I will start this review with a disclaimer: from the start, I’ve played this game with mods. None of the mods I use are game breaking, or cheat-y, but it IS fairly well modded. A map upgrade, extra songs on the radio, SIM settlements, some better textures, etc. Playing the game for the first time so long after it initially came out means that I was able to find out what everyone else’s biggest complaints about the vanilla game (such as settlements being pointless) were, and find the mods that addressed those issues. If you have, do, or will play without mods or different mods, your mileage may vary.
I'm using Sim Settlement Mayors, Vanilla leaders by SkuzzKitty, Ted's Leader Pack, plus those added to JunkTown. There is a lot of duplication between them. AmazonQueen, Feb 19, 2018. The draw of Sim Settlements, the Fallout 4 mod we awarded Best Mod of 2017, was that it gave NPCs some agency in creating their own homes and shops on your settlements. All you'd have to do is. Fallout 3 was like entering the Matrix. Mostly grey and green. Fallout 4 added some brown to the mix and we are not satisfied. So we bring you the absolute best Fallout 4 graphics mods that will make it feel like a completely different game. The draw of Sim Settlements, the Fallout 4 mod we awarded Best Mod of 2017, was that it gave NPCs some agency in creating their own homes and shops on your settlements. All you'd have to do is.
First, I really liked being able to see what the Fallout world was like, if in a very limited way, before the war. Sure, there have always been glimpses of what the past was like in previous games, but I enjoyed actually being there for a few minutes. Nuclear war breaks out, and you take shelter in your vault, where you and the family are cryogenically frozen. Some amount of time passes, and you are thawed out but still locked in your pod. You witness some people open your spouse’s pod, take your baby, and kill your spouse when they resist, then you are re-frozen. You eventually thaw out, and go looking for your baby/ revenge.
As soon as you leave the vault, you are free to go wherever, and do what you want. However, most people I think will likely do what I did, which is to follow the objectives… at first. So you go back to your old house, for some reason, and shockingly the kidnappers did not take your baby there. You do however run into your old housekeeping robot, who eventually directs you to a nearby town. Once you head there, you fight some raiders to help out the first faction most people run across: the Minutemen. You also get your first suit of power armor here. After this quest finishes, you find out they haven’t seen anyone with a baby (although I’m not sure why, after finding out I’ve been frozen, my character assumes that the kidnapping JUST took place and my baby is still an infant).
It’s from this point that the game really throws you into the “do whatever” frame of mind. Preston, the Minuteman suggests that you might find some information in Diamond City, while he and the other survivors are going to go establish a settlement in your old town. If you escort him, you start getting quests to upgrade the settlement, then to go help other settlements, and so forth. If you head to Diamond City, you will encounter some bad guys along the way, probably unlock some new locations, and probably get some more quests as well. Either way, the Commonwealth is now yours for the exploring.
I will NOT be writing a full review for this game for a few reasons. First, as I mentioned in the intro, my game is modded, so my experience is going to be different than anyone who doesn’t have the same exact mods. Second, and more importantly, much like Skyrim, Fallout is full of options, and it’s up to you which ones you take, and how you approach them. There are just SO many side missions, and locations out there. And each one is only as in-depth as you want it to be. Here’s an example (spoilers, again):
I took one of many optional “go help this settlement” missions, and as usual, the people in need directed me to go take out some raiders that were harassing them, who in this case were headquartered at a local mine. First, I spent a good deal of time outside of the mine, because I decided I wanted the power armor that one of the raiders was wearing. So I systematically (and stealthily) took out all of the other raiders. Then I positioned myself along his patrol route, and hid in the shadows with my stealth boy ready. Once he got to me, I activated my stealth, then followed behind him so that I could pickpocket the power core out of his suit, forcing him to exit it. This mine, by the way, is named after the company that owns it: Dunwich Borers. Haha, I chuckle to myself, because I am a Lovecraft fan.
