Fans ‘fall out’ after Bethesda burns: A review of ‘Fallout 76’ and more of Bethesda’s shortcomings

By Sarah Baker

Unfortunately, it isn’t uncommon for production companies to translate fans into simple metrics of income; a gross level of disrespect for those who spend money and time consuming their goods. 

There’s no use beating around the bush any longer. Bethesda is a 42-year old American video game publisher based out of Rockville, Maryland. Despite developing some of the greatest games ever (“The Elder Scrolls” series, the “Fallout” series, “Oblivion,” etc.), Bethesda had a primary hand in producing the worst game of the year, “Fallout 76,” disappointing and downright pissing off loyal fans around the globe. 

“Like many of Vault-Tec’s underground bunkers, Bethesda’s multiplayer riff on its post-nuclear RPG series is an experiment gone awry,” reflected “IGN.” 

They’re not wrong. The grotesquely mutated creatures, insects and scarred landscapes aren’t the only horrors that plague the setting of “Fallout 76.” Even worse are the bugs, abysmal graphics and obvious lack of investment in the plot. 

Bugs include a complete deletion of players’ stashes, leaving them penniless. Other times, the server would go down, glitching several players’ screens (rendering them unable to move, vulnerable to attacks from other players or vicious NPCs for 20 seconds or so) before the game crashed completely. These are just a few of many examples. 

When it comes to graphics, character animations are still as un-impressive as ever, and objects in the game like cars, trees and buildings appear less detailed and somehow worse than they did in “Fallout 4” three years ago. This means the game rarely looks very good at all, no matter the angle you’re viewing from. 

Perhaps the worst aspect of “Fallout 76” is that its multiplayer mindset robs players of the greatest, most authentic traits that made the “Fallout” series so great in the first place. The VATS (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System) used in previous games is translated poorly due to the simple fact that you can’t slow time down in an online game — making it more of an auto-aimer than anything. Furthermore, there are little to no human NPCs, leaving programs and AI to drive the plot. The most they can really do is convey barebone information, which at the same time omits the moral decision making utilized so much in the past. 

This culminates in a game that is less of a challenge to complete and more of a challenge to deal with in the first place; a mess of bugs, cheap imitations of “Fallout” authenticity and systems that almost never work together well.

It seems “Fallout 76” was brought to life mostly so Bethesda could get a quick cash-grab from jumping on the “online mode” bandwagon so many companies are now attempting. Was the the sacrifice of the true “Fallout” identity worth a multiplayer mode? No. Not in the slightest. It feels like Bethesda didn’t invest any real creativity into “Fallout 76” because they figured their loyal fans would do it themselves throughout their gameplay. 

Though gaming fans are some of the most infuriatingly loyal to dying franchises, not even they could put on a smile for this utter shitshow. 

Bethesda’s failure with “Fallout 76” extends further than the game itself. A $200 Collector’s Edition was released to celebrate the release of the game. Bethesda promised fans they would receive a military-style canvas bag as part of the deal. However, without warning, it was swapped with a chintzy nylon version. When fans emailed their support staff with aggravated questions and genuine concerns, Bethesda literally responded with, “We aren’t planning to do anything about it.”

A screenshot of this email response was posted to twitter, reddit and other social medias and shortly thereafter critics gave their two cents en mass. Only then, Bethesda was willing to give an apology and send those who purchased the Collector’s Edition the real thing. 

The scandal doesn’t end there! Bethesda asked fans to submit tickets in order to receive the canvas version. Those who did quickly encountered a surprise; after submitting their tickets, they’d been given access to Bethesda’s support system, including other customer’s personal information, like their phone numbers, email addresses and the types of cards used to purchase various in-game items. 

In another clipped response, Bethesda simply said, “Hi guys, we’ve resolved this issue.”

It seems Bethesda is far from gaining respect back from the fans they had previously taken for granted. In this current climate, some wonder if this was all a ploy to draw more attention to the game, perhaps urging people to purchase it and see for themselves how much Bethesda had screwed up.

Longtime fans know the truth; Bethesda simply forgot their fans were real people on the receiving end of their products, not just dollar signs ripe for taking advantage of. The Rockville company’s responses to such issues conveys the idea that they haven’t learned and don’t care. It’s a hard pill to swallow. Simply because a group of people are capable of making art doesn’t mean they do so for your enjoyment. Sometimes companies only have corporate intentions at heart.