GAME REVIEW: Fallout 4: Vault-Tec Workshop DLC

Vault Dwellers, zip up those jumpsuits and prepare for the future. Fallout 4’s newest workshop DLC is the biggest workshop yet, and even comes along with a cheeky little quest line to sweeten the deal. So is Fallout 4’s final workshop DLC up to regulation standards? What does it add to Fallout 4 that we haven’t seen already? Let’s dig a little deeper (get it? It’s a Vault joke. Underground? Digging?).

Well, it seems ‘another settlement needs your help’, and it’s a brand new one at that. Vault 88 was still being constructed when the bombs fell two centuries ago, and the enormous cavern it was supposed to be nestled snugly inside of is still there, vast and full of sweet, sweet resources to plunder. See where this is going? – Vault-Tec Workshop gives the player access to this giant subterranean jackpot and challenges them to finish what Vault Tec started by building Vault 88 as they see fit, albeit slightly behind schedule.

Housing Vault 88, the cavern itself is the biggest buildable area we’ve seen so far. Probably a few times bigger than Sanctuary Hills, the area could easily be accused of being just too big, if it wasn’t for the abundance of scrap and materials scattered throughout it. The cavern/settlement’s total limit is unlikely to allow the player to use all that space anyway, so a lot of it is probably going to go to waste when building a vault, unless you’re smarter than me and figure something out. Sprinkled with relatively high level enemies, most of the early starters will have trouble getting anything done, and survival mode players will probably want to plan their every move. However, the materials you can scavenge are pretty abundant, and you’ll be getting started in no time.

Which brings us to the key feature of the DLC. It is a workshop DLC after all, so be prepared for another injection of parts and pieces to play with in Fallout 4’s notoriously awkward crafting system. I’ve always felt that the crafting system in Fallout 4 is a lot like playing ice hockey with a spatula. It’s fun, but it sometimes sucks, and would probably be a lot easier if you just did it differently. Such as, by using a proper hockey stick, or by having more options than just the first-person system; but I digress. The parts provided in the DLC are, you guessed it; Vault related.

The variety in the new structure pieces is actually quite enjoyable, and allows the player to make the place a little more authentic, or ‘Vaulty’; whilst retaining their own creative freedom in the process. However, you’ll probably need to get to grips with which pieces fit together before committing to a design, as at times it feels frustratingly like trying to click Lego bricks together with no sticky bits. That’s basically bricklaying, and bricklaying is a job. Jobs are hard and not fun. It’s quite difficult to be able to envision what you want to build inside your head, and then actually execute it within the settlement, but this may be a fault of the overall crafting system itself rather than any DLC.

As for the additional accessories such as furniture, it’s cleaner than a eunuch’s search history. Seriously, there’s not a spot of dust on those coffee tables. The furniture in Fallout 4 usually looks like it’s been fished out of a skip (which it probably has) so being able to build a sofa without any suspicious stains on it is fairly cool. Although, such pieces are going to look seriously out of place if you want to use them above-ground, but that all depends on whether you care about cosmetic issues or not.

New utilities such as new super-reactor generators that produce a submarine’s worth of power, along with wall conduits that don’t need to be connected to anything electrical in order to power things makes life much easier, and compensates somewhat for how complicated and finicky Vault construction can get at times. The new lighting is unimpressive and makes little actual difference, but the Vault Population Management Terminal is probably one of the best new features. It allows the player to manage who is doing what job directly from the terminal, so you don’t have to literally speak to every settler and his dog to assign the right jobs to them. Smooth.

As for the story and the quest line? If you’re looking for action and drama, watch an argument between some hardcore DC and Marvel fans, because this DLC isn’t for you. The story centres around conducting experiments on your hapless dwellers in the same way Vault-Tec always has, following the whims of the (literally) ghoulish Overseer.

The experiments themselves are fun, but get old quite quickly; and there aren’t really enough of them, or a high enough content quality in them to boast that they are one of it’s best features. Nothing exciting really happened, and I’m pretty sure that the Vault won’t really benefit from a bike machine power generator that electrocutes people. Especially seeing as I have a massive nuclear reactor tucked away downstairs, and that’s not all I’ve got down there. The screening and interviewing process for new Vault Dwellers we were promised, which sounded really interesting; turned out to be just for three people, so far as I know. Everyone else just appeared, like in any other settlement. I didn’t approve their entry. I may have gone power mad, but anyone will see that this is unacceptable. There will be consequences. Release the Deathclaw!

For its individual price, Vault-Tec Workshop is most definitely worth it for anyone who enjoys crafting things. Thrill seekers and questers will probably be disappointed. I personally had a few hours of fun with it, and it adds some new features that while probably best left underground at Vault 88, can be used in any other Commonwealth settlement. While there are quests, they feel a bit like a novelty, and the feeling of absolute power just isn’t really captured there, when the best you can do is tell a guy to cycle really, really hard.

Just remember that it’s a workshop DLC, so what you see is what you get. Despite some of the next-gen 3D dwellers repeating what Fallout Shelter dwellers might say, there is little to no resemblance to the app at all in terms of Vault management, so don’t go getting that idea, sunshine.