Let's deal with the, huh, fallout from the controversies shall we?

It's an always-online multiplayer title

The antithesis of everything Fallout?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Todd promised that they're not building an "adventure theme park" where there are 1000's of players running around ganking noob Vault dwellers the moment they step out into the world.  We're not even talking in the 100's.  Only "dozens" of players roaming an area four times the size of Fallout 4.  With those odds, the chance of bumping into other players, while not remote, is an exciting one rather than a constant 'you stole my sweetroll, again!' scenario.  But I can't lie.  I had hoped they would limit multiplayer to 4-player co-op.  It can be played solo, but we all know how that usually ends up.

It's so green!

I have no problem with this. If you look at other post-apocalyptic titles, from the latest Metro to S.T.A.L.K.E.R, they've always accentuated the green over the brown, depicting worlds reclaimed by nature.  And besides, the mountainous forest areas of this re-imagined West Virginia look absolutely stunning.  A world just waiting to be reclaimed.

I fought the lore. And the lore won.  But Bethesda, said "ah fuck it, we'll make our own god damn lore!"

It's set 25 years after the first bombs dropped.  The Master ain't been dippin' anyone in vats of green yet - so no Super Mutants because their creator has not even been "born".  The Enclave haven't been using FEV to tamper with the genetic structure of indigenous species to hatch Deathclaws yet because, well, they're not around either.  But that doesn't stop Bethesda from populating this new land with both.  And don't get me started on the Ghouls.... The only sting in the tale is the absence of Radscorpions.

But Fallout 76 is set 200 years before any other Fallout game.  So perhaps that gives them license to reboot the lore because they own the license. But purists aren't going to be happy.  I can almost hear @Roujin spitting out his Nuka Cola in disgust.

Settlements are back

But no sign of the settlers.  The virtually-broken settlement building system from Fallout 4 appears to be ‘intact’, but this time, it comes with a unique twist.  You can build anywhere  (ho-hum, mods made this possible years ago)   but  then pack up your settlement with a C.A.M.P and take it with you.   Mintuarisation tech? Not even The Institute were that advanced.

Re-imagined Menagerie
Just to spruce things up a bit, we have a new host of critters, including a Scorchbeast , Diseased Mega Sloths and ‘Grafton Monsters’.  Twenty five years of radiation sure does speed-up the pace of evolutionary change huh Bethesda?  And here’s one just for you @Raiziel.  Tip: count the legs.



Baby’s Got An Atom Bomb

A precedent of sorts was set when (if) you chose to blow up Megaton in Fallout 3.  The threat of unexploded Nukes was always there.  But with Fallout 76, Bethesda has truly flipped.  Teams of players scowering the land for launch codes and nuking parts of the map for the LOLs?  It’s a bold move, but the fresh ground zero sites will probably just play out as temporary ‘irradiated instances’ where there is high level loot to be had before they revert back to normal status.  That’s my best guess.



All in all, not as devastating as I had first feared.  Bethesda haven’t gone for the nuclear option on singleplayer.  It’s still there, but clearly not the focus.  But it’s obvious that they’ve gone for the rather lamentable ESO approach of re-using a lot of the art assets and UI to provide that familiar Fallout feeling to comfort those who would rather wander the wastes alone.    For the time being, I remain cautiously optimistic about this particular forthcoming nuclear holocaust.