This game is fantastic. This review is after the recent updates
Sims meets Walking Dead
PROS:
Graphics
The graphics are great, the environment is well thought out, and the game has numerous load-free areas within the Fallout 76. Which helps the game capture the tone and the immersion of being in a state impacted by a Nuclear Fallout. A load-free example I can give you is when I was being chased by ghouls and ran into a house, and they burst through the door. It gets even more intense than that. You will spend hours building your home and looking at it in awe. You can have a companion at your house and defenses, and it will get attacked. You can play music and learn how to make weapons, armor, ammo, alcohol, and aid( Fallout drugs). Explore different settlements and solve mysteries and conflicts. I love how the game gave reason to the feeling of always being armed. I was not playing back in 2020. But what I am playing now feels like a game of the year. The companies are listening to their audience and actively developing the game.
You can play by yourself and food and water has value. There is plenty to eat and drink and everything now on you has a purpose. Another player built me a whole armor suit for 200 rubber.
The State
There are NPCs now. There is also more life to the world and random encounters. The world is massive, and shootouts are more intense. When it turns to night, it is real night, not that slight grey the other Fallouts have done. Bethesda also went more with a single-player damage style approach. However, they sped up the enemies and increased the AI of some of the attackers. There are more variations of guns and armor than any fallout, and the best part. You will become a post-apocalyptic hoarder.
YOU DONT NEED TO SPEND MONEY. But you can if you want to. If you play the game right listening to holotapes and hacking computers, you will become a treasure hunter and start to find secrets. I played with a friend and tracked a letter to a secret door, which surprised him. The community is helpful, and it feels more meaningful. You will not see that many players running and doing goofy stuff. Whenever you see someone, in most cases, they are friendly or minding their business. They may even give you things for free. They just say pay it forward or nothing at all.
If you pay, you can access luxurious items to look even more prominent. A lot of other tempting options, I admit. But if you play the game now, you can get the crowns by playing and earning achievements and buy what you like. I spent 0, and I have been able to buy what I want.
CONS.
Sometimes it glitches like most MMO worlds, and some of the creatures like the wolves glide at times and take the realism away.
I like to read, don't get me wrong. But, sometimes, it does bother me that there are a lot of stories told through terminals and/or holotapes. Bethesda should have just created some NPCs as quest givers.
Most of The stories are interesting, and some situations are Fallout dark.
You can move your house, which is a great feature, and you can live everywhere in this massive state. When I say huge, I mean bigger than GTA online. Don't build your home too big because you might have difficulties parking it near a site you are about to hoard out. That's it. You could build a decent house that leads to a bunker which is amazing.
Bethesda has been steadily improving this game, which is why it is an excellent game to invest in. You can play it on Xbox one and then easily go to Xbox series with your progress. It is free on game pass.