Fallout Before They Drop

The other day I read this article https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/zm9549/nuclear-war-experts-are-horrified-by-fallout-76 and it got me thinking about the Fallout franchise again. I have only played the last three installments published by Bethesda but I did play through the main story lines in all three. My feelings about the series have always been mixed. Overall the games are well written and designed. Some elements are better implemented than similar elements in Elder Scrolls. I enjoy the dark humour dispersed throughout dialogue, documents and computer terminals. I especially love hacking terminals. However the environment and the quests get to me after a while. I found Fallout 3 so bleak I couldn’t play it until after I had finished New Vegas. The nuclear devastation and the sorrow weighs heavily. Fallout’s factions and themes have sparked many worthwhile online discussions about morality and science.

I have been watching some Fallout 76 game play video lately and I’m still a bit confused about how systems will work in practice. Considering my play style, it’s not apt to be a game that appeals to me but I am not ready to form an opinion until release. I don’t get the impression that Bethesda wants this game to be about “griefers with nukes”. In fact, developers talk a lot about preventing griefing. So it remains to be seen.