Fallout 4: Far Harbor (Video Game DLC)
Ted Hentschke
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Developed by Bethesda Game Studios
Available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One
Rated M for Mature
It’s been interesting to watch the evolution of digital content over time. We used to laugh at $3 Horse Armor, but now routinely shell out several times that a week for the latest skins, item packs, or extra play coins. It’s a sad direction, since in the same game that gave us Horse Armor (Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion), we saw Shivering Isles, which to date still might be the best bit of DLC to ever be conceived. It was an addition that really felt worthy of the hefty price tag, adding a staggering amount of content that was unique enough to be totally different from the base game without feeling disconnected. It goes past being just on “Top DLC” lists, in many ways outshining the game it’s attached to.
It’s a comparison that’s unavoidable when dealing with Bethesda’s latest child, Far Harbor. Before release, there were rumors that this would rival Shivering Isles in size and scale. And by rumors, I mean that Bethesda’s VP of marketing Pete Hines flat out said it was. Of course there’s a certain expectation for marketing bullshit leading up to a new release, but a claim that bold comes with some reasonable expectations/scepticism. It got me excited, but it’s a massive bar set.
Perhaps if they hadn’t compared the two, I’d have more favorable opinions of Far Harbor. For all that Far Harbor is, it’s certainly no Shivering Isles. It isn’t bad, just kind of bland. A repeat of what we’ve seen before, treading familiar water with only superficial improvements and no innovation. For a game like Fallout 4, more of the same is just fine. But it isn’t another Shivering Isles, and isn’t worth $25.
Watching this hermit crab pop out of a trailer was easily worth 3 bucks, though.
I don’t have a lot to say on Far Harbor, so this is going to be a pretty short review. It’s not like I didn’t bother to try and find things to talk about. I played the whole thing, found all the extras, did all the sidequests, and even built up my settlements. It’s just that between the few sites to see, and new factions to encounter, there isn’t really anything that sets this apart from Fallout 4. If you want to know what I thought of that game, my review is already up, so go ahead and check it out.
From what I found, Far Harbor adds around 4-5 new weapon types, a new set of armor, a new companion, a dozen or so interesting characters, and about 10 hours of the same shit you saw in the base game. It starts when you receive a message from the Valentine Detective Agency about the kidnapping of Kasumi Nakano. After some light detective work, you figure out that she has gone to the synth refuge of Acadia on the island of Far Harbor. Cool, off to the DLC-land we go.
Starting your journey in Far Harbor, you find that the residents of Far Harbor are all held up in Far Harbor, a harbor on the far side of the Far Harbor island. A mysterious fog has overtaken the island, and all sorts of about six different types of enemies lay siege to the stalwart remaining few. After fighting off a wave of attackers, you are given the vague mission to explore the island, find Kasumi, and find some kind of resolution to the events at hand.
Now, don’t think I’m knocking the game for being open and vague. That has been Fallout’s jam since the game was isometric. I’m fine with the vague, as long as there’s interesting stuff to see. That is where Far Harbor stumbles.
This is the most interesting quest in the entire DLC, and it has nothing to do with the plot.
Every opportunity that Far Harbor had to distinguish itself from the main game falls short. First up, the fog. There’s a mysterious and menacing fog that blankets the island, which the residents insist is deadlier than a whole ocean of Deathclaws. I was warned that my “mainlander” rad-aways won’t work on it, as it’s a far more insidious and corrupting force. So I checked my rads meter, popped a rad-away after about 30 minutes exposure, and was just fine. Huh, I guess my meds do work. Go figure.
While the fog is thematic, it’s practically pointless. Not only does it do jack shit to conceal enemies, it also isn’t at all unique. Oh, enemies only spawn in the fog, making the safe zones I create monsterless. You know where else that’s the case? Everywhere in Fallout 4. Enemies can be found anywhere that isn’t allied territory. That’s just how the game works.
Traversing the island, you quickly realize that they did next to nothing to make it feel distinct. You run into the same ramshackle buildings, the same dilapidated houses, the same ruined factories, but now with 50% more bog. They attempted to go for a nautical feel, calling the residents of Far Harbor “Captains” and giving them plaid shirts and rain boots, but not once past the opening do you step on a boat. Enemies like gulpers, anglers, and hermit crabs are all land based repeats of Mirelurks. Also, there are more Mirelurks.
There are only about 20 or so areas to explore, and of those maybe a handful are memorable. Of everything I saw, only two stand out as different enough from Fallout 4 to take up my limited brain space. The only worthwhile reward is a new set of combat armor that is super OP and requires you to dive to get it. It could have been fun to hunt for each piece through caves, wrecks, and monster lairs, but nope, it’s all quest markers at weird random spots on the ocean floor.
Although, on the plus side, now I can pretend to be a power armor matryoshka doll
There are three factions to side with in Far Harbor, and just like the rest of the DLC, they are basically just repeats of the base game. The residents of Far Harbor are the Minutemen, just trying to take back their homes and live a life free of being eaten by monsters or killed by raiders. Acadia, the island’s synth refuge, just wants to give runaway synths a place to live in peace like the Railroad. The Children of Atom are a bunch of nonsensical warmongering zealots declaring war on anyone and everyone their wildly unqualified leader says to, just like the Brotherhood of Steel. The Institute is too busy fucking up the Commonwealth, so they couldn’t bother to have an analogue.
The main thing that distinguishes Far Harbor is that the factions don’t all have to destroy each other. You can make everyone play nice, or leave the island a smouldering waste, choice is yours. This part is nice. I’m not going to spoil anything, but you can also make Acadia less Railroad-like and more Institute-esque. It’s not some overwrought decision either, and makes sense either way you go.
Another thing I liked was the hacking minigame. There’s a part in the DLC where a character named DiMA asks you to retrieve his memories, and in order to do so you have to complete a series of pseudo Minecraft/tower defense challenges. None of it is really hard, but it’s a nice change of pace for a game that stripped a lot of the creative diversity from the core gameplay.
It shows what kind of awesome and creative things that they could have done with the crafting system, but didn’t.
All said and done, Far Harbor is $25 dollars for another small area of a $60 game. At that price point, I’d expect it to at least rival the vicinity of Diamond City. After spending a few hours in the distant isle, I honestly couldn’t help myself from coming back to the main game. There were a few quests I wanted to finish, and Far Harbor’s three-way duel for dominance just didn’t pull my attention. Prior to this DLC, I hadn’t played Fallout 4 in well over six months. So if the new content couldn’t tempt me away from random Railroad filler, then it’s doing something wrong.
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Categorized:Horror Gaming Reviews
