I woke up to the sound of the Supervisor's voice on the intercom of the vault. "Good morning, Bóveda 76". It was the Day of Reclamation. It was time to open the vault and embark on the mission to rebuild America. Taking my Pip-Boy, I slowly made my way to the entrance with my vault companions. We opened the door of the vault and, one by one, we left the world eerily quiet and apparently empty. Then we look to find the only person who could help us understand the way forward: the Supervisor. Everything that stood in our way was a huge wasteland full of radiation, mutant monsters and other bloodthirsty humans.
It sounds like an explosion.
During the Bethesda event at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, we had the opportunity to preview Fallout 76 . We tested a version of the game that we are told is close to what players can expect with the next B.E.T.A. What we played was not perfect, but it was certainly entertaining. We left with the hope that the first game of Fallout totally online is true to the series and a new unexpected experience.
It's not a small world after all
Open world games have a difficult relationship with size. The developers do not want their world to feel too small, but that apprehension has become a problem of its own. Some recent games of open worlds, like Assassins Creed Odyssey have created worlds as tedious as massive. However, it seems that Fallout 76 has solved the problem.
We are so consumed with everything else that the Holotapes became a late occurrence.
The addition of online multiplayer and group settlements (called CAMPs – mobile construction and assembly platforms) encourages exploration and makes roaming the vast addictive terrains addictive. When you first emerge on the surface of the earth, they give you an objective. Track the Supervisor. She plays a key role in guiding you through the main story, but you will find many opportunities for amazing events throughout your trip. That is what makes the world exciting.
It is volatile. There are many cities, radioactive mutants and holotapes full of stories of past survivors, but exploration is not without risks. Scheduled multiplayer events appear sporadically and invite all survivors to abandon what they are doing and join them, and you never know what the outcome will be. Will the players unite to defeat the enemies or will everything become a massacre?
While the seemingly endless supply of events and activities is not a problem, we believe that it will create gaps between the missions of history. Holotapes are recordings of past events that players can find throughout Fallout 76 and tell the worst part of the story. Although you can access them again through your Pip-Boy, we are so consumed with everything else that they became a late occurrence.
Prepare for a fight
While the story does not occupy a central place, Fallout 76 feels like Fallout 4 especially in combat. It maintains the exasperatedly slow melee that makes trying to hit a scary Radroach embarrassingly frustrating. Gunplay can is best described as "functional". Not bad, but it will not give competition Destiny 2 .
You will not lose your articles. Death does not delay the progress of your character.
This weakness is offset by the wide range of weapons you can find, design and modify. Do not like what you have? Adjust it until you do. That worked in Fallout 4 because it encouraged the search and search for new resources, and it works in Fallout 76 for the same reason.
Going in multiplayer means V.A.T.S. The system, which used to reduce time, now works in real time, but continues to help players align shots for more effective combat. The system can be updated to attack more areas of the enemies, but depending on their affinity and skill in the shootings, you can feel cheap. Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to use V.A.T.S. against other players.
That's a shame, because player-in-player combat remains a central concern. With some exceptions, players can fight against other players at any time, increasing the risk of experienced players entering newcomers. We learned more about how Bethesda will handle players who abuse the game-against-player combat.
You must have level five before you can fight or be attacked by other players. A reward system is also established to help identify which players have killed others. Murder has a simple definition: single-sided combat that ends with the death of the passive participant. The developers at the event explained that the killers will not be able to see other players' markers on their own maps, and will be notified to the whole server about the reward they are given.
And no, you will not lose all your objects for a high-level asshole that happened and killed you. Death does not delay the progress of your character.
Surviving is easier together
There is no doubt that Fallout 76 promotes teamwork. It is designed with parties of up to four players in mind and, of course, your chances of survival are better together. However, you are never limited to staying with your group. You can always venture and then travel quickly to one of your colleagues, which turns out to be a convenient and liberating feature.
Still, there are reasons to work with friends. Many of these can be found in the benefit letters. Each time you level up, you can apply points to skills and unlock passive benefit cards. Perk cards can be updated up to three times, and at level three, they can be shared among your group.
These skills include reinforcements for the effectiveness of stimulus bags, increases in your tolerance to radioactive foods and more. This skillfully includes a flexible class system in the game.
This is not a completely new experience, but a familiar one for multiple players.
Each member of the group can focus on improving different skills to bring different liabilities to the group. . However, there are no defined classes in the game, so you can combine skills to unite your group.
Teams can also be grouped into settlements. This allows players to participate and develop a place for everyone to call home. Relieves the pressures of theft, elaboration and defense by sharing responsibilities among the group.
There is no friendly fire in the game, so you do not have to tiptoe around your teammates during an intense combat session. However, this does not mean that you can not kill your teammates. If one of your group kills another player and a reward is awarded, anyone on the team can collect the reward. The question, then, is how well you know your friends?
Conclusion
Fallout 76 feels like a side-effect sequel to Fallout 4 . It does not fundamentally change the way the game is played and, for the most part, modifies existing features instead of adding new ones. This is not a completely new experience, but a family that was translated into multiplayer.
Interestingly, that could prove the biggest victory of Fallout 76 . Fallout 4 was very popular, but players were disappointed that the game's settlement system never evolved beyond a virtual Lego set. Taking the game online adds the necessary context agreements. They become a refuge for you and your friends in a hostile desert and, as they help you stay safe, you will feel the need to expand and improve your settlement, which will give you a reason to venture out and find updates.
Granted, We saw only a glimpse of the game. We did not see much of the combat between players and we were not able to deepen the experience of the final game. These details will make or undo Fallout 76 but at least they will be built on a solid foundation.