Five Years Later: 10 Things You Learn Replaying Fallout 4
Fallout 4 recently turned five! From crafting to The Commonwealth, how does it hold up?
It's safe to say the Fallout franchise isn't in the best of places right now.
Fallout 76 was a disaster. It took one of the best ideas for a game - an online Fallout world for you to explore with friends - and buried it under buggy gameplay, a weak excuse for a campaign and a lifeless world. And that's without even mentioning the various controversies Bethesda managed to drag themselves into over things such as misleading collector's editions and premium online passes.
However, with all of the hysteria that came with Fallout 76, it's easy to forget how excited people had been for Fallout 4 just a few years earlier.
Taking the bold move (for the time) of announcing their next big release just months before its release, Todd Howard stood on the E3 2015 stage and proceeded to blow the expectations of everyone away as he unveiled Bethesda's first game since Skyrim hit the scene in 2011.
Upon launch, the game was widely praised by critics and sold extremely well. However, it was met with mixed reviews from fans of the series. While it may have been partially due to the immense level of hype Bethesda managed to create, it seems worth going back to Fallout 4 now and examining its successes and shortcomings to see whether the criticism levelled at it were justified.
10. The Visuals Hold Up Better Than Many Think
While it's no Red Dead Redemption 2 in the graphics department, Fallout 4 still holds up better than many give it credit for.
When the world isn't bugging out and textures aren't popping in, Fallout 4's world is excellent to look at. Part of the reason games such as Fallout 3 haven't aged as well compared to other games from the 360/PS3 generation is that their moody colour palette makes them appear dull by modern comparisons.
However Fallout 4 has a much brighter aesthetic compared to its predecessor, and the game looks all the better for it. When the sun is shining down on The Commonwealth, you can't help but gaze around and take the glory of the world in.
Yes, some of the textures look a little bit murky when compared to other games this generation. Yes, it is a tad concerning that Bethesda plan to use the same Creation Engine from Fallout 4 for both Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI. However at its best, Fallout 4 is still a solid looking game that doesn't get the praise for its graphics that it perhaps should.