Currently Playing Fallout 76
I recently watched the Fallout TV series on Amazon Prime, and like many people, I enjoyed it so much that it made me want to revisit the games. I've only ever played Fallout 3, but I've watched multiple YouTube videos about Fallout 4, and it has become a beloved game for me despite never having played it myself. The ghoul known as Hancock, with all of his complexities, is one of my favorite characters in any game.
I thought about revisiting Fallout 4, but I ultimately decided to jump into Fallout 76, the only multiplayer game in the series (not counting mods). Admittedly, the main reason I chose 76 is because I got it for free on Prime, but I also wanted to play it because the setting interests me, as it takes place close to home in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia. Right now, I'm just solo questing and trying to build up my home base, known in-game as a C.A.M.P. (Construction and Assembly Mobile Platform). I'd eventually like to join some multiplayer teams, but for now I'm enjoying leveling on my own.
Fallout 76 was plagued with issues at launch. It was riddled with bugs and glitches, there were no NPCs, and there was very little to actually do. Later, Bethesda released the Wastelanders expansion, which overhauled the game, filling out the world with NPCs and storylines and, as PCWorld said, injecting "some much-needed personality into post-apocalyptic West Virginia."
I didn't play the game at launch, so I don't have that underlying negative experience with it. This is my first time playing it, and I'm having a blast. I can't imagine the game's world ever being bare and uninteresting, because it's so full of character now. One of my favorite aspects is the prevalence of Appalachian folklore and the implied existence of cryptids -- or their actual existence, because I'm pretty sure I've stumbled across a couple of them. There's a cult dedicated to the Mothman, whose headquarters is the Mothman museum. And there's a whole questline dedicated to Bigfoot.
The developers also took West Virginia's history into account when designing the game's lore and quests. Through notes, communication logs, NPC dialogue, and environmental storytelling, remnants of the real West Virginia's coal mining past and labor unions are prominent in Fallout 76's wastelands. Jess Morissette wrote a great article about that for First Person Scholar, if you're interested in delving more into the parallels between Fallout 76 and West Virginian history.
Fallout 76 still has its flaws. The combat is underwhelming compared to other Fallout games, which is covered in PCWorld's re-review that I linked above. I've also experienced a few bugs, but nothing game-breaking or lessening my experience in any significant way. It's worth some lackluster shooting and a couple of minor bugs here and there to traverse highway 65 snapping photos of the gorgeous environments and unexpectedly tangling with the Grafton Monster along the way. I've spent about 30 hours in the game so far, and I'm currently level 20. I don't see myself stopping anytime soon.
