While it was still highly-regarded by many, Fallout 4 brought about a multitude of concerns for the future of the franchise and its developer, Bethesda.
When Bethesda unveiled Fallout 76 just before E3 2018, those concerns only amplified. Despite this, its official reveal at E3 was an undeniable success. Todd Howard went on stage and delivered bold statements about how great Fallout 76 would be and how much effort was put into making it.
Well, Fallout 76 wasn’t great and now, Bethesda is under fire from the gaming community.
Letās fast-forward to now to get a quick rundown on how everything turned out for Bethesda:
- Fallout 76, as it stands right now, has an abysmal score on Metacritic.
- Itās been trashed by countless YouTubers and critics (See videos from YouTubers Angry Joe and LegacyKillaHD for examples).
- Itās $200 Special Edition became an issue due to ābag-gateā. This controversy was due to Bethesda swapping out a duffel bagās material to a cheaper material without telling their customers beforehand.
- The apology Bethesda gave out for the gameās status at launch didnāt sit well with customers and the developer has demonstrated worse communication issues than characters in a day-time soap opera.
- A recent data breach from Bethesda has leaked many gamersā personal information, possibly including phone numbers, credit card numbers, addresses, complaints about the game, etc. (this happened when players tried to submit tickets in order to get a replacement duffel bag for the Special Edition)
Iām sure youāve heard or read many of the things youāre about to see below. Which, in my opinion, will only help prove my point.
Bethesda used to be one of my favorite developers. Iāve probably spent hundreds of hours in the Capital Wasteland with Fallout 3. Elder Scrolls: Skyrim totally destroyed my social life in high school by accomplishing the same thing.
But, in my opinion, this is not the same company it was a few years ago. In 2015, Bethesda released Fallout 4. Look, Fallout 4 is NOT a bad game. There was just something…off about it. I never could put my finger on it until now.
Everything Bethesda consistently uses as parts of their games’ foundation feels outdated. No, Iām not just talking about the graphics or the entire game engine (Kotakuās Jason Schreier has an excellent piece about the difference between a game engine and graphics, animations, etc.). Why is it outdated you ask? Because itās been fundamentally the same since 2008 with Fallout 3. Actually, to some, itās been the same since Oblivion.
We have the same fighting mechanics that feel clunky, the same ugly visuals, the same dialogue systems, the same fetch missions, etc. in every Bethesda RPG since that time. In the past, all of these problems were excused due to expert storytelling, immersive worlds, and the fun RPG elements of their games.
Yes, they make tweaks to their formula here and there but at this point, itās like putting a band-aid on a crack of a dam thatās about to burst. Itās not going to end well for you and I would question your problem-solving skills.
Look at God of War. This franchise rebooted itself almost entirely and now, it’s in the running for Game of the Year. I’m not saying Bethesda needs to completely scrap it all and reboot, I’m just saying they need to re-evaluate what changes they make to each of their games.
To the people who like Fallout 76, I am sincerely happy for you. I donāt like the phrase people have been throwing around āOne manās trash is another manās treasureā. I donāt know, it seems a bit disingenuous to those who have found amusement in Fallout 76 and thatās not cool. It is okay if you like this game.
For me, Fallout 76 is just the final straw. The jump the shark moment. The Assassinās Creed: Unity of a franchise that I hold dear. Thatās actually a valid comparison in a sense. Unity was trashed across the board to the point where Ubisoft pulled the franchise to find out how to move on and evolve.
Other than slightly improved graphics and animations, I don’t see how Bethesda is adapting to today’s standards.
So the foundation of Bethesda RPGs is outdated. Weāve covered that. Now, letās move on to Bethesda themselves.
Iām no expert on how these companies operate and I wonāt pretend to be. I, just like you, am just a gamer who loves this industry. But from my perspective as someone who is watching all of this craziness unfold, Bethesdaās changed.
They are no longer the customer-first oriented, āHey, these guys are just like usā developers. Ever since these Skyrim re-releases started popping up and Fallout 4ās release, theyāve come off as a greedy company.
We give EA so much hatred for Star Wars: Battlefront 2, FIFA, Madden, and most recently, Battlefield V. Why have we turned a blind eye to Bethesda for having the same money-first, customer service later practices?
As compensation for those upset with the Fallout 76 duffel bag, Bethesda gave out 500 AtomsĀ to players. These Atomic Atoms are the in-game currency for Fallout 76 valued at $5. That alone still looks bad because thatās not an equal amount of compensation for players who feel like they were cheated with false advertisements. It only gets worse when you realize just how expensive everything in Fallout 76 is.
i made this comparason day 1 of launch that picture on the left was still on the website at the time pic.twitter.com/tRnnOSIFNY
— MrFive2Five (@MrFive2Five) November 21, 2018
For anyone hoping that @Bethesda was going to do something about the "canvas" bag that came with the @Fallout 76 Power Armor edition. Bad news. @BethesdaSupport @BethesdaStudios #notcanvas #falseadvertising pic.twitter.com/YylasB9Ojp
— Kyle Krcmaric (@krcm0209) November 21, 2018
Unfortunately, due to unavailability of materials, we had to switch to a nylon carrying case in the Fallout 76: Power Armor Edition. We hope this doesnāt prevent anyone from enjoying what we feel is one of our best collectorās editions.
— Fallout (@Fallout) November 28, 2018
The recent data-breach…I donāt even know what to say here. Iām speechless. Which, is the worst thing to be when youāre writing. Iāll just say this. Itās highly unlikely that this can get any worse for Bethesda.
For those of you that have ever read any of my opinion pieces before (if you havenāt, feel free to check out āAre Battle Royales Doomed to Failā and āWhy Iām Excited for Joaquin Phoenixās Jokerā), you know that Iām usually not this negative. I try to find positives in the sea of harsh criticism and end it all on a hopeful note. Iām not sure I can do this here.
I believe that gamers are justified in this backlash against Bethesda right now. Not to the point to where you should ever trash a GameStop (see Tweet below), but this is simply unacceptable for a AAA developer that knows better.
Some people really don't want their copy of Fallout 76 pic.twitter.com/a0yQBA3UYT
— Geoff āļø Japan // Feb 17 – Mar 16 // (@Geofficino) November 19, 2018
I donāt see much hope in Bethesda right now. Not until the company proves to me that they are willing to change to 2018 standards. We had masterpiece level games like God of War, Marvelās Spider-Man, and Red Dead Redemption 2 release this year. Anytime Bethesda used to release a title, I would expect them to be right up there in that category. Instead, I think itās a strong possibility that they would be awarded āWorst AAA Game of the Yearā if given the chance.
What are your thoughts on Fallout 76? Should Bethesda be receiving the backlash its gotten so far? Let us know in the comments below!