It’s impossible to play Fallout 4’s DLC without noticing how much it differs from what we saw in New Vegas and 3. Instead of offering a variety of mini stories, Bethesda has released a multitude of more mechanical and typically insubstantial series of add-ons to fill in the spaces between the more story driven sections we might expect. They’ve had moments of brilliance, but mostly they’ve been plagued by how inconvenient and clunky Fallout 4’s crafting and settlement systems are, which is the main focus of all the packages.
However, Vault Tec Workshopis pretty much Bethesda’s last chance to make a good impression with their smaller stuff, before Nuka World releases. (The supposed to be the DLC swan song) So, are the main problems that have plagued these DLC’s so far finally fixed, or does it settle yet again for a less fulfilling result. Let’s see.
Gameplay:
In a nutshell, Fallout 4’s Vault Tec Workshopis Bethesda trying to emulate Fallout Shelter’s concept in a more open environment. This is probably the most promising feature in the bundle, although you have to work for it through some more mundane objectives. This tedium subsides a bit once you finally begin construction, but it’s disconcerting that mixed feelings like these can still be present so far into Fallout 4’s lifespan.
Building your vault is where the experimentation in Vault Tec Workshop lies, and the classic Fallout atmosphere fits perfectly with it. The awe of your creations never truly leaves, leading to emotions that I wish were present more often in Fallout 4’s post content.
Story & Design:
Vault Tec Workshop also has one of the widest array of objects and tools I’ve seen in Fallout’s DLCs so far. There’s small stuff like more furniture, but enormous generators also exist for your energy needs. I do wish there as a more efficient way to select everything in menus, but the high presence of variety greatly makes up for this.
Honestly, the worst aspect of Vault-Tec Workshop is getting to the main goal. Having to collect so much steel and concrete is extremely boring, even if you love Fallout 4’s scavenging. Basically, Bethesda fixed most of the consistent flaws, but left this one out.
Presentation/ Visuals & Audio:
You’ll have to be level 20 in order to start Vault-Tec Workshop, which makes sense considering the hefty amounts of scavenging you’ll have to accomplish. However, this isn’t a full cap, but I kind of wish Bethesda had restricted the more ambitious players as they might get lost or burned out before finding the DLC’s excellence.
Fallout 4’s graphics never really have pop or gleam to them, but that doesn’t prevent certain creations from looking beautiful. There’s also a lot of visual diversity, meaning there is some offsides to the constant brown, blacks and grays you’ve likely seen. Something like this is really refreshing, and I hope it returns in Nuka World.
Conclusion:
Bethesda genuinely surprised me with Vault Tec Workshop. While it doesn’t leave a good impression at first the massive amount of tools you can require is anything but constricting. In fact, it’s so good, that it might change the minds of those who originally wrote settlements off.
Fallout 4’s Vault Tec Workshop gets a 8/10 (Very Good)
We’d like to thank Bethesda for giving us a code!
If you’d like to read more features and or reviews like this, please check out The Cube on Medium.com, or our Twitter @TheCubeMedium for more updates.
