Fallout 76 Review (Xbox PC)

by Jim Smale · Published June 1, 2020 · Updated April 18, 2024

For our updated Fallout 76 Review we play as a Fallout 76: Wastelander, people are coming back to West Virginia. Embark on a new quest for the Overseer, forge alliances with competing factions, and uncover the truth of what’s in the mountains.

Fallout 76 Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
112.96GB download size.
1580 Gamerscore.
You get the Xbox version and the PC version of the game.
Can link the game to the Bethesda website.
Full controller support.
Does support playing with a mouse and keyboard.
RPG with MMO elements gameplay.
Graphics-presets/monitor selection/window mode/resolution/depth of field/item fade/Fov slider/water, lighting, shadow quality/HUD opacity.
Can remap controls for both keyboard and the controller.
Powerful character creator, anything and everything can be tweaked, you can edit your creation at any time going forward.
3rd and 1st person views can be changed at any point with a button press.
Damage numbers – on/off.
You can turn off player names.
Tutorial pops up videos as you play, the initial bunker scenario acts like an introduction.
Massive huge open world.
Camp is portable and for a price can be deployed anywhere, it allows you to build structures for crafting and cooking, and you can fully build settlements, and working farms, and get people to join you. Set your camp to be visible or invisible to other players.
Play how you want.
Seasons pass integration with free and charged tiers. You earn tickets from tasks and level up your season pass level, spending them on items in any order on each page.
Three modes of play-adventure/private/nuclear winter.
Can break items down into resources.
Earn EXP, level up, and get perk cards, equip cards, and level them up to increase your stats or abilities.
Can pick up nigh on everything.
You get exp for everything from crafting to placing items, discovering new places, finishing missions, cooking, etc.
The compass shows points of interest, markers for missions, and personal markers.
Satisfying level-up/reward pop-ups.
Food and hunger system in play which affects how stamina works.
Daily, weekly, character, combat, monthly and more tasks. Completing them can fill your season pass, give perk cards, or unique rewards.
Clear manageable mission markers.
Find, earn, and buy recipes for cooking, and plans for furniture and items along with clothing.
Full building engine that allows Minecraft levels of creation and world-building.
Bobblehead Collectibles also act as timed buffs.
Multiple choice interactions.
Task givers are humans/creatures and act like they do in typical Fallout games so they can react and move around.
PvP can be turned on and off.
Clear out a location like a gas station or an airport and take ownership meaning you can customize it, use, it, etc but other players and the computer can attack it and try and take it off you.
The lockpick system you know is back using Bobby pins.
Day/night cycle and a handful of weather types.
Uses the VATs system where you lock on to enemies but it doesn’t slow time like usual and instead acts more like a targeted shot. You still get the percentages etc.
Power armor can be found and used, there are different versions of the armor and indeed different levels of damage. I have found armor missing a leg or helmet etc.
Rolling events happen within the game world where all players can join together and get unique rewards.
Full party up menu, you can join friends’ worlds or group up and share progress and exp along with perk cards and abilities that can give more buffs when in a group.
Has a free item from the shop every day.
Does try to add some game/world links from the Fallout TV show.
Excellent voice work.
Memorable characters and missions.
The world is full to the brim of lore and story from the characters to books, and terminals.
A hacking game is a case of guessing the word by breaking down the letter within it.
You have sliders to edit and customize the color of your pip boy and terminal menus.
You can trade, buy, and sell with vendors, other players vendors, and trade with other players.
Treasure maps add another layer to the game.
See other players running around and playing.
You can fully dress up your character by wearing and crafting backpacks, you have armor but can wear clothing on type acting like a transmog, wear hats, gloves, glasses, etc.
Some items like plans, recipes, and clothes can be instantly learned or worn instead of collected and then chosen from a menu.
Highly addictive.
Watch towers can be activated once scaled and will reveal large parts of the current area.
You can use other players’ camps and use their amenities and shop which will have different stock.
Fast travel is to any discovered location and has a cap cost except for some key buildings and your own camp.
Find and explore other vaults.
Aside from your camp you can also build a fast travel door to your own underground bunker, fully Customizable and is really cool to mess around with.
Stumble across a story or moment at any time.
Satisfying ping sound when you kill someone.
Each part of the map has its own enemy types, items, and sometimes weather effects.
When you fight the robots you can target particular limbs and break them off.

Fallout 76 Review Cons:

Loading times are inconsistent.
Private servers are on the Bethesda subscription service.
Stuck in the scenery a lot of times.
Characters look wooden.
You can feel overwhelmed a lot of times.
Storage is a constant problem, especially for non-Fallout first subscribers.
The small dot is used for interaction so being precise can be a pain and you need to be for Interactive points.
Loose gunplay especially with low-level guns.
Slow starter.
A lot of menu surfing.
The building is tricky and has confusing menus, the walls and doors don’t snap together as you would expect.
The Fallout first subscription service is all over it and locks so much content behind it.
It is way too easy to spend the premium Atom credits in the store accidentally. You don’t get a “Are you sure” message or anything.
Only 25 players per game instance.
Performance is not always great with a lot of pop-in and blurry textures.