The launch of Fallout 76 was nothing short of a disaster. Glitches, a price drop, server issues, canvas bags becoming nylon bags, and glass bottles actually being plastic bottles contributed to what can only be considered as the worst launch of a triple A game in 2018. Perhaps even more egregious, in an interview with IGN on their show Unfiltered, Todd Howard, director and executive producer at Bethesda, admitted that they knew Fallout 76 was not ready to be released.
“We knew we were gonna have a lot bumps…. This is not gonna be a high Metacritic game. This is not what this is.” -Todd Howard
The quote is brazen in its approach, though refreshing for the honesty on display and moronic for the same reason. In a world filled with carefully curated public relations statements, Howard took a very different approach. Many surmised that he must have an ace up his sleeve to be speaking so candidly. With that in mind the Bethesda presentation at E3 would establish if he was crazy like a fox or just crazy.
On Sunday, Bethesda showed the world what they had been working on. The less impressive offering in my opinion is the “Nuclear Winter” add-on, their take on battle royale, a genre that Epic Games’ Fortnite seems to have a stranglehold on. The idea is that 52 players will fight for the right to be overseer of Vault 51. In universe this actually fits in well with the experiments being conducted at the various vaults, however the Fallout franchise has never been known for its fluid and engaging shooting mechanics. Unless they’ve tapped developers from id to help with this game mode I remain skeptical.
(Courtesy of Bethesda)
The more exciting addition is known as “Wastelanders” and will launch in the fall. The DLC features human NPCs - a fundamental part of the Bethesda RPG experience missing from the base game. It will feature a full storyline and bring 76 closer to what players wanted in the first place.
(Courtesy of Bethesda)
If Bethesda can offer a fun and entertaining post-apocalypse adventure similar to Fallout 3, New Vegas, and 4 we could see a comeback unlike any other. The question remains, however: is this too little too late for a game that left a bad taste in the mouths of fans upon launch, or will these diehards be willing to give the developers the benefit of the doubt and return? Perhaps more importantly, will this new content be enough to attract new players? Only time will tell, but for now I’m cautiously optimistic.
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