Fallout 4: Far Harbor really surprised me. I was expecting this DLC to be good since I've often heard this is the best thing to come from Fallout 4, but I wasn't expecting it to be this great. In many ways, I think this is what the main game should have been. Maybe not the exact story and setting, but I just wish the base game's main quest could have the same level of writing quality overall.
The story set up is already very interesting and I was more invested in the first few minutes than I was when I started the main story of the base game. The Valentine Detective Agency gets word on a missing person case and Nick Valentine himself asks the Sole Survivor (you) to help him out in this case. This leads you to the Nakano home where you meet Kenji and Rei Nakano where they explain their daughter Kasumi has gone missing and they hire you and Nick Valentine to look for her. When asking Kenji and Rei questions about Kasumi's disappearance, it's clear they're conflicted on the reason why she went missing. Kenji thinks she was kidnapped, but Rei thinks she just ran away. This leads you finding recordings revealing that Kasumi created a radio and was communicating synths on the other end of the radio where she would commonly ask them questions, however the synths started certain questions to Kasumi and she started to question her own identity and believes she's a synth. You learn she ran away to an island on the coast of Maine known as Mount Desert Island (which is a real island) to a place for synths known as Acadia which is a safe haven for synths. The investigation eventually leads you tangled up in a conflict between the citizens of Far Harbor, the synths of Acadia, and the Children of Atom. From here, you decide the fate of the island.
The story set up is interesting on its own, but each faction is interesting as well. The people of Far Harbor are all collected on the island together on the edge of the island to escape the deadly radiated fog consuming the island while the Children of Atom, a religion that worships radiation, lives within the island and are mostly immune from the fog. Most of the people in Far Harbor, struggling to survive, believe the Children of Atom are responsible for the radiated fog and the Children of Atom are hostile toward Far Harbor because of a misunderstanding regarding one of their missionaries being killed by one of the residents of Far Harbor. Both factions are in a cold war against each other, but Acadia wants to remain neutral between both factions and is struggling to keep the peace between the two however both factions want Acadia to help one of them since Acadia has a good relationship with both for the most part. You have complete agency over the fates of Far Harbor, The Children of Atom, Acadia and the leader of each faction. Captain Avery, Confessor Tektus, DiMA and even Kasumi of course.
The new characters introduced in this DLC are great. Kasumi's identity crisis of whether she's human or a synth is very interesting with a lot left open for interpretation. I personally don't think she's a synth, but it was a good call to leave it ambiguous for the player to decide. The new companion in the DLC, Old Longfellow, is a fun and interesting character to get to know especially since he gives more insight on the Island and Far Harbor since he's been a longtime resident. However, my personal favorite character to the DLC is by far DiMA. Not only is he just an interesting synth, but he was the only other 3rd generation synth prototype just like Nick Valentine and because of this we learn upon arrival to Acadia if we decide to take Nick with us that they have a history with each other and it was most certainly unexpected. DiMA is definitely in my top ten favorite Fallout characters. The DLC also gives Nick Valentine a lot more development than I was expecting, but I guess that's a given considering he's the only companion from the main game you can take with you into the DLC. His history and developing relationship with DiMA is interesting to watch unfold especially since you can actually influence it.
The quests are also a major step up from the main game. While some of them are generic fetch quests where you just go to a simple location and kill some enemies to clear a spot for a settlement or to grab some items, it's at least worth it for the payoff being able to gain reputation within the factions of Far Harbor, Children of Atom, and Acadia. The more quests you do, you gain their trust and this can lead into varying results of the ending of each faction and none of this is seen in the main game. This honestly reminds me of New Vegas in a lot of ways. Fortunately, there are a lot of really good quests in this game that have multiple speech checks, ways to complete, and moral choices that make for a very interesting and well written experience.
The entire new world space of the island to explore is also really great. The new map is large, interesting, and brimming with new enemies, areas to discover, loot, and lots of new gear to discover. The atmosphere of exploring the island is really haunting and creepy as the fog expands throughout the island and really emphasizes the fear that the people of Far Harbor exhibit and why they live on the docks of the island.
The best part of this DLC though is the main story and how you're given so many choices that can influence the ending. Fallout 4's base game unfortunately lacks a lot of tough moral choices and decisions like previous Fallout games, but Far Harbor brings that back. There were many moments in the game where I was questioning if what I was doing was right and if I was making the right choice. And while the main story of Fallout 4 isn't terrible, it leaves a lot to be desired and that's why I find it unbelievable that the same people who wrote that also wrote this DLC which is leagues better.
Overall, Far Harbor is honestly one of the best game DLCs I've had the pleasure of playing. This overall tone, concept, setting, writing, and story makes for a great experience so much so that I believe you could turn this into its own game if it was fleshed out a bit more. This is what game DLC should aspire to be is on the same level with some of New Vegas' DLC. If you own Fallout 4 or plan on buying it, Far Harbor is something you must play.
