War Never Changes. But thankfully, video games do, and one such example of a video game-changing is the major free update coming to Bethesda’s troubled multiplayer take on their extremely popular post-apocalyptic survival RPG series.
Among the biggest complaints about the game during its much-criticized launch, period was that the game has been entirely devoid of NPCs. For many, the cast of characters and the bonkers conversations you could have with them has been a key part of the appeal of the Fallout games since their inception, and righting that wrong by reintroducing life to the wastelands of 22nd Century West Virginia might be just what the game needing to bring back players that lost interest, or even appeal to new players.
Introducing new NPCs, and a whole host of quests to go with them, certainly goes a long way to addressing the criticism directed at the game in the past, but it’s going to take more than that to bring the game up to players expectations. It’s going to be interesting to see to what extent this major update to the game also fixes bugs, performance issues, and other shortcomings that left players frustrated and disappointed when it first launched.
The trailer is a little short on detail, but it does seem to hint towards some of the dark humor and off-kilter tone that makes Fallout special. Whilst many games from Bethesda Game Studios have had technical shortcomings and design limitations over the years, some of those issues that have persisted since Morrowind, for many Fallout ‘78 was the straw that broke the Brahmin’s back. Fingers crossed the overwhelming backlash this game received at launch will make Bethesda work harder to ensure future games live up to expectations on day one.Anyone who already bought Fallout ‘76 on Bethesda Game Launcher can either grab this update and continue to play it there, or if you’d prefer you can get a copy of the game on Steam at no extra charge. Details of how existing owners can get the game on Steam for free are here, but you only have until April 12 to take advantage of this offer. Players on either platform will get access to the Wastelanders update when it launches on the 14th.
