Fallout 4: Far Harbor DLC Reviews
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We have rounded up some more reviews for Far Harbor, the latest DLC for Fallout 4. The general response to the DLC is positive, though a number of outlet were disappointed with for various reasons, chiefly the bad performance introduced by its new graphical effects (especially prominent on PlayStation 4) and a general feeling that the DLC isn't quite as exciting and interesting as it could have been.
Push Square awards a 4/10 because of the performance issues on PlayStation 4.
Far Harbor should have be an easy sell to those who have picked the Commonwealth clean, but something terrible lurks within the fog. Serious framerate issues on PS4 make the expansion stink like the rot of a mutated fishman, killing any sense of adventure in what is otherwise an intruiging add-on. If the problem's patched, feel free to add a few points to this review's score but until then, you should steer your ship clear of Far Harbor's foreboding coast.
Twinfinite, 5/5.
It is a deep experience, entrenched in mystery, and doused in activities and hunts for fans to get into. Bethesda wasn't lying when they said they had something big in store, and this visit to a faraway land shows that the team went above and beyond.
IGN, 8.3/10.
Fallout 4: Far Harbor adds a large amount of great quests and content within its gloomy but distinctive island setting. Thanks to some well-written, morally ambiguous characters, its choices are as gray as the weather, and much more interesting. Though the new companion isn't the strongest and the supposedly ruinous radioactive fog is more annoying than threatening, all of the adventuring and new gear absolutely made it worth my while to return to Fallout 4 for Far Harbor.
Forbes, scoreless.
At the end of the day, if you enjoyed Fallout 4, you will probably like Far Harbor because it's simply more of it, 10-15 hours at the very least, which will probably be worth $25 to some. That said, Fallout 4's core problems still exist within it. Inventory management is still a nightmare, and the game eventually just refuses to tell you where any more quests are, leaving you to puzzle it out yourself whether you're actually done or not. With every area visited and no further leads, I guess I'm finished with Fallout 4 once again, and it was nice to pay it another visit after so much time away.
GameRant, 4/5.
Far Harbor is jam-packed with content and players who don't end up being tormented by frame rate issues are likely to love what Bethesda has put together. The area has enough content to keep players busy for between 15 and 20 hours and that's just to get one of the main story's endings.
Trusted Reviews, 4/5.
If you played Fallout 4 till your eyes bled then it's still probably best to wait a tad before seeing what's on offer here. But if the wounds have healed, you'll be all the more willing to injure yourself again.
It may be as predicted, but there's nothing wrong with that.
PC Gamer, 84/100.
Far Harbor is a bit pricey but worth it for those looking for a good amount of new content and a real departure in setting. More dialogue-based resolutions are also welcome: I feel like I did more talking, and likewise more listening, than in Fallout 4 itself.
Destructoid, 5/10.
Far Harbor seems like a noble attempt at addressing some of the criticisms of Fallout 4's original release, but it ultimately falls short of that goal. The multiple quest outcomes and interplay between factions calls to mind what was done in New Vegas, but lacks the depth and uncertainty of those choices. The new enemies look fantastic, but in the end, act just like every other enemy of their type you've seen before. Bethesda has crafted a gorgeous new landscape to explore that is dripping in atmosphere and style, but technical glitches bog down the experience.
If you are absolutely starving for more Fallout 4 content, Far Harbor will give you another impressively large landscape to explore and some great side content to dig into. If you were already tired of Fallout 4 and hoping the expansion would provide something unique enough to justify coming back, this isn't it.
Metro, 7/10.
It's unclear if there will be any more tradition expansions after this, although Bethesda is still trying to get fan-made mods to work on consoles. But if Far Harbor ends up as the last it is at least a suitable send-off, in that it mirrors exactly the achievements and failures of the main game: packed with content and endlessly customisable, but blandly written and with disappointingly low tech visuals. Still, no one said surviving Armageddon was meant to be smooth sailing.
Videogamer.com, 8/10.
Far Harbor is a DLC that winds down rather than winds up, but it gets away with it. It uses a design that's refreshing even if it does eventually sour, and packs a lot of fun into all the quests you can pick up. Out of all the DLC Far Harbour gives you the most bang for your buck, and it's timed well enough that you were just getting ready to go back to the game anyway. Plus it's a chance to relive those happy family memories of rockpooling on your summer holidays. Just with more horrific mutations. Plus there's an incidental story you can stumble on that references WWE, which I didn't fully understand but am told is very good.
Eurogamer's review is scoreless but calls it "light on excitement."
The eternal charm of new trinkets aside, the appeal of Bethesda's add-on environments is that they're potted epics - all the variety and freedom of the main game, that joy of plunging your fingers into the wreckage of civilisations, packed into a mere couple dozen hours and with a distinct regional flavour. Sadly, Far Harbor feels a little too watered-down to stand alongside the likes of Oblivion's celebrated Shivering Isles, or even Skyrim's relatively by-the-numbers Dragonborn DLC. There's plenty to do on the island and much of it is worth doing, but none of it is unmissable, and the setting itself is a bore. The Commonwealth remains a dangerous place with its share of nonsense, but I'm glad to be heading back.
The Verge, scoreless.
If you've been away from Fallout 4 for a few months, (Far Harbor) feels like the perfect way to get back into things. It's big enough that you can get lost in it for hours, but not so huge that it feels daunting. It's like a condensed version of the main game. It has everything you'd want from inventive new quests to an engaging story to horrifying new monstrosities to fight but fits it all into a much tighter package. Far Harbor may be a horribly radiated island, but that doesn't mean it's not inviting.
GameSpot, 6/10.
For its new locations and weapons, the turbulent waters of Maine are a satisfying compliment to Fallout 4. But where Far Harbor succeeds in delivering more of the same great gameplay and oddball characters that made the main campaign such a joy, it can't muster an interesting story. It over-confidently asserts twists and conundrums, without doing enough to earn your investment in the outcome of your decisions. If a moving story is what you're after, steer your ship back to the shores of the Commonwealth.
PlayStation Universe, 7.5/10.
Far Harbor is packed with interesting new things to see and do, certainly enough to warrant the price, but it needs to be said that despite all the newness, the aesthetic is very much the same, even with the change-up in enemy types and the addition of the fog. That's fine in the sense that it feels like a proper extension of this corner of the Fallout universe, but it's not as distinct a location as say, the ones for Operation Anchorage or Point Lookout were in Fallout 3's expansions. If you've grown tired of Fallout 4 already, then this may not be quite the jolt to the system you were hoping for, but regardless, it does feature some of the strongest points of the Fallout 4 package to date. Here's hoping there'll be another sizeable expansion for the game in the future. Just one with a few less performance issues though, eh Bethesda?
GameCrate, 9.00/10.
Far Harbor delivers, and if Bethesda continues to make DLC for Fallout 4 this is exactly what we want to see from them. A game with choices and emotion, built in a world that's chock-full of atmosphere and challenges, while still spinning a web of dark humor and happiness and telling a story of people struggling to survive in a world where survival is at best optional and at worst impossible.
Attack of the Fanboy, 4.5/5.
All of this comes together to form a true expansion, not just a chunk of fresh DLC. Far Harbor takes what Fallout 4 did and does it a little bit better, with adjustments and additions tossed in to really shake things up. It is also a long experience, with tons of quests to work through, and plenty of new characters to interact with. If you enjoyed any part of your time with Fallout 4 then Far Harbor will surely please you, and those who were wanting a little bit more might just find it here.
