The latest and largest expansion for Fallout 76 has arrived with Wastelanders and it brings an abundance of improvements and new content to the game. With a massive install of over 35GB this updated is larger than many games and the amount of new content it features is impressive.
New locales, missions, weapons, and characters are introduced to the game as well as several improvements which greatly improves the game in most phases.
Two new factions, The Raiders and Settlers are introduced and through a series of missions and optional side quests they offer; players will be able to decide which faction they wish to align with before they embark on the final main mission for the game.
The new factions offer very detailed bases which not only give players ample exploration space but also more opportunities to use the classic dialogue trees which allows players to select their responses and actions and also affects their reputation and how various characters respond. Aggressive responses are likely to start a fight or make people wary of you while more balanced and helpful responses will increase your standing with them.
There are all sorts of new Legendary creatures and weapons and players will be able to earn special currency to purchase new Legendary items.
Crafting is still a huge part of the game as being able to make and fix weapons, food, armor, and ammunition is vital to surviving the Wastelands.
There are also several other missions such as the introduction of a new bar whose owner will have several missions for you as well as a murky past.
Players can now get an Ally who will help them out and go on various missions. One is an Astronaut who depending on choices you make can become a romantic interest and adds a bit more depth to the overall game and a nice break between the battles and travel over the vast gaming area.
Fallout 76 had more than a few issues at launch and has endured much criticism from the gaming community as a result. The developers have continued to put out new content and fixes for the game and with the arrival of the free Wastelanders update; the game is shaping up more and more to what players had hoped it would be.
Being able to play solo or with other players allows for versatility and I actually saw a server wait que for the first time which shows that more people are coming in to try the game. Players must have the base game in order to play Wastelanders but it can be found under $20.00 and since the game does not really have an end; is ideal for people with time to play. Having completed the new main quests; I still have countless options such as doing side quests, taking on a cult, launching a Nuke, hunting creatures, and taking on a mysterious cult as just a few of the many remaining options available to me.
I really enjoyed this new update as I became immersed into the new missions and storylines and found myself looking forward to playing each day. I did many quests on my own and had friends join in when I needed more firepower on a quest, crafting help, or general company.
There are still various glitches that arise and I found a few in character animations such as odd twitching and players clipping into objects. Considering the update was completed while the team was working remotely and arrived only one week after the planned launch is impressive and helped me overlook the issues as I really enjoyed the new missions, locales, and updates as it was almost an entirely new game in various aspects and more in line with what we expected at launch.
Wastelanders is a very impressive step forward for the game and hopefully more fantastic content like this will be coming in the future.
4 stars out of 5.
