Bethesda's recent delivery of the much-anticipated next-gen update for *Fallout 4* has been met with widespread disappointment across various gaming communities. After an 18-month wait since its announcement, fans were eager to dive into a more visually stunning and smoothly performing version of the beloved open-world game. This excitement was further amplified by the timing of the release, coming hot on the heels of Prime Video’s successful live-action TV adaptation of *Fallout*, which likely introduced a new wave of enthusiasts to the franchise. However, what was supposed to be a celebratory moment for *Fallout 4* aficionados in Canada and worldwide quickly soured as reports of issues began to surface post-launch on April 25th.
These problems span across all platforms but seem most pronounced on PC, particularly for Steam users. Despite Bethesda's intentions to patch existing bugs with this update, players took to platforms like Reddit to express their frustration over unresolved issues. To add insult to injury, the update rendered some user-created mods, designed to work around the very bugs Bethesda promised to fix, useless. A significant portion of the community found themselves in a predicament where the game became unplayable, especially noted by those attempting to play on Steam Deck.
But the grievances don't end with the PC community. Xbox users reported a missing key feature – the absence of 4K resolution that was promised with the update, leaving them with only the 60fps Performance mode as a noticeable improvement. PlayStation users, on the other hand, faced confusion regarding the update's availability, particularly PS Plus Extra members, until Bethesda issued a clarification on Discord and X (Twitter) that the update was indeed accessible to them.
To visually encapsulate the update's problems, footage shared by a Reddit user showcased an area on the PS5 that wasn’t fully rendered, showing Dogmeat, the player's canine companion, glitching through the ground. This serves as a poignant illustration of the type of jankiness that long-time fans might have come to expect from a Bethesda release, yet it's disheartening for those newly introduced to the genre or specifically to *Fallout 4*.
Bethesda’s legacy of bug-riddled game launches has been a running joke within the gaming community, with this latest update solidifying that reputation. The anticipation built around the next-gen update's potential to reimagine the post-apocalyptic exploration with enhanced graphics and performance has, for many, been dashed. As of now, Bethesda has remained silent on the matter, leaving the player base hanging for any word on potential fixes for the myriad of issues reported.
As *Fallout 4* fans in Canada and around the globe grapple with the latest iteration of Bethesda's charm (or jank, as it were), many are left pondering the future of such updates and whether the allure of revisiting the Commonwealth is worth navigating a new landscape of bugs and glitches. All eyes are on Bethesda, hoping for a swift and comprehensive response to salvage what was meant to be a monumental update for a cherished title in the vast expanse of video game history.