So I enter the mine and make my way towards the raider leader for the quest. On my way, I come across a computer terminal, and after checking it out, I find out that the mining company is shady and didn’t care about safety at all. There’s also a note asking the foreman of section one to come down to section four, marked urgent. I fight my way further into the mine, and the rumbling and shaking increase. I get to section two, and there’s another terminal. Among the other files there’s a message for the foreman of section two to ALSO come to section four, urgent. Huh. Okay, I think, so the raider leader will be at station four. Except I find the raider leader at the section three terminal. And then I find a door leading to (presumably) section four, which is chained up.
At this point, I’m really curious, so I continue on. I open the door, and there is a series of blinding flashes as circuit breakers blow… some sort of power surge, I guess? The shaking and rumbling continue to increase. I find a bunch of feral ghouls in this area, and have a few moments where there are some visual… oddities. I keep seeing things, like I’m in a different place. I get to section four and… nothing. Huh. I look around, and there’s a holotape, with some vague entry about the other foremen “suspecting something”, and “our goal is almost achieved”. I pass through one last door, and some more feral ghouls attack me, but these ones are named, with the names of the foremen. And the chamber they’re in has a hole filled with highly radioactive water. I happen to have a hazmat suit, so I put it on and go for a dive. At the bottom I find a partially excavated giant face, presumably some sort of statue, and an altar (among other items) a sacrificial dagger. The story is never fully explained, or spelled out, but there was some sort of conspiracy to awaken some sort of Lovecraft-ian dark god, complete with human sacrifice and everything. Was the dark magic real? Did that explain my visions? Or was it brought on by gas or something down in the tunnels?
This is the sort of thing I ADORE from a game. Backstory and depth that are left to YOU to discover. They didn’t hide it behind super complicated or difficult tasks, I didn’t have to do anything un-intuitive to find it. Just, if I was willing to put in the time to explore, and see where the threads of a hint of a story took me, I was rewarded. This was not the only such instance. There have been several times where, if I took my time, and investigated the world around me, I found some cool stuff, which always made the world seem a little more deep, and varied, and lived in. It wasn’t always a series of emails and holotapes like in the mine… sometimes it was just how a skeletal corpse was positioned, the items I found on or near a body, a nametag, etc. The common thread though, was that if I rushed through, I missed a lot, and if I took the time and indulged my curiosity, I was rewarded.
This sort of slow, patient gameplay is not for everyone. I do not know how interesting the game would be to people that like to run through every encounter and every location. If that’s your preferred play style, then you may not get a lot out of this game. But for me, after thirty five hours, I am not even CLOSE to being done with this game (compared to the previous games I’ve reviewed where once I hit the thirty-ish hour mark I would rush towards the end because I was ready to be done). And I only have the base game, I don’t even own any of the DLC yet. This game was definitely worth my money and my time! I am stopping the official review here, but I may add more as an addendum as I progress through the main story.
Final Update:
I managed to get eighty three hours into this game before I lost all motivation to play. And it was not a subtle, gradual thing. Every day I looked forward to playing, and I got to a point where I made a manual save so that I could pursue the ending for each faction. Choosing at random, I first did the Railroad. Once I finished that, I loaded back up at my earlier save and did the Institute. And then… I just had no desire to do any more. I tried turning it back on to do another faction, and I just sat there doing nothing. I think a large part of the problem was that nothing was challenging anymore. My character build was awesome, and I got to a point where legendary sentry bots and legendary alpha deathclaws were trivial. Master locks and computer terminals were nothing to me. Sure, I could have increased the difficulty, but artificial difficulty for difficulty’s sake does not appeal to me (which is why I could not care less about trying Cuphead).
So I’m done, and ready to move on to the next game on my list. I had a LOT of fun with Fallout 4, much as I did with New Vegas. I would have considered this one to be money well spent even if I had paid full price for it. Considering that I got it on sale for $15, it was one hell of a steal.
