If you're expecting more of the Fallout 76 hate-train, this ain't it. Noah Gervais is back with an even-handed review of Fallout 76 and why he feels more charitable towards FO76 than Fallout 4....
If you're expecting more of the Fallout 76 hate-train, this ain't it. Noah Gervais is back with an even-handed review of Fallout 76 and why he feels more charitable towards FO76 than Fallout 4.
For those unfamiliar, Noah Gervais is one of the most academic gaming critics out there, his style is to always consider what the game is aiming to be and how effectively the game accomplishes it.
Even having not watched this video yet (doing so now), that view makes sense to me TBH. Fallout 4 left me feeling incredibly disappointed since, as a direct Fallout 3/NV sequel, I expected a...
why he feels more charitable towards FO76 than Fallout 4.
Even having not watched this video yet (doing so now), that view makes sense to me TBH. Fallout 4 left me feeling incredibly disappointed since, as a direct Fallout 3/NV sequel, I expected a genuinely deep, immersive, RPG experience and what I found instead was only the thinnest veneer of an RPG masking what was really just a mindless shooter and tedious building/settlement management/crafting game. And at least with Fallout 76 it was clear from the start it was meant to be exactly that but multiplayer. FO76 is not something I want to or likely ever will play... but at least that was clear to me from the start, whereas with Fallout 4 I felt a bit misled and ripped off.
p.s. Thanks for making me aware of this youtuber. Having watched the first 30+min now, I can tell this channel will be right up my alley. I especially liked his section on the "always on microphone" and how the removal of it had the unintended consequence of making the game feel less intimate.
Good to hear, Noah's one of the few YouTube gaming critics I can get behind because he doesn't get lost in the "I don't like it therefore it sucks" line of thinking, like many others do. You often...
p.s. Thanks for making me aware of this youtuber. Having watched the first 30+min now, I can tell this channel will be right up my alley.
Good to hear, Noah's one of the few YouTube gaming critics I can get behind because he doesn't get lost in the "I don't like it therefore it sucks" line of thinking, like many others do. You often won't hear if he dislikes the game at all until the second half of his videos when he's getting into how well it all comes together and why it might hit or miss the mark.
Yeah, the whole video was very thoughtful, which I really appreciate. I don't necessarily agree with everything he said, and many of the "positive" aspects of the game he discussed at length came...
Yeah, the whole video was very thoughtful, which I really appreciate. I don't necessarily agree with everything he said, and many of the "positive" aspects of the game he discussed at length came across as merely shallow Skinner box mechanics to me, but he did open my eyes to a few of the positive aspects of FO76 that I have yet to hear anyone else really discuss, (e.g. easy to pick up and play, well balanced loot/crafting/leveling, etc).
Interesting that you flagged that, I think that's one of the things that makes Noah stand out for me. I feel like video games are a great medium for a well-designed Skinner box, a lot of the games...
Interesting that you flagged that, I think that's one of the things that makes Noah stand out for me. I feel like video games are a great medium for a well-designed Skinner box, a lot of the games he covers have those mechanics. There's satisfaction to be had with chasing that carrot, as long as it's designed well, and I feel like he's one of the few critics who can flag for me when a Skinner box is good or when it's bad (i.e. exploitative).
A good example is Mad Max, where the idea of doing rote tasks for the reward of upgrading your car is handled pretty well overall. The tasks are interesting and fun, the upgrades are meaningful, and the overall experience of playing through this Skinner box is satisfying. Where it breaks down is at the end, when the grind for the next upgrade is just far too long, the immersion and meaningfullness of the Skinner box breaks, and it all collapses on itself.
Sure, if done well like in Mad Max, where the system is in service to the story, used to give players a sense of progression and/or further unlock exploration, they can be tolerable or even...
Sure, if done well like in Mad Max, where the system is in service to the story, used to give players a sense of progression and/or further unlock exploration, they can be tolerable or even enhance the experience to a degree. But based on what he said about FO76, it appears that it's anything but well done and instead the only point of gathering items is to upgrade, so you can gather more items to upgrade, so you can keep gathering more items to upgrade, etc. It's an intentionally endless cycle that does not really serve any greater purpose other than to get the player addicted, which is where I start to have problems with them (and also why I stopped playing MMOs).
