10 Harsh Realities Of Playing Fallout 4

Summary Fallout 4 is more appealing than ever in some ways, but its unflattering aspects are also more obvious.

Companions getting stuck, limited movement, and clunky gunplay are common annoyances in Fallout 4.

A lack of interesting choices and customization compared to prior Fallout games can feel restrictive.

Fallout 4 has proven to have enduring popularity, and there are a lot of reasons to consider returning to the game or picking it up for the first time right now. Whether getting the bug from watching the Fallout show, finishing Starfield, or simply wanting to check out the new next-gen update, the world of the wasteland might well be calling. Diving back in, however, can often end up quickly highlighting the game's unflattering aspects.

Despite a strong critical reception and plenty of sales, Fallout 4 has always been a somewhat contentious title in the series. The game represents a major shift from Fallout 3 and New Vegas, reworking or dropping plenty of classic mechanics and ideas in favor of new focuses like revamped gunplay and the settlement system. While the new additions felt fresh for many, there's also a lot to take issue with, and these problems become especially evident when replaying the campaign or checking it out all these years later.

Related New Vegas Or Fallout 4: Which Fallout Is Best For You & Why Fallout 4 and New Vegas provide two very different RPG experiences, with both titles excelling in different areas like roleplaying and graphics.

10 Fallout 4 Companions Get Stuck Frequently

Companions are one of the highlights of Fallout 4, making the journey through the wasteland one that doesn't have to be all that lonely. From the loyal canine companion Dogmeat to the synth detective Nick Valentine, a lot of characters that can join the journey make for memorable inclusions. One less positive element that's hard to forget, however, is their penchant for getting stuck all the time.

There's a lot of clutter in Fallout 4's world, and although the Sole Survivor might navigate it without too much trouble, the companions often aren't as lucky. Holding things up to deal with a companion's poor pathing can often be an immersion-breaker, and in some scenarios it can bring unnecessary risks with it. It's far from the only problem to plague Fallout 4 companions – Codsworth in particular is notorious for bugs – but it might be the most consistently annoying.

9 Fallout 4's Gunplay Isn't That Exciting

One of the big draws of Fallout 4, as opposed to earlier Fallout games, is a bigger focus on the gunplay, and it's definitely possible to credit some improvements in that area. Coming back to it from Starfield, however, makes it clear just how much Bethesda evolved the system in between the two games. From more interesting weapon perks to a more dynamic feel in general, it's just more fun to get into combat in Starfield than in Fallout 4.

There's something to be said for the fact that Fallout 4 weapons are clunkier by nature, and it does make sense that guns often assembled from scrap wouldn't have the same snappy sense as Starfield's alternatives. Even so, there's definitely room for improvement. Using V.A.T.S. to slow down combat and choose body parts to target can make things interesting in a different way, but it's hard to deny that the gunplay could use an upgrade overall.

8 Movement Options Are Limited In Fallout 4

Although the Sole Survivor is a lot better at navigating obstacles than companions, it isn't possible to do so in a way that's as fun or responsive as it could be. Fallout 4 doesn't feature any mechanic to vault over objects, necessitating the use of a jump or rerouting. This isn't a deal-breaker in terms of overall exploration, but it can feel stiff and clunky compared to many other modern games.

This is another area where Starfield does represent evolution, as the newer title shakes up the Bethesda RPG system by including vaulting. It can take a little bit of getting used to for veterans of the studio's games, but like the refined gunplay, it ultimately contributes to much more dynamic action. Going back to Fallout 4 after re-calibrating to the inclusion is a much rougher adjustment.

7 Fallout 4 Settlements Can Get Dull

Settlements are a big deal in Fallout 4 – a really big deal. Although it's technically possible to ignore them for a lot of the game, it's clearly not the intended experience, as a lot of mechanics and story points nudge the Sole Survivor back toward building up their little civilizations.

Related Finally, Fallout 4's Most Disappointing Settlement Just Got So Much Better Sunshine Tidings Co-op, one of Fallout 4's most disappointingly easy settlements to acquire and protect, just got significantly more challenging.

Settlements can be fun, and they're one of the biggest selling points for a certain part of Fallout 4's audience, but they can also be distracting and time-consuming for those who prefer to spend their hours with the rest of the game's features. This ends up feeling a lot worse on replays, as the novelty of learning settlement-building for the first time evaporates in favor of a sense of repetition. Getting creative helps a lot, but even that can only go so far in making it exciting.

