Or, if you didn't like it, what were some things you DID enjoy about it?
There are a lot of things I enjoyed, personally, especially the Settlements and the new Power Armor system, but these two are the most important.
For one, the atmospheric storytelling. While the main storyline was good, but not exactly great, the scenery had told it's own story. The corpses scattered around, clearly just doing things people do, show how suddenly the bombs fell. The way the Prydwen entered the Commonwealth gave off the simultaneous sense of dread and hope that the people of the Commonwealth would feel. The strange shit that apparently happened in bathrooms pre-war also kind of tells strange, darkly comical stories that would easily fit it in to an Obsidian sidequest.
Secondly, how the story tricks you. It sets it up like it is a straightforward story, the Institute are the bad guys, that's the end of it. But, as soon as you enter the Institute, it turns face-heel. The Commonwealth Government? The blame was pinned. Broken mask? Unexpected, uncontrolled incident. The release of Super Mutants? Minor negligence with huge consequences. The masterminds of the Institute? Just normal scientists living their life underground, just as fearful of the outside world as it is of them, and genuinely convinced that their synth servitors are just machines. Over the course of minutes, you see things from their point of view, and it changes the story massively.
There are a lot of things I enjoyed, personally, especially the Settlements and the new Power Armor system, but these two are the most important.
For one, the atmospheric storytelling. While the main storyline was good, but not exactly great, the scenery had told it's own story. The corpses scattered around, clearly just doing things people do, show how suddenly the bombs fell. The way the Prydwen entered the Commonwealth gave off the simultaneous sense of dread and hope that the people of the Commonwealth would feel. The strange shit that apparently happened in bathrooms pre-war also kind of tells strange, darkly comical stories that would easily fit it in to an Obsidian sidequest.
Secondly, how the story tricks you. It sets it up like it is a straightforward story, the Institute are the bad guys, that's the end of it. But, as soon as you enter the Institute, it turns face-heel. The Commonwealth Government? The blame was pinned. Broken mask? Unexpected, uncontrolled incident. The release of Super Mutants? Minor negligence with huge consequences. The masterminds of the Institute? Just normal scientists living their life underground, just as fearful of the outside world as it is of them, and genuinely convinced that their synth servitors are just machines. Over the course of minutes, you see things from their point of view, and it changes the story massively.
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