Genre: RPG
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Like all of Bethesda's "Fallout" games, 76's post-apocalyptic setting-- West Virginia, this time-- is less interesting to explore in practice than in theory, with the trash-cluttered ground and scorched buildings intrinsically lacking the photogenic nature of other releases such as Bethesda's own "Skyrim". The venerable "Gamebryo" engine really shows its age here; it runs in native 2160p at 60 fps on this reviewer's RTX 2080 video card, but performance on lesser hardware is notoriously fickle, and occasional rendering bugs and artifacts are evident. That said, the introduction of a new volumetric rendering model does lend some modernity to the proceedings.

Like every Bethesda release post-"Daggerfall", Fallout 76 uses orchestral compositions which do a good job of both sitting in the background as a gentle accompaniment to the exploration, and punctuating the periods of intense violence with bursts of music. The way the game's gun sounds crackle through the crisp, autumnal morning air is almost surrealistically believable, although some of the other sound effects-- like the shotgun blasts-- are not as satisfying. And in true Bethesda style, the lurking player can comically hear the enemies mumbling to themselves.

Fallout 76 involves exploring burned-out cities, torn apart houses, and abandoned rail stations with friends, using a combination of sneaking and overt gunplay, while plucking "junk" items and other kinds of loot out of containers, or enemy bodies. These items can be used to both build and modify weapons and armor, and also appropriated for use in building a home base, Ark or Conan-style. This home base can and should be frequently moved, providing a rest point for your team. All is well until one hits against the game's extreme carry limits, not just in terms of player inventory, but even related to the player's stash! Essentially, the player is permanently over-encumbered, making inventory juggling and combat undesirably exacting.

Where "Fallout 3" was "Oblivion with guns", and "Fallout 4" was "Skyrim with guns", then Fallout 76 is "Skyrim with co-op". Not since the N-Gage's excellent "Shadowkey" has the world been treated to a multiplayer Bethesda game of this nature, and predictably 76 turns out to be a real treat to play with a small group of friends. It's just a shame then that so much of the game's design feels hamstrung by the title's technical limitations; for instance, apparently the stash and inventory limits are dictated by the engine's shortcomings, not set according to solid design principles. Yet even with incessant and boring inventory management, Fallout 76 is a difficult game to put down-- and it's possible that the title's performance and restrictions will be improved with future patches.