6 Fallout 4's Radiant Quests Are Repetitive

One thing that can make or break any RPG is how interesting the quests are. Picking up the tenth fetch quest in a row without any interesting narrative element or twist to the gameplay can easily sink an experience, while throwing in enough variety can completely make up for even a lacking main story. Fallout 4 has its share of engaging quests, but it also has too many that feel like nothing more than filler.

Although the term isn't used in-game, the worst quests can generally be categorized as the "radiant" ones, as they make use of Bethesda's Radiant AI. Rather than being hand-designed content, a randomizing system tosses these quests out to fill up the wasteland. This can be a good way of shaking up exploration a bit, but as far as an actual questing experience goes, it's certainly lackluster.

Fallout 4 wasn't exactly a visual stunner when it first released, and close to a decade onward, that situation obviously hasn't improved. Bethesda has essentially been building off the same engine since 2002's Morrowind, and although Fallout 4 makes its own updates to it, they aren't enough to get it all the way up to speed. Starfield has a more significant overhaul in the form of the more heavily modified Creation Engine 2, and although it still isn't cutting edge, it's certainly closer.

None of this is to say that Fallout 4 looks awful, as the art design of the franchise is consistently more interesting than many competitors. There are also a lot of mods that can push things forward visually, resulting in a potentially beautiful experience. Out of the box, though, it's safe to say that most people won't be wowed by Fallout 4's graphics.

4 Fallout 4 Is Full Of Bugs

The issue of companions getting stuck is only one of the many awkward things that can happen in Fallout 4, as the game boasts plenty of bugs that are likely to crop up here and there. It isn't the worst Bethesda game in this regard, and both Fallout 3 and New Vegas are infamously full of holes. All the same, it's definitely a harsh reality of playing the game, especially when it forces reloading a save or relaunching.

The next-gen update for Fallout 4 finally addresses some long-running major issues, but it ends up causing some potential problems of its own, so it's definitely not the perfect answer to the bug problem. The best thing to do is really just to take it in stride, as a lot of bugs can end up being more amusing than genuinely frustrating.

3 Fallout 4's Character Builds Are Lacking

Designing and leveling a unique character is a fun tradition of the Fallout games, and the generally robust nature of systems built around this idea is indicative of the tabletop roleplaying inspirations involved in the conceptualization of the series. Raising certain skills traditionally makes it possible to spec characters into very different playstyles, helping to make each playthrough of a Fallout game feel very different.

Fallout 4, however, takes a step backward by streamlining things into SPECIAL stats and perks. Although it's a mostly hassle-free system, it makes it much harder to progress a character in a distinct way. It's not always the end of the world on a first playthrough of Fallout 4, but the lack of a robust skill system can start to grate when trying to do something different in a second run.

2 Voice Acting Sinks Fallout 4's Dialogue System

One big first for the franchise in Fallout 4 is having voice acting for the protagonist, who was always silent in prior games. This addition has some serious repercussions, however, as managing the amount of recorded material seems to have resulted in a lot of streamlining for the dialogue system. Fully written out options are replaced by an array of four prompts with vague suggestions, making it hard to say anything with much intent.

It's possible to mod a more traditional system back in, but doing so also reveals just how little variety there is in the options compared to Fallout 3 or New Vegas. Bethesda went back on this change in Starfield, and playing Fallout 4 makes it easy to see why the development didn't end up sticking. Voice acting also eliminates some of the room for imagination with the Sole Survivor, giving them more of a specific personality instead of a blank slate.

1 Fallout 4 Needs More Impactful Choices

Custom Image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

The dialogue options in Fallout 4 and the removal of a full-fledged skill system are part of a larger problem with the game – a lack of genuinely impactful choices. It's far from the worst RPG in that regard, but it's definitely a step down after everything that New Vegas offered.

Fallout 4's biggest decisions deal with issues like the faction scuffling, and it's possible to significantly alter major story outcomes based on a few key decisions. In the larger picture, however, it feels like most of the agency to really shift things was geared toward only a select number of choices. Refusing quests is often an interesting option, but engaging with any character's offers or ideas tends to mostly head toward one direction, and Fallout 4 can end up feeling like there just isn't quite as much meat on its bones.