1Leader Traits
2Commander Traits
3Leaders and Commanders
Major Traits
Bot Finder -- Occasionally recruits robot settlers Brotherhood Ally -- Brotherhood of Steel defends the settlement COA Ally -- Children of Atom defend the settlement Engineer -- Increase Advanced Industrial plot production rate Experienced Mayor -- City upgrades much faster Hunter -- Greatly reduces food needs of the settlement Institute Ally -- The Institute defends the settlement Investigator -- Increase the rate Advanced Industrial buildings are discovered Lifebringer -- Agricultural plots produce more food Logistics Expert -- All plots upgrade faster Mad Scientist -- Recruits an extra settler daily; 25% chance a random settler dies daily Makeshift Armorer -- Increase the amount of defense provided by equipment donations Minutemen Ally -- Minutemen defend the settlement Minutemen Officer -- Many new settlers will be trained as Minutemen One Mutant Army -- Always wins raids when the player is away Rabble Rouser -- Guarantees at least one new recruit every day Railroad Ally -- The Railroad defends the settlement Robot Moral Officer -- Removes the happiness penalty of robot settlers Trainer -- Increases the defense provided by Martial Plots Truthseeker -- Synths can no longer infiltrate the settlement population
Minor Traits
Animal Lover -- Increase the chance animals will move into the settlement Caravanner -- Increase base food production Charismatic -- Increase the max settlers that can be radio-recruited Defender -- Increase settlement base defense value Entertainer -- Recreational plots will upgrade faster Enthusiastic -- Increase settlement base happiness Entrepreneur -- Commercial plots will upgrade faster Ex-Farmer -- Agricultural plots will upgrade faster Friend of Sheng -- Increase base water production Futurist -- Industrial plots will upgrade faster Good Neighbor -- Residential plots will upgrade faster Handyman -- Reduce maintenance costs Mercenary -- Increase tax income Military Mind -- Martial plots will upgrade faster Optimizer -- Increase the amount of junk collected per Industrial Plot Party Animal -- Increase settlement base happiness Promoter -- Increase happiness bonus per Recreational plot Recruiter -- Increase the chance of recruiting new settlers Scavenger -- Increase the amount of junk collected each day Shakedown -- Increase the amount of caps collected from shops Welcoming -- Increase the number of visitors that will come to the settlement
Weaknesses
Allergies -- Reduce the chance animals will move into the settlement Communist -- Commercial plots will take longer to upgrade Depressed -- Reduces settlement base happiness Embezzler -- Reduce the amount of caps collected from shops Fun Police -- Recreational plots will take longer to upgrade Ghoulish -- Reduces the max settlers that can be radio-recruited Healthy Appetite -- Reduces the base food production Inhospitable -- Reduces the number of visitors that will ever come to the settlement Lonewolf -- Decreases settlement base defense Naive -- Martial plots will take longer to upgrade Notorious -- Reduce chance of recruiting settlers Overzealous -- Reduces settlement base happiness Pacifist -- Martial plots will take longer to upgrade Raider at Heart -- Agricultural plots will take longer to upgrade Rebel -- Reduce tax income Self Doubt -- Increase maintenances costs Synth Sympathizer -- Increase the likelihood of synths infiltrating the population Synthetic -- Agricultural plots will take longer to upgrade Taskmaster -- Residential plots will take longer to upgrade Technophobic -- Industrial plots will take longer to upgrade Unimaginative -- Reduce the amount of daily junk collected Wasteful -- Reduce the base water production
Commanders are similar to the Leaders system introduced with Rise of the Commonwealth, but allow you to assign certain NPCs to manage Outposts and Vassals in order to gain benefits. The benefits provided by commanders are generally all focused on the Conqueror mechanics. Each companion has a unique set of traits to give you benefits in your Outposts or Vassals when you aren’t traveling with them.
