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Review: Fallout 4’s “Automatron” DLC

When I started up Fallout 4 again for the first time in months, all I could think about was Bethesda’s “Season Pass” debacle. I’ll admit I wasn’t all that exited to head back to Boston purely because of the bad taste that bait-and-switch tactic left in my mouth. I was thrilled to forget all about after about my initial tenuous thoughts after only 10 minutes.

For one thing, I’d forgotten all about Fallout 4‘s amazing soundtrack and, better still, my faithful companions. Simply put, I was just happy to be playing Fallout again. I was joyous and eager to answer the new distress call I’d picked up.

Straight away I was introduced to a new companion and a new story that played out in the wasteland. Shortly afterward, I began to realise there was more to this piece of DLC than I originally thought. Let me be clear: this is a small update with a few new missions. From what I had pieced together when “Automatron” was announced, I was a little surprised to see the inclusion of story at all. There’s a bit of that, plus new weapons and armour, a new faction of enemies and a whole lot of customisation for building or modifying robots.

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Along with the new characters and gear are some new areas to explore. This is where “Automatron” sets itself apart from the main game. Although you’ll see a lot of the same old stuff, there’s a surprising amount of new things to take in. For example, doors. No, seriously. It seems that most of this DLC piece’s budget was clearly spent on fancy new doors. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you get to that bit of the content, trust me. The setting of “Automatron” is also a little different. You’ll be going up against mostly robots, but the visuals are grim to say the least.

I never thought Sarah Connor’s visions of Judgement Day were light on skulls, but it’s got nothing on some of the new areas in “Automatron”. Hell, it’s not just the visuals that are gruesome. Things aren’t completely spelled out for you, but if you do some digging around in the terminals in the new area you’ll find some crazy stuff. Forgive the nineties terminology, but there’s some gnarly sh*t going on.

You can easily progress to the end of the new missions within a few hours. This is obviously why the first two installments in the “Season Pass” are cheaper if purchased separately, unlike Fallout 4‘s third piece of DLC. Even at the cheaper, separate price, there’s really no need to bother with “Automatron” unless you’ve already done absolutely everything in Fallout 4 and desperately want more.

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Sure, you could say that about most DLC, but it’s more evident here because there’s not that much in the way of new content. In three or four hours you’ll be right back where you were with nothing but repeatable quests to do. If you’re not desperate to get more Fallout it’s probably worth waiting for more “Season Pass” content to do in one big hit. If you haven’t grabbed the “Pass” by now, it’s too late to get it at that discounted rate anyway.

While I had a lot of fun in “Automatron”, it’s a bit of a tease. Still, it’s a fun, lovely little romp that has that Fallout charm I know and love. The problem is, now I want more of that and now I have to wait. Either way I’m looking forward to the next installment.

We’re withholding a review score for “Automatron” and instead will rate Fallout 4‘s “Season Pass” as a whole.


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About the author

Shane Wall

I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe. A game geek turned audio engineer/musician. Shane's life is a delicate balance of video games, music and science fiction.