Mostly Negative” or “Mixed” for a year and a half,Fallout 76now has a “Mostly Positive” score on its Steam page. While the game has several negative reviews that were posted afterWastelanderswas released, many players have re-evaluated the game or left positive reviews after giving the game another try. One review claimed that the update should have been what Bethesda “actually released” at launch. Another player who used a five-star system in their initial Steam review, raised the game’s original one-star rating to three stars.
This positivity has also spread to social media. Evenhighly criticalFalloutsubredditshave chimed in and admitted thatWastelandersaddressed many of their problems withFallout 76.Although Bethesda executive Pete Hines has said that “content generation is [not] the answer” toFallout 76’s problems, it’s clear that the open-world multiplayer had strayed too far from the core gameplay of previous, story-basedFalloutgames. Although generating an ongoing storyline might be unsustainable, it’s clear thatFallout’s community will need time to adjust if Bethesda is insistent on taking its focus away from a narrative campaign.
Until Bethesda has more content to offerFallout 76players, diehard fans will have plenty of storylines and mysteries to unravel in-game. From theMysterious Cave’s codeto talking to every new NPC,Wastelanders’massive reforms show that Bethesda is listening to player feedback, and is dedicated to continually improvingFallout 76.Hopefully, the game’s future updates will continue to build on the foundation that this overhaul has established.
Fallout 76is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
