Let's Take a Trip to Far Harbor

Steve Anderson : End Game
Steve Anderson
The Video Store Guy
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Let's Take a Trip to Far Harbor

It was easily one of the most sought-after bits of downloadable content (DLC) in a good while, and Fallout 4's recent expansion, Far Harbor, recently emerged for us to try. Thanks to my season pass, I got in fairly quickly, and what I discovered was a whole lot of excitement. Now, with a little time in Far Harbor under my belt, I can fill you in and tell you about my time there with a few basic points.

1. This place is big.

Like really, really big. I was astonished at just how far I had to walk just to reach the first major quest point, and how much I walked past in the interim. This was almost like another little Fallout 4 release, and after the last couple of rounds of DLC, it felt like a proper expansion. Sure, Automatron had some exciting quest action, taking on the Mechanist and all, but this was an order of magnitude beyond Automatron. Wasteland Workshop wasn't even close.

2. This feels like Obsidian DLC.

After playing Far Harbor, with its variety of questlines presented in one compressed package, I realized that this felt a lot more like Obsidian's Fallout: New Vegas DLC than Fallout 3 DLC. While Mothership Zeta and Point Lookout had some questing involved, this was a lot more like Old World Blues than anything Bethesda had done. Frankly, I consider Old World Blues the height of Fallout DLC, and this was shades of Old World Blues in content and presentation.

3. This feels like Bethesda again.

One thing Bethesda usually did right--and high water for this feeling came from Elder Scrolls: Skyrim--is that you could be walking to a destination, and along the way, see a host of new possible destinations and just go investigate these destinations. It was a sense of wonder, and Fallout 4 just didn't have it. Too seeemingly devoted to its gee-whiz factors of settlement building and weapon crafting to focus on the joy of exploration, Far Harbor seems to have fixed that up in a big way.

4. I can't wait to play more.

I've really only just gotten started, having finished up the Far Harbor quests, including the Captain's Dance and the seizure of a lumberyard from a lunatic cannibal who wanted to pay me to set him up with a movable feast. There's a lot I haven't seen yet, and a lot that I can hardly wait to experience. Fallout 4 has become a joy once more with Far Harbor's release, and I'm abundantly glad for that.

That's what I've seen so far in Far Harbor, and having done so, I'm glad for it. I hope more Bethesda DLC looks like this in the future, because this is some fine stuff right here.


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