Fallout 4 (Next Gen) - Before You Buy

(electronic chime)

- [Falcon] Welcome back to another episode

of Before You Buy,

the show where we give you some straight up gameplay

and our first impressions.

Hi folks, it's Falcon, and it took a while,

but Fallout 4's next gen update is finally here.

It was revealed that Bethesda was working on this

actually way back in 2022.

But it's basically just been radio silence since then.

But hey, better late than ever, right?

And with Fallout mania at a fever pitch now,

what better time to dive back into Fallout 4.

I did it with 76, why not?

So first thing to say here

is that all versions of Fallout 4 are being updated,

and that includes the last gen and PC.

We're mostly focusing on the PS5 here,

'cause that's the best version of the game I have access to.

Consoles are getting native applications

for current gen consoles,

and the addition of a performance mode

you can switch on and off in the settings.

On performance mode the target's 60 frames per second at 4K,

with standard settings using resolution scaling,

while quality mode is just performance turned off,

it's 30 frames per second, 4K resolution,

and with ultra settings, no dynamic resolution.

There's also a whole bunch of stability fixes, bug fixes,

and free content they're throwing in.

So it's a pretty good time to return to Fallout 4

if you're a console player,

but, if you're a PC player, you might wanna wait.

The new updates to the PC version

are not as extensive as on consoles.

They're mostly just adding new widescreen

and ultra widescreen options.

As well as, yes, stability improvements and fixes,

that's not necessarily a bad thing.

But like with most major Bethesda game updates,

it's expected that this one is going to break a lot of mods,

and nobody likes that.

It's the reason why

that huge Fallout 4: London Mod got delayed.

They didn't wanna release a mod

that's gonna be totally broken

several days after they release it.

So most people are saying to hold off on updating the game

if you're on PC.

That's probably what I'm gonna be doing,

and I will keep it that way until the dust settles.

Obviously, all the modders do work on updating their mods.

There's gonna be some mods that are just flat out dead

as a result of this update.

It sucks.

But again, the PC versions changes are kinda minor anyway,

so it's not a huge loss.

The thing about Fallout 4 on consoles

is that it's been pretty rough for quite a while,

years, in fact.

The game came out relatively early

in the PS4 Xbox One lifecycle,

and it's not, I mean, it really has not aged well.

Even with a PS4 Pro, the game had really muddy textures,

ugly shadows, whole lotta slowdown in the open world.

It just didn't feel that good to play.

And the PC version has been superior in every way

the whole time.

And I hate to say it, but that's still the case.

It's a Bethesda game,

so, eh, what else really is there to say about that,

they're made for PC.

Extensive mod support there makes them a lot better.

Fallout 4 in particular has tons of mods

that add so much value to the game.

I mean, again, just look at that Fallout 4: London mod

that's coming out,

I'm probably more excited about that

than anything they've added with this next gen update.

But now, at very least,

the gap between PC and console is not so wide,

even if it's not the full overhaul

maybe some have been hoping for, it's not Fallout 4 2.0,

it's a relatively unambitious next gen update

with some community-made content stapled on

to give it some good value.

It's still the Fallout 4 we all know,

just with higher resolution and a more stable frame rate.

Again, it's not a hell of a lot,

but I did spend some time on the base PS4 version

just to remind myself what it was like,

and it is a noticeable improvement.

Some might call it polishing a turd, but it's not that bad.

Fallout 4 has been and continues to be a divisive game.

There's a lotta good things about it

and a lot of annoyances

depending on what someone's looking for in a Fallout game.

Yeah.

I mean there's stuff that I really like about it

and stuff that I don't.

Role playing isn't great,

the dialogue wheel that they copped

from the Mass Effect games is too restrictive.

And quest designs has been dumbed down all over the place.

On the other hand, handling and shooting controls

are way better than 3 and New Vegas.

Another thing that the game excels at is atmosphere.

The Commonwealth is super dense, very visually interesting

in a way that the previous Fallout games just aren't.

Exploration is awesome here,

honestly, perhaps the game's strongest element.

Because it's not the story, that's for sure.

One thing that doesn't get discussed a lot

is how much Fallout 4

really expands on the world of Fallout,

and it does make it a more immersive place.

The game actually shows us how you use a stimpak,

for instance.

It's the first game to show someone

actually get into power armor,

and where the fusion power core goes.

A lotta the monsters and factions

were redesigned for Fallout 4,

and I have to compliment the design team,

because they made a lotta stuff

that was actually able to be recreated in live action

and somehow isn't distracting.

A ton of the design language from the show

comes from Fallout 4,

and you have to give credit to Bethesda

because it all does look great.

The strong design work

actually is what makes Fallout 4 hold up at all.

It definitely does look old,

like anytime you're in an interior space in the open world,

it looks pretty flat and ugly, but, outside of that,

the game can look pretty nice at times.

Other parts of the game haven't aged quite as well,

the settlement system

is still janky and frustrating as ever.

