+ Good combat mechanics
+ Big world to explore
+ Graphics are okay
+ Good replayability (the game has 4 endings)
+ Some sidequests are actually quite good
+ Some of your choices affect the world...
- ...but those don't have enough impact
+- Workshop mechanics
- BUGS
- The story feels lacking and the Commonwealth doesn't feel real or dangerous
- Doesn't feel like a Fallout game


Review by numbers

Gameplay: 9/10
Story:5/10
Music & Sound: 7/10
Atmosphere 5/10
Graphics: 9/10
Replayability: 6/10
Stability: 6/10




===[]===
☑ Kids
☑ Everyone
☑ Casual players
☑ Pro players


===[]===
☐ Potato
☐ Really bad
☐ Bad
☐ OK
☑ Good
☐ Beautiful
☐ Masterpiece

===[]===
☐ Full price
☐ Wait for sale
☑ Wait for heavy discounts
☐ Refund it if you can
☐ Don't do it
☐ Free

===[]===
☐ 90' PC
☐ Minimum
☐ Medium
☑ Fast
☐ High end
☐ NASA computer

===[]===
☐ You just need 2 arms
☑ Ez
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Hard (first few hours)
☐ Dark Souls


===[]===
☐ Really short ( 0 - 2 hours)
☐ Short ( 2 - 8 hours)
☐ Few hours ( 8 - 15 hours)
☐ Some what Long ( 15 -30 hours)
☑ Long ( 30+ hours)
☐ Endless

===[] ===
☐ It doesn't have
☑ Still better than Twilight
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Fantastic

===[]===
☐ The Game itself is one big BUG
☐ Bugs destroying the game
☑ Lots of bugs
☐ Few Bugs
☐ You can use them for speedrun
☐ Nothing


===[]===
☑ Controller support
☑ Mouse + keyboard support
☑ Widescreen support
☑ FOV (at least with mods)
☐ +60 FPS ( You can play past 60 fps but the physics start to bug the game)
☐ +144 FPS (Capped at 100hz)

Head over PCGamingWiki to learn more:
https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Fallout_4




Buy: If you are looking for a long adventure game and don't expect to find meaningful story
Don't buy: If you think that this is similar to Fallout 1, 2 or New Vegas. The game is a big letdown compared to previous titles.
How much should I pay for this game? Less than 16€ /16$ for a full game with all expansions and all achievements completed. If you want to just play the main game without DLCs, the price you should pay would be less than 5€


Completionist

One playthrough without DLCs

I have created the following formula. The first number is potential gaming time, the second is the score which I have rated below and the last is the price breakeven point. I consider that the game is a good investment if it has enjoyable content for less than 10 cents per played hour. I've made this formula to give you information about how much the game is worth for its quality and content.



I didn't have high expectations for this game but still, it was somewhat a small letdown. The biggest problem was that the story and atmosphere didn't just feel real. I think Bethesda forgot what Post-apocalyptic games or Fallout is all about. It's about danger, survivability, horror, and hostility. This game was too much sugar coated and made "accessible" for all kind of gamers. The game world felt too unreal, it was too friendly to think that nuclear war had eradicated known civilization.

To put things to a different perspective, I want to ask you what makes a good game. For me, it's usually the story. When compared to previous titles in the series, Fallout 4 has the least good stories. For me, there was only one good questline: Last Voyage of the U.S.S. Constitution. That quest was actually quite hilarious and it felt somewhat real and fitting for the Fallout series. But previous titles had so much more good quests and stories and the atmosphere was just so much better in those.



Fallout 4 introduces a new mechanic known as the workshops. It lets you build settlements through the commonwealth. Building defenses and structures don't make the game worse but somehow I felt that it was more gimmick than real addition to the game. Workshops could have been actually much better if it would have been implemented properly. First off, there were too many settlements. Settlements should also have to have some weaknesses and bonuses. A settlement near radiation zone shouldn't allow other than ghoul habitats. Third, settlements would have been really cool if there would have been radiant quests related to them. For example, you could receive a message from the radio that raiders are attacking your settlement in 6 hours. You would have 6 hours time to reach your settlement and prepare the defenses, otherwise the settlement would be lost to the raiders and you would have to fight it back.

The game is also very buggy, luckily mods fix most of the problems. Actually, New Vegas crashed much more than Fallout 4, so at least there we have had some improvement. Also, the gameplay and graphics have been boosted. Combat feels more fluent than in New Vegas and there are some very cool updates. Fallout 4 allows you to modify existing weapons and armor in the game and thus you can create very powerful equipment. For example, I had maxed power armor with a targeting system and jetpack ( I modded this quite a lot). I was able to see all enemies in red (like a Terminator) and I used my jetpack to quickly reach my enemies. I had minigun that shot explosive bullets and missile launcher that had a guiding system which felt badass when you opened your fire.

As I've reflected my experience and my review, it's easy to understand why some players like and some don't like this game. The thing is that most Fallout veterans have been displeased with the game but those who are new to the series might find it actually quite entertaining. Even though I had some fun and actually acquired all achievements, I still feel dissatisfied. That's why this my first time when I give thumbs down for a game that I've reviewed in detail.

Update 24.6: After playing Metro Exodus, it's clear that AAA developers can also do Post-apocalyptic game right. Metro Exodus is much more atmospheric and original when compared to Fallout 4. Sadly that can't be found on Steam, you have to look elsewhere or wait until it will be released on Steam.

Good action game, bad Fallout.