9/10
The story set up is already very interesting and I was more invested in the first few minutes than I was when I started the main story of the base game. The Valentine Detective Agency gets word on a missing person case and Nick Valentine himself asks the Sole Survivor (you) to help him out in this case. This leads you to the Nakano home where you meet Kenji and Rei Nakano where they explain their daughter Kasumi has gone missing and they hire you and Nick Valentine to look for her. When asking Kenji and Rei questions about Kasumi's disappearance, it's clear they're conflicted on the reason why she went missing. Kenji thinks she was kidnapped, but Rei thinks she just ran away. This leads you finding recordings revealing that Kasumi created a radio and was communicating synths on the other end of the radio where she would commonly ask them questions, however the synths started certain questions to Kasumi and she started to question her own identity and believes she's a synth. You learn she ran away to an island on the coast of Maine known as Mount Desert Island (which is a real island) to a place for synths known as Acadia which is a safe haven for synths. The investigation eventually leads you tangled up in a conflict between the citizens of Far Harbor, the synths of Acadia, and the Children of Atom. From here, you decide the fate of the island.
The story set up is interesting on its own, but each faction is interesting as well. The people of Far Harbor are all collected on the island together on the edge of the island to escape the deadly radiated fog consuming the island while the Children of Atom, a religion that worships radiation, lives within the island and are mostly immune from the fog. Most of the people in Far Harbor, struggling to survive, believe the Children of Atom are responsible for the radiated fog and the Children of Atom are hostile toward Far Harbor because of a misunderstanding regarding one of their missionaries being killed by one of the residents of Far Harbor. Both factions are in a cold war against each other, but Acadia wants to remain neutral between both factions and is struggling to keep the peace between the two however both factions want Acadia to help one of them since Acadia has a good relationship with both for the most part. You have complete agency over the fates of Far Harbor, The Children of Atom, Acadia and the leader of each faction. Captain Avery, Confessor Tektus, DiMA and even Kasumi of course.
The new characters introduced in this DLC are great. Kasumi's identity crisis of whether she's human or a synth is very interesting with a lot left open for interpretation. I personally don't think she's a synth, but it was a good call to leave it ambiguous for the player to decide. The new companion in the DLC, Old Longfellow, is a fun and interesting character to get to know especially since he gives more insight on the Island and Far Harbor since he's been a longtime resident. However, my personal favorite character to the DLC is by far DiMA. Not only is he just an interesting synth, but he was the only other 3rd generation synth prototype just like Nick Valentine and because of this we learn upon arrival to Acadia if we decide to take Nick with us that they have a history with each other and it was most certainly unexpected. DiMA is definitely in my top ten favorite Fallout characters. The DLC also gives Nick Valentine a lot more development than I was expecting, but I guess that's a given considering he's the only companion from the main game you can take with you into the DLC. His history and developing relationship with DiMA is interesting to watch unfold especially since you can actually influence it.
The quests are also a major step up from the main game. While some of them are generic fetch quests where you just go to a simple location and kill some enemies to clear a spot for a settlement or to grab some items, it's at least worth it for the payoff being able to gain reputation within the factions of Far Harbor, Children of Atom, and Acadia. The more quests you do, you gain their trust and this can lead into varying results of the ending of each faction and none of this is seen in the main game. This honestly reminds me of New Vegas in a lot of ways. Fortunately, there are a lot of really good quests in this game that have multiple speech checks, ways to complete, and moral choices that make for a very interesting and well written experience.
The entire new world space of the island to explore is also really great. The new map is large, interesting, and brimming with new enemies, areas to discover, loot, and lots of new gear to discover. The atmosphere of exploring the island is really haunting and creepy as the fog expands throughout the island and really emphasizes the fear that the people of Far Harbor exhibit and why they live on the docks of the island.
The best part of this DLC though is the main story and how you're given so many choices that can influence the ending. Fallout 4's base game unfortunately lacks a lot of tough moral choices and decisions like previous Fallout games, but Far Harbor brings that back. There were many moments in the game where I was questioning if what I was doing was right and if I was making the right choice. And while the main story of Fallout 4 isn't terrible, it leaves a lot to be desired and that's why I find it unbelievable that the same people who wrote that also wrote this DLC which is leagues better.
Overall, Far Harbor is honestly one of the best game DLCs I've had the pleasure of playing. This overall tone, concept, setting, writing, and story makes for a great experience so much so that I believe you could turn this into its own game if it was fleshed out a bit more. This is what game DLC should aspire to be is on the same level with some of New Vegas' DLC. If you own Fallout 4 or plan on buying it, Far Harbor is something you must play.
9/10