Major Traits
Dedicated Servant -- Increase Vassal production Enhanced Interrogator -- Marks turret locations during an Assault Fight Club -- Soldiers can reach higher rank from training For the People -- The more civilians at the settlement, the more XP the soldiers will gain in fighting Knowledge Is Power -- Assaults from this settlement can target even unscouted locations. Legend of the Fog -- Guaranteed full morale meter when leading a Far Harbor settlement Love Before War -- Production increased when no guards or warriors are stationed at her settlement. Master Propagandist -- Periodic chance to conscript civilians into the soldier ranks Mechanical Uprising -- Robots count as Warriors when calculating the control provided by patrols from this settlement. Mercenary Band -- Soldiers recruited to this settlement can come from any faction. Mutant Superiority -- Joins all assaults from this settlement himself. Rabble Rouser -- 1 new recruit per day guaranteed <Faction Name> Reinforcements -- If half or more of your assault force is killed, reinforcements will be sent from that faction. Resistance Fighter -- Outpost/Vassal can no longer be hostily taken over Right-hand Man -- Boosts control at all Vassals within range. Roboticist -- Random robots will join assaults as well as defend the settlement Seeing Red -- Increase warrior melee damage substantially on assaults
Minor Traits
Authoritarian -- Increase control provided by Guards Bred for War -- Increase control provided by Warriors Caregiver -- Increase Field Hospital chance of saving soldiers by 10% Chef -- Mess Halls provide a stronger buff during assaults Drill Sergeant -- Training Yards provides 25% more XP Financial Manager -- Provides +30 Wages Greenthumb -- Increase Rations per Agricultural Plot Harrying Scouting -- Some number of attackers will be picked off at the start of a raid Hidden Weapons -- Reduce control required for Industrial plots Improvisor -- Battlefield Scavengers have a 10% chance to find additional items Intimidation Tactics -- Increase control provided per Warrior via Patrol Links Just Cause -- Reduces Civilian Ration Requirements Kind-Hearted -- Reduce control required for Captives Logistics Officer -- Provides +30 Rations Prepper -- Reduce control required for Agriculteral plots Primal Fighter -- Reduces Soldier Equipment Requirements Problem Solver -- Provides 2 extra days to get back to assist with defense Quartermaster -- Provides +30 Equipment Racketeer -- Increase Wages per Commercial Plot Retention Officer -- Prisons can hold one additional captive Salvage-Minded -- Increase Equipment per Industrial Plot Seasoned Veteran -- Increase control provided by higher rank soldiers Seedy Connections -- Reduce control required for Commercial plots Silvertongued -- Reduces Soldier Wage Requirements Speechwriter -- Provides +5 Morale Boost Strategist -- Increase control provided by Patrols Taskmaster -- Increase worker production slightly Terrifying Presence -- Some number of defenders will flee during an assault Tight Ship -- Provides +50 Control Tinkerer -- Reduce Equipment required per robot Waste Averse -- Reduces Soldier Ration Requirments
Weaknesses
Ageist -- Reduce control provided by higher rank soldiers Arm the People -- Civilians require a small amount of Equipment Bloodlust -- Morale has a lesser effect on production Boastful -- Additional defenders will show up to defend assaults Butterfingers -- Reduce equipment by -30 Distracting -- Reduce control provided per Defense Easy Target -- Raids can occur more frequently here Fragile Appearance -- Additional attackers will join raids Greedy Pockets -- Reduce wages by -30 Grueling Manager -- Reduce Vassal production Hedonistic -- Reduce worker production slightly Hefty Appetite -- Reduce rations by -30 Hotshot -- Reduce control provided per Warrior Lassez-Faire Capitalist -- Reduce wages per Commercial Plot Lax Attitude -- Reduce control provided per Warrior via Patrol links Mechanical Appetite -- Reduce rations per Agricultural Plot Mercenary Attitude -- Increase soldier Wage requirements Miser -- Increase control required per Commercial plot Motherly Instinct -- Increase soldier Ration requirements No Mercy -- Prisons will not capture additional Captives Overly-Empathetic -- Increase captive Ration requirements Overprotective -- Reduce max number of soldiers that can go on assaults by 1 Paranoid -- Increase control required per Industrial plot Raiderphobia -- Increase control required per Agricultural plot Rebellious -- Increase control requirement Shoddy Mechanic -- Increase Equipment required per robot Short-Sighted -- Reduce control provided per Patrol Technology Hoarder -- Increase soldier Equipment requirements Undisciplined -- Training Yards provide half their normal XP Unsanitary -- Reduces chance of field hospital saving soldiers by 10% Unsettling -- Reduce morale Weapons Snob -- Reduce equipment per Industrial Plot