Fallout 4‘s largest DLC so far, Far Harbor, released May 19. The DLC tosses you into a new story line that includes a missing girl, a spooky island, and three groups of people that have tensions boiling to the surface. Personally, I was impatiently waiting for Far Harbor to release, but if you’re still on the fence on whether you’d like to purchase and play it, here are five things that I think you’ll love about it:
1. Hanging out with Nick, and learning more about his past
To be frank, Nick Valentine is definitely my favorite human (ish?) companion. Solving mysteries with him and his wisecrack comments are some of my favorite things about having him along on my wanderings. When an acquaintance contacts him to find his missing daughter, we travel to The Island and the town of Far Harbor to find clues to where she’s gone. In the process of meeting people on the island, we help Nick discover things about his past that he can’t remember and about the type of synth he is. It’s great to be able to learn more about my personal favorite companion as he discovers it for himself.
2. The Island’s gloomy, spooky atmosphere
As Nick and I went sailing into Far Harbor, I was instantly chilled by how dark and gloomy it was. The sight of the fog, the coldly glowing lights, and the foaming waves crashing on the shore gave me the chills. As I’ve traveled around The Island, I’ve been delighted at how spooky the Fog is, the literal danger of running through it without a Rad-X or two, and the fairly consistent darkness that hangs over it. The atmosphere of the Island helped keep me immersed in the world, and I love how consistent and well-done it is.
3. New enemies to fight
After putting in over 100 hours into the main game and storyline, I was a bit tired of fighting raiders, gunners, bloatflies, and other fairly common enemies that I’d gotten powerful enough to fight with no problems. Far Harbor has delivered on giving me new enemies to fight. The minute I arrived on the island, I was killing gulpers that were attacking the town. Later on I discovered cannibalistic trappers, anglers, fog ghouls, wolves, and crawlers that gave me something new and a little more challenging to fight.
4. Improved storytelling and characters
I’ve