The Fallout 4 reviews are out and they’re mostly positive! But what do the big reviewers have to say on the game? What things should you be wary of and is this the game for you? Well, we’ve gone out and had a thorough read of the biggest reviews out there and have come back and compiled the reviews into short summaries to allow you to digest them better and get a better scope of what each reviewer feels. So let’s get into it and find out the general consensus for Fallout 4!
Gamespot – 9/10 Rating
Gamespot are a leading name in game reviews and general gaming news and have obviously been one of the first to offer their opinions on the game. So here they are:
The positives: The game offers up a hugely dense world with a wide range of curious characters and locations. The combat system is actually really good this time round. Your choices, like previous Fallout games, actually have a major impact on the overall story. There are a huge number of quests and rewards for your partake in and earn. The creation tools are intuitive and easy to learn. The narrative is very thought-provoking.
The negatives: The companions are difficult to manage. The inventory management system is very lackluster and the world map is quite cumbersome too. The graphics are very average for a 2015 game and there are some glitches in the game too.
Summary: Despite some of the minor issues with Fallout 4 such as glitches, below par graphics and a slightly cumbersome inventory and world map system, the game is a huge success with a massively dense world to explore and gameplay mechanics and a story that will have you wanting to do so.
PCGAMER – 88/100 Rating
PCGamer are another huge name in the gaming business whose reviews are very highly thought of and they have once again given the game a very high score.
The positives: The game features the best main story Bethesda has ever created with highly interesting characters. A brilliantly dense wasteland full of things to explore. The gun gameplay is great and the crafting system is one of the best in any games.
The negatives: The graphics are sub-par and don’t really stand-up to anything near what we come to expect of high-end games in 2015. A few glitches and odd examples of NPCs running off at inopportune moments in response to faraway threats.
Summary: It appears PCGamer experience a very similar experience with Fallout 4 as Gamespot did. The graphics aren’t up to scratch for a modern 2015 game but the gameplay and new features are a big welcome and make this Bethesda’s best RPG yet and a hugely enjoyable game to play.
The Verge
The Verge may not specialise in game reviews, but they do offer up some of the best technology reviews and have ventured into gaming reviews as of late and therefore we thought we’d include their review too. Despite no rating system, their general consensus is that Fallout 3 is an improved Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas.
The positives: The game features a storyline that really makes you care about the characters around you. The game gives you a great sense of having an effect of the storyline. The new crafting system is fun and keeps you entertained between missions.
The negatives: The quest’s actions are predictable and repetitive. Quite a few game-breaking bugs experienced during gameplay. Some character dialogue can be mundane.
Summary: Once again, we see a similar opinion from The Verge. The Verge’s review focuses more on the fact that Fallout 3 feels more like an upgrade to Fallout 3 more than a completely new and refreshed next-generation installment. However, they don’t doubt that it’s a great game and one that fans of RPGs and previous Fallout games should pick up.
Polygon – 9.5/10 Rating
Polygon have earned a lot of respect over the past couple of years when it comes to game reviews for being brutally honest about when they love and when they hate a game. They gave Fallout 4 a very good score of 9.5 and highlighted a lot, whilst also mentioning some bugs.
The positives: Has great ambience and history that makes it a great place to lose yourself in for hours. It has a set of far more cohesive stories within the game. Great crafting and building tool. A great-playing game. Skills and abilities are considerably streamlined.
The negatives: Game-breaking glitches.
Summary: As you can read in the review, Polygon has little negative to say about Fallout 4. In fact, they actually don’t go into anything negative about the game in any detail at all. They do note that they experienced some bugs post-review though, however they also say the review is provisional and if these bugs and glitches continue, they will be forced to alter their score.
IGN – 9.5/10 Rating
IGN are another huge company that have a hugely successive YouTube channel and site that cover all sorts of entertainment news but they specialise in gaming news and reviews. They have also given Fallout 4 an incredibly high score with some very positive things to say about it.
The positives: The game features an outstanding world. The crafting system is great. The story is very good, featuring some interesting characters to interact with along the way. The game offers a huge level of variety when it comes to how you play your character and the way you can immerse yourself in the world with different choices.
The negatives: Bugs, bugs, bugs.
Summary: Sounds almost like De Ja Vu now with these reviews. IGN have once again commended the incredibly immersive world you’ll find yourself in along with the great new crafting system. They’ve also highlighted the fact the game just feels so incredibly varied with all the different choices and play-styles you can take. But once again, the game features some crucial bugs that hindered this almost near-perfect experience.
Eurogamer
Despite, like The Verge, not giving a score, Eurogamer have stamped Fallout 4 with a “Eurogamer.net Recommended” badge to suggest that they love the game as much as everyone else does.
The positives: The game is insanely ambitious and utterly absorbing. The world is huge and dense with life and things to explore. Little gameplay tweaks go a long way to improving the fluidity of the game. The new building and crafting systems are a great addition, add hours of gameplay onto an already dense game.
The negatives: The game feels like a last-generation game when it comes to the graphical prowess. The glitches and bugs are ripe and annoying for a game that was clearly worked hard on. None of the companions exhibit any combat awareness whatsoever.
Summary: Eurogamer have offered up a review that glows highly in favour of Fallout 4, as all these other reviewers have and there’s certainly an overall feel here. Fallout 4 is a brilliant game with a great new world to explore, some hugely intriguing new crafting and building mechanics but just some awful bugs that need to be ironed out for the game to remain high in their books.
Trusted Reviews – 8/10 Rating
Trusted Reviews have a name that suggest they want their reviews to be the ones that you can trust. Their review of Fallout 4 is one of the more critical, being truly honest about some of the faults they dislike with the game.
The positives: The game has action-packed gameplay. A weirdly beautiful post-apocalyptic world. It has a classic Fallout tone and black humour to the surroundings and characters. The deep base-building, character and crafting systems are brilliant
The negatives: These new systems, despite being great can take a long time to learn and take a huge amount of effort to do so. The game also features long loading times. Finally, it has in unconvincing facial animations. Bugs… of course.
Summary: Trusted Reviews actually have a few more things to mention on the negatives side here, suggesting the new systems that they also rave about can arguably take a long time to learn and use up a lot of effort to do so. Along with this, they’re very specific in that the facial animations are poor and that the long loading times are a hindrance to the immersion. Don’t get us wrong, they do mention some hugely positive things about the game too, as with the others, but also some unique critiques for you to consider too.
GameTrailers – 9/10 Rating
Finally, we decided to include the GameTrailers review as they are one of the highest respected reviewers on YouTube and they do also write up their reviews on the site too, although not very elegantly. Anyway, GameTrailers gave the game a very high score too, highlighting a lot and criticising little.
The positives: A vast world with so much to see and do. Both the main story and the side missions feature great narratives. Despite taking a little time to learn, the crafting of items and building systems are great fun and great additions to the game. A game that allows you to really choose how you want to play.
The negatives: The settlement tools are quite hard to work with. The game features a lot of technical issues that need ironing out.
Summary: Once again, GameTrailers focus on the bugs as one of the biggest problems with the game, which they’re sure will be ironed out but suggest are becoming a bit too repetitive on Bethesda’s part.On top of this, like Trusted Reviews, they mention the game features a complicated system to learn the new crafting and building mechanics. A stunningly dense and interesting world, a strong story, great gameplay mechanics and interesting new gameplay features make this the best RPG ever made by Bethesda.
