JUNE 2020 PCWorld 79Capitol Wasteland. In Fallout 76 you’re just
chasing ghosts, and finding them only leads
to more ghosts.
“Post-nuclear West Virginia is filled with
terminals to read and holotapes to collect,
but none of it feels important or even
particularly interesting. They’re well-written,
and the holotapes well-acted, but it’s no
substitute for an actual conversation.”
Now just get rid of that whole section.
Wastelanders adds people to Fallout 76.
It adds a dialogue system—one themed after
Fallout 3 and New Vegas, not the ill-received
wheel from Fallout 4. It even peppers those
dialogue trees with skill checks, and while
Fallout 76’s leveling system is still an absolute
mess, I can’t tell you how excited I was the
first time a “[Strength 8+]” tag showed up in a
conversation. It’s a real roleplaying game!
Wow!certain quality-of-life improvements (i.e. a
second fast travel point) behind a paywall
does more harm to Fallout 76 than good,
especially at this stage, and given Fallout
76 ’s reputation.
BUT...IS IT GOOD?
That said, the Wastelanders expansion
makes a huge difference to Fallout 76. I
spent most of my original review
complaining how empty everything felt.
Here, let’s just recap really quick:
“There are no human NPCs in Fallout 76.
Bethesda made that clear repeatedly before
release. I still thought that left the door open
for ghoul NPCs though, but nope! Not from
what I’ve seen. And even robots aren’t really
NPCs as much as quest dispensers. They
don’t talk with you, they talk at you. There’s
no dialogue system in the game whatsoever,
and so no real opportunity for
roleplaying. You either finish
a mission or you don’t.
“Most of Fallout 76’s
quests fall flat. It’s a lot of
“Find This Item” or “Kill This
Enemy” without any of the
motivation that usually stems
from a well-written
adventure. You’re not trying
to rescue Nick Valentine to
get a lead on your son, or
accelerate the growth of a
tree-man to reforest the