Amazon’s Fallout TV show is breathing new life into the series, but is Bethesda’s Fallout 76 worth playing in 2024?
Fallout 76 is the elephant in the room for most Bethesda fans. Its overly hyped reveal and extremely disappointing launch resulted in memes galore featuring many jokes at the game’s expense. At launch, Fallout 76 had an array of problems. It had a questionable implementation of microtransactions, terrible performance, and no NPCs. It was a massive deal in 2018, tarnishing Bethesda’s (and Todd Howard’s) previously glowing reputation. Bethesda Game Studios has since worked tirelessly to fix many of the problems while implementing a bunch of new content since its release six years ago. Does all of that TLC and new content make the game worth playing in 2024?
Is Fallout 76 Worth It Now?
No, Fallout 76 is not worth picking up and playing in 2024, especially not at full price. While not extremely terrible, we don’t consider Fallout 76 worth your time and money unless you can pick up the game for free or at a reduced cost. We also don’t recommend playing the game solo, as you will have a far better experience playing with friends. To be clear, Fallout 76 is not a terrible game, but it is significantly worse than previous Fallout games in many areas. This is despite the slew of updates and fixes implemented since 2018. If you want to play a Fallout game, we recommend playing Fallout 3 or 4.
Thankfully, the onboarding experience for Fallout 76 has been streamlined, allowing new players to skip straight to level 20 in a class of their choice. However, the game’s systems are a little obtuse, leaving newer players frustrated in the early portions of the game. Despite this, Fallout 76’s map is a joy to explore. It does a great job of depicting a post-apocalyptic radioactive wasteland that fans have come to expect. The best way to explore this vast map is with a friend by your side. Playing in online co-op is where Fallout 76 shines, as it can be great fun to fight and loot your way across the wasteland with a buddy.
Fallout 76 Is Still Not Very Good
When playing solo, Fallout 76 really begins to show its ugly side. Its biggest misstep is undoubtedly its disappointing sense of exploration, especially when compared with previous games in the series. Even though it contains a huge map full of markers and things to do, there isn’t too much incentive to physically head out there and explore it. The world feels lifeless, but not in the way you would want.
There are now NPCs wandering about, but they offer little substance. Despite improvements to the game’s NPC system (can you believe there were no human NPCs at launch?), the world still feels incredibly empty and devoid of life. The quests don’t fare any better and usually revolve around fighting hordes of enemies without much incentive to do so. The game has a decent amount of interesting lore, but you must sift through text files at various terminals dotted around the map, which can be a chore.
Fallout 4’s base-building mechanic returns to 76 and is perhaps one of the most satisfying aspects of the game. You can even discover some incredible bases made by other players, which can help contribute to a broader sense of community. However, as with most other aspects of 76, everything even remotely good about the game is also in Fallout 4. For example, the beloved VATS system is far better in Fallout 4. In Fallout 76, you can’t slow time when using VATS, as it is an online game. It basically ruins the system and makes its lackluster combat feel far worse than it should.
If you want your Fallout fix, we don’t recommend picking up Fallout 76 in 2024. You’d fare far better with Fallout 3, New Vegas, or Fallout 4, as the narrative and exploration in these games are far superior to anything you’ll find in Fallout 76. It’s still worth a try for free or at a reduced price, but we recommend you play these games first. Do you agree with us about Fallout 76? Let us know below! For everything else on the game, be sure to head to our Guide Hub.