There are mods for it on the PC

that make the whole thing a lot more user friendly.

But not on the vanilla console version,

and that's what you're getting here,

so, prepare to go insane trying to line up some walls

and actually get them to attach to each other.

The new perks system is also divisive.

I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it.

It works, but it's still kinda clunky visually,

and a lotta the skills seem pretty randomly placed,

so, I'm always hunting around to find the right ones.

I don't know.

I don't hate the idea

of being able to upgrade your character however you want,

but I also still prefer

the old Fallout 3 slash New Vegas Perk System.

I mean, it's funny that I call Fallout 4's perk system new.

Next year it'll be 10 years old, but, yeah.

Anyway, Fallout 4 is a good-looking game overall.

You'd never be fooled

into thinking it's next gen, obviously,

but parts of the game hold up at least.

The 60 frames per second target is also huge

if you've never experienced the game at that frame rate,

it feels so much better to play it that way.

It still stutters a bit from time to time on PS5,

but the difference between the next gen version

and the previous gen version is pretty significant.

The PS5 version allows for save transfers,

which is super appreciated,

but I decided to start a new game

just to see what it's like.

If you do that, it may not be a good idea

to take on any of the added quests

you get with this version.

The new quests are Echoes of the Past,

which includes some new Enclave content,

When Pigs Fly, which gets you some new weapons,

and All Hallow's Eve,

which includes some Halloween workshop stuff

for some reason.

Maybe it was originally gonna launch around Halloween.

I don't know why it's here.

But I don't think they should remove it or anything,

it just stands out as weird

that they released some Halloween content

in, you know, April.

The Enclave stuff is what I was most interested in.

So right after starting a new game,

I ran east to trigger the quest,

in hindsight, it was a bad idea,

'cause once you trigger that enclave ambush,

your only options are either to kill them or be killed,

and you better be ready to kill them,

because, if they take you out,

you restart the game, 'cause you're soft locked.

Once the ambush zone is triggered,

they will follow you literally everywhere and ambush you,

it doesn't matter where you go, they will find you,

and they will take you out.

Even if you switch the game to Very Easy settings,

they will destroy you in seconds before you can do anything.

So, here's a little tip for you.

Avoid Echoes of the Past like the plague,

at least until you're definitely powerful enough to do it.

And when you do take it on, make a backup save.

So not exactly the best-designed quest of all time,

but that's not really the only problem with the update.

Bethesda probably did make

a lot of stability improvements and bug fixes,

but I still experienced more than one crash,

after playing the game for only a few hours,

which is not a great sign.

I don't know if I'm an outlier here,

or if it's going to be a problem.

But I do figure people should probably know.

I mean, I've got a lot of experience

playing Fallout 4 on previous consoles,

both the Xbox One and the PS4,

and it felt a lot like that, maybe a bit better.

But this game was a crasher,

on both of those systems for me,

and it definitely brought back some of that,

well I guess fear of just like random crashing,

you never really know when the game is gonna be over,

so to speak.

But other than a few new additions,

it really is just Fallout 4, warts and all.

It is a pretty big step over the last gen console versions.

They have not aged well at all.

But that's kinda the best I can really say about it.

If you got a PS4 disc lying around,

or just prefer to play these games on consoles

and have an Xbox Series X or PS5,

then switching over to the new versions is,

it's a no brainer.

It's a much more playable experience overall,

and you will notice differences,

especially if you play it at 60 frames for a second,

I'm just gonna say right off, that's what I'm playing it in,

I have no reason

to play it in 30 frames per second on a console.

If I'm able to play it in 60,

that's the reason to upgrade it.

I mean, there are other reasons to upgrade it,

but for me, none of them even really compare to that,

I mean it just is such a huge difference.

It's also why I generally play it on PC,

up until this point.

Because even with 60 frames per second on here,

it still pales in comparison to the PC version.

Or at least the PC version

before it breaks everybody's mods.

With Bethesda, it's always two steps forward,

one step back with all these kinds of things.

If you're a PC player

in the middle of a modded playthrough,

don't update Fallout 4, it is gonna screw ya.

But if you are playing on console,

I cannot imagine why you would not update it.

It's not some kinda major overhaul.

Graphically speaking, literally the same thing

with improved resolution and a better frame rate,

but, again, that is a big, big thing with this game.

Not big enough to make it as good as the PC version,

but it's a big jump.

So is Fallout worth coming back to it all?

Yeah, absolutely.

It's a flawed game for sure,

but I do think the good outweighs the bad.

If you want complex quests

with an interesting branching storyline,

then New Vegas, yeah, it's right there.

But if you want some satisfying exploration,

a more visually dynamic and interesting world

to explore and uncover.

And, let's face it, significantly better shooting mechanics,

then I think this game holds up better than you might think.

So, leave us a comment

and let us know what it is that you think.

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I'm Falcon, you can follow me on Twitter @FalconTheHero.

We'll see you next time, right here on Gameranx.

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