In the phenomenal Joseph Anderson review of fallout 4 and his later revisitation, he talks about how the best parts of fallout 4 were by far the exploration, looting, and building cycle of the...
In the phenomenal Joseph Anderson review of fallout 4 and his later revisitation, he talks about how the best parts of fallout 4 were by far the exploration, looting, and building cycle of the game.
The fact that Fallout 76 chooses to focus on this and drop the abysmal dialogue and story is honestly fine. The game still has lots of problems both technical and design wise, but it was clear from Fallout 4 that Bethseda had no desire to offer a roleplaying experience with Fallout anymore.
If you're expecting more of the Fallout 76 hate-train, this ain't it. Noah Gervais is back with an even-handed review of Fallout 76 and why he feels more charitable towards FO76 than Fallout 4.
For those unfamiliar, Noah Gervais is one of the most academic gaming critics out there, his style is to always consider what the game is aiming to be and how effectively the game accomplishes it.
Even having not watched this video yet (doing so now), that view makes sense to me TBH. Fallout 4 left me feeling incredibly disappointed since, as a direct Fallout 3/NV sequel, I expected a genuinely deep, immersive, RPG experience and what I found instead was only the thinnest veneer of an RPG masking what was really just a mindless shooter and tedious building/settlement management/crafting game. And at least with Fallout 76 it was clear from the start it was meant to be exactly that but multiplayer. FO76 is not something I want to or likely ever will play... but at least that was clear to me from the start, whereas with Fallout 4 I felt a bit misled and ripped off.
p.s. Thanks for making me aware of this youtuber. Having watched the first 30+min now, I can tell this channel will be right up my alley. I especially liked his section on the "always on microphone" and how the removal of it had the unintended consequence of making the game feel less intimate.
Good to hear, Noah's one of the few YouTube gaming critics I can get behind because he doesn't get lost in the "I don't like it therefore it sucks" line of thinking, like many others do. You often won't hear if he dislikes the game at all until the second half of his videos when he's getting into how well it all comes together and why it might hit or miss the mark.
Yeah, the whole video was very thoughtful, which I really appreciate. I don't necessarily agree with everything he said, and many of the "positive" aspects of the game he discussed at length came across as merely shallow Skinner box mechanics to me, but he did open my eyes to a few of the positive aspects of FO76 that I have yet to hear anyone else really discuss, (e.g. easy to pick up and play, well balanced loot/crafting/leveling, etc).
Interesting that you flagged that, I think that's one of the things that makes Noah stand out for me. I feel like video games are a great medium for a well-designed Skinner box, a lot of the games he covers have those mechanics. There's satisfaction to be had with chasing that carrot, as long as it's designed well, and I feel like he's one of the few critics who can flag for me when a Skinner box is good or when it's bad (i.e. exploitative).
A good example is Mad Max, where the idea of doing rote tasks for the reward of upgrading your car is handled pretty well overall. The tasks are interesting and fun, the upgrades are meaningful, and the overall experience of playing through this Skinner box is satisfying. Where it breaks down is at the end, when the grind for the next upgrade is just far too long, the immersion and meaningfullness of the Skinner box breaks, and it all collapses on itself.
Sure, if done well like in Mad Max, where the system is in service to the story, used to give players a sense of progression and/or further unlock exploration, they can be tolerable or even enhance the experience to a degree. But based on what he said about FO76, it appears that it's anything but well done and instead the only point of gathering items is to upgrade, so you can gather more items to upgrade, so you can keep gathering more items to upgrade, etc. It's an intentionally endless cycle that does not really serve any greater purpose other than to get the player addicted, which is where I start to have problems with them (and also why I stopped playing MMOs).
In the phenomenal Joseph Anderson review of fallout 4 and his later revisitation, he talks about how the best parts of fallout 4 were by far the exploration, looting, and building cycle of the game.
The fact that Fallout 76 chooses to focus on this and drop the abysmal dialogue and story is honestly fine. The game still has lots of problems both technical and design wise, but it was clear from Fallout 4 that Bethseda had no desire to offer a roleplaying experience with Fallout anymore.