Honestly, I enjoyed this game, played some of the DLC and have over 100 hours on it, but I agree with many of the criticisms it normally gets.
Fallout 4 is a first person shooter, and that's pretty much it. Gameplay wise it's very basic: you shoot and loot. They improved the VATS for sure, but like its predecessor, that's the only thing that distinguishes it from any other random FPS.
I appreciate that they tried something new with the settlements, but it felt a bit half-assed. You can't remove/delete most pre-exiting structures and garbage without the help of mods. Building actual buildings is doable with the limited tools they give you, but they look awful no matter how hard you try. I've seen people build cool, detailed settlements on PC with mods, but on console the mods only go so far.
Story is OK. Some characters are actually well written and memorable (unlike in Fallout 3) with good side quests, like Nick Valentine or Hancock. I also really enjoyed the whole plot surrounding the synths and whether or not they should be considered beings/have rights. It's an interesting debate that very much has the potential to become relevant IRL sooner or later.
The main plot is very meh unfortunately, though there are a couple interesting missions that give some depth to the characters. A kidnapping and murder, the events that are supposed the fuel the Sole Survivor the whole game, fall kind of flat in my opinion. You, as the player, meet these people for 1 minute at the beginning of the game, you're not gonna care about what happens, there was no time to warm up to them.
There are many inconsistencies and plot holes throughout the story, that much is obvious a few hours in.
Nonetheless, exploring the Wasteland and going through the story can be fun if you recognize the game's limitations and don't try to make it more than it is. If you're expecting a deep, fleshed out RPG, Fallout 4 ain't it.
Fallout 4 is a first person shooter, and that's pretty much it. Gameplay wise it's very basic: you shoot and loot. They improved the VATS for sure, but like its predecessor, that's the only thing that distinguishes it from any other random FPS.
I appreciate that they tried something new with the settlements, but it felt a bit half-assed. You can't remove/delete most pre-exiting structures and garbage without the help of mods. Building actual buildings is doable with the limited tools they give you, but they look awful no matter how hard you try. I've seen people build cool, detailed settlements on PC with mods, but on console the mods only go so far.
Story is OK. Some characters are actually well written and memorable (unlike in Fallout 3) with good side quests, like Nick Valentine or Hancock. I also really enjoyed the whole plot surrounding the synths and whether or not they should be considered beings/have rights. It's an interesting debate that very much has the potential to become relevant IRL sooner or later.
The main plot is very meh unfortunately, though there are a couple interesting missions that give some depth to the characters. A kidnapping and murder, the events that are supposed the fuel the Sole Survivor the whole game, fall kind of flat in my opinion. You, as the player, meet these people for 1 minute at the beginning of the game, you're not gonna care about what happens, there was no time to warm up to them.
There are many inconsistencies and plot holes throughout the story, that much is obvious a few hours in.
Nonetheless, exploring the Wasteland and going through the story can be fun if you recognize the game's limitations and don't try to make it more than it is. If you're expecting a deep, fleshed out RPG, Fallout 4 ain't it.