JUNE 2020 PCWorld 81areas, allowing factions
to take them over or
adding new story lines.
How many of these will I
miss simply because I
already “explored” the
locations though? I’m
not sure.
Certain parts of the
map have been purged
of location markers, so
there are clearly new
adventures to be discovered, but even then I
feel like I’m missing part of the experience by
fast-traveling around West Virginia at will,
hauling thousands of rounds of ammo and
being generally overleveled for everything I’ve
encountered in Wastelanders’ early hours.
Most of it doesn’t scale to your level—and the
parts that do usually take me by surprise, one
minute pitting me against Level 4 molerats and
the next against a Level 23 deathclaw.
BOTTOM LINE
Nevertheless, I’m having a surprising amount
of fun with Wastelanders. This is precisely the
pivot I hoped Bethesda would make—and
one I feared they couldn’t (or wouldn’t).
I’m not sure it has the staying power with
me that it does with others. I’ll probably play
through the story and then dip out until the
next major expansion. That alone is more than I
expected though. Going into Wastelanders
this week, it was make-or-break. Maaaaaybe it
could win me over, I thought, but it seemed far
more likely I’d spend two or three hours back
in Fallout 76 and then remember why I’d left.
Credit to Bethesda though. They hammered
and hammered and hammered and finally
forged Fallout 76 into not only a better game,
but one that deserves a second chance—from
me, from you, and from all the naysayers.Fallout 76: Wastelanders
PROS- Dialogue trees in the Fallout 3/New Vegas style.
- Fallout 76’s best locations are improved even more
by their new human denizens.
CONS - Returning players get a lesser experience
compared to newcomers. - So. Much. Monetization.
BOTTOM LINE
It’s still not as good as a proper offline Fallout sequel,
but Fallout 76’s Wastelanders expansion injects
some much-needed personality into post-apocalyp-
tic West Virginia. If you haven’t been back since
release, give it a second look.
$39