I preorded the game being a huge fallout fan and played the beta before launch… then I didnt touch the game for around 2 years. When I did go back however, it was right before the big wastelanders update which introduced an entirely new campaign and human npcs to the game. I ended up getting hooked once that update dropped, and I have maybe 6-700ish hours in the game now.

It really hurts me how bethesda handled this game, because there is some real solid stuff here. I think this is the best map bethesda has ever put out (ignoring the lack of cities), it is beyond gorgeous, massive, and has real diverse biomes as well. The wastelanders campaign has some fun and interesting characters, and the story is fun enough, they also dropped the 4-choice dialogue menu from fallout 4 in favor of something more 3/vegas esque. I have had some super fun and great multiplayer interactions too, the community is very nice and it is extremely common for high lvl players to just give you stuff as you’re starting out. You do really have to enjoy the looting n shooting more than the quests to get a lot of playtime out of this game though, as a lot of it post campaign completion is just grinding.

If they had released 76 with wastelanders from the get-go, with all those embarrassing bugs gone maybe the games reputation wouldnt be so bad. I dunno. But, if you already own it, and have been avoiding it, maybe give it another shot now. It’s no Vegas, but it is infinitely better than that terrible beta was.