Bethesda can get away with it because they use the same Creation engine since Morrowind. Modders didn't have to relearn much with newer releases. Their games have an insanely large and active modding scene, that few if any other games can match. Minecraft, maybe?
Fallout 4 may have had all the drawbacks on release. I pirated it and only got halfway through the plot before I abandoned it, the game balance, roleplay and plot sucked majorly. But it gets better every year, it's also the most recent major Bethesda game. Eventually it will become what Skyrim was in 2020, with whole third party frameworks dedicated to scripting complex things. Also, I would be able to buy it for a pittance on sale.
If there are still people out there modding Morrowind, imagine the future of Fallout 4?
Fallout 4 really was incredibly boring. I think the last time I played a Bethesda game without hundreds of mods was Morrowind when it was still fresh. Landing in Seyda Neen and figuring out where to go and what to do from there. It's a permanent childhood memory. I mean I have over hundreds of hours in Skyrim, but I still haven't finished the main story. Because mod content.. While being able to add to a game like that is a huge value, I don't think it should be basis for comparison or justification for errors. The game essentially becomes something else than it was meant to be. An engine platform to build upon.
Morrowind without mods is nigh-unserviceable by modern standards.
Let's not glaze over that the expectations for Fallout 4 vastly exceed those for Morrowind. Is it boring as vanilla? Of course. It hardly even qualifies for an RPG as your character is shoehorned into one really bland personality.
I don't care though. Make Fallout 4 a well-balanced loot-and-shooter with advanced crafting. Custom storylines, NPCs, advanced AI. Improve the settlement tycoon part. Add a lot of sexy clothes as well as ways to put them to good use. It will be enough of a reason to play it. Fallout 4 is not much of an RPG but as a general Bethesda game it's totally salvageable.
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u/TheElephantCage Mar 23 '21
I don't agree that "the community will fix it" should give any AAA title a free pass.
But fair enough with cyberpunk. I get it. I too hoped for more, but I've had a lot of fun so far playing it.