It's a pity then that the Children's leader is a stock example of 'video game zealotry for dummies.'
It also hints at a more complex and nuanced ' two cultures divided by prejudice' thematic between the Atom-worshippers and the Far Harbor-ites - a narrative theme that the series and Bethesda has previously excelled at, but was notably underwhelming in Fallout 4's main game. The religious group's home, a derelict submarine called The Nucleus, houses a few sympathetic residents, casting the band of misfits as more than simple indoctrinated weirdos.
The town's opposing faction – the returning nut-case cult the Children of Atom – fare better and the brief supernatural elements complement the island's foggy, ghoulish aesthetic. Although the DLC's potentially intriguing Nick Valentine story-arc fails to pay off, it's infinitely preferable to Longfellow's continued company. The expansion's new companion Old Longfellow piles on the misery further, eschewing actual character for gruff, gravel-voiced exposition and dull anecdotes. Things change instantly in Far Harbor itself – a miserable town occupied by self-proclaimed miserable, one-note NPCs. A meant-to-be-emotionally-charged offhand reference to the son I ignored for close to 40 hours and eventually shot in the main game aside, the breadcrumb trail to the expansion's island setting and its slow, gloomy boat-ride reveal is genuinely refreshing. The excursion begins with a pained father and seemingly ambivalent mother, who task you with finding their missing daughter. Get quest, shoot, loot, repeat.Īfter the Brahmin-meat and potatoes approach to Fallout 4's smaller Automatron and Wasteland Workshop DLC, Far Harbor has been actively hyped as Bethesda's largest expansion to date by the developer itself and first impressions suggest it could usurp the company's tried-and-true action-RPG formula, as you assume the role of a private detective travelling to the distant shores of a spooky landmass covered in Scooby Doo levels of fog. While individual mechanics and design choices received criticism, the greatest sin the Sole Survivor's journey committed was how routine it all felt. Despite the numerous awards and record sales, murmurs of discontent still shroud Bethesda's 2015 trip to the Commonwealth.
Unfortunately, where Fallout 4 is concerned, familiarity has become part of its lasting legacy. Yet whether its Fallout 3's solid Point Lookout, Skyrim's mediocre Dragonborn or Oblivion's excellent Shivering Isles, the thematic trend has become overly familiar – same game, new place. It's not a stretch to think that we will see costumes for hunters and Palicos based on the Ace Attorney, Devil May Cry, or Resident Evil series.Price: £19.99 (free for Season Pass holders)īethesda's history of mega-expansions has often wavered in terms of quality. This means that we will likely see a lot of Capcom crossovers instead, which also happened on the Nintendo Monster Hunter games.
The fact that Monster Hunter World is on several different consoles (as well as an upcoming Windows release) means that we likely won't see too many first-party character crossovers. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on the Nintendo 3DS featured outfits that let you dress like Link from The Legend of Zelda series and Samus from the Metroid games. These kinds of crossover costumes aren't new to the series, as the previous Monster Hunter games that were released on Nintendo systems often featured outfits based on first-party Nintendo characters. An 8-bit Mega Man costume will also be available for your Palico, which will also add classic tunes from the Mega Man games into Monster Hunter World. The new Street Fighter costumes aren't the first to come to Monster Hunter World, as a costume based on Aloy from Horizon: Zero Dawn is coming to the PlayStation 4 version of the game.