Review: Fallout 4 - Far Harbor DLC

G’day there guys and gals!

To begin this review, I must ask you, dear reader, a question: what is it that brings out the best in a DLC?
In my eyes, it’s how it expands not only on a story level, but on all levels on what makes the game enjoyable in the first place. A good DLC is content that enriches the lore, dives deeper into the mechanics of the game, creates new and fresh experiences onto a story, something that sadly many additional content does not meet. Let me be the first to tell you that Far Harbor, a DLC encouraged to be the biggest and best since its announcement, definitely lives up to the hype from inside and out the gaming community and developers.

Far Harbor begins as you, the Sole Survivor, are asked to return to Nick Valentine to attend to the case of a missing girl further up north. After discovering where she went, it is up to you to travel to The Island, otherwise regarded as Far Harbor, to discover where this runaway has gone and why. But this simple mission comes with a moral choice as the people on this island face a mortal issue.

Without diving too deep into spoiler territory, I highly suggest bringing Nick Valentine along with you during this DLC. Not only is it a quick way to increase his relationship with you, it also plays a more interesting part in the story. Continuing on, the gameplay itself is superb; the new additional weapons all feel well balanced and have their weaknesses and strengths. We see a return of Lever Action Rifle, but the inclusion of new ones such as the Harpoon Gun, The Bloodletter (a giant fishing hook), Radium Rifle and more. This, along with the new enemies, adds up to a lot of newfound situations, with many intense and heart-racing battles. The four main human factions are the Children of Atom, the Harbormen, Arcadia and Trappers. Trappers are basically the Raiders of The Island; they randomly appear, hiding behind trees, rocks and houses, to suddenly attack, with an unnatural “feverish” desire. Despite this, the real threat are the mutated enemies, such as the Gulper, Fog Crawler, Angler, and my personal favourite, the Hermit Crab. Nothing is more hilarious and terrifying than walking towards a rusted truck looking for spoils only to have a mutated, giant hermit crab attack you.

The scenery is absolutely breathtaking. In the rare moments of no fog, the view in the trees and the forested areas is, admittedly, incredibly beautiful. Even at night as the thick fog rolls in, the dim lights signifying civilisation is a blissful sight, as the enemies of The Island leap at you from behind. The acting is fairly convincing, especially between the Sole Survivor and the Harbormen/Arcadians. Nick Valentine also has a healthy amount of lines and quips to enjoy about the island and its inhabitants as you explore. The story itself is fairly good; it does seem to titter off at the end, especially the interactions with Kasumi, but otherwise is a neat and tidy, very well done ending of your choice. The main story does do well during its first and second parts, especially during the unique hacking system, where players must physically traverse obstacles and puzzles in order to hack an old piece of equipment. This was easily one of the more entertaining areas while keeping me engaged in the story. Think of the puzzle mini-game sequences in Assassin’s Creed Revelation and Legion’s side missions in Mass Effect 3. But I digress.

Where the story shines, however, is the side missions. With over 25 side missions to enjoy, each faction on the Island has interesting, and plot relevant storylines to enjoy. Just like my first playthrough of Fallout 4, I found myself enticed with the side missions, with helping an old family find justice, to discovering the hidden mysteries behind a seemingly trustworthy ally.

Sadly though, I would be remiss if I did not mention the few bugs I experienced while playing the game. During said hacking mission, I experienced two freezes resulting in a Kick To Dashboard moment. Several enemies would often ignore me and attack random objects instead (especially in the areas around the Harbormen) and loading quicksaves/autosaves would result in audio glitches of the sound of gunfire (always being whatever gun I was holding during saving), especially in the Children of Atom base.

Is Far Harbor living up to the hype Bethesda placed in it? A resounding yes.
Is Far Harbor one of the best DLCs of 2016? By far, without a doubt.
Does it have issues? Sadly, yes.
As much as it pains me to say, it is for the somewhat lackluster ending and the glitches above that I cannot give it a 10/10. I truly wish I could – but I began reviewing titles for the sake of striking against biased reviews, and I would be turning my back on that principle if I did.

BUT in saying that, is this DLC one of the best additions to a game? Personally, I would say so. Far Harbor has enough content for 12+ hours of enjoyment, even more so if you take care of your settlements/factions afterwards. Far Harbor is by far one of the best DLCs I have played in a long time, and I encourage you all to try it for yourselves.

Fallout 4 Far Harbor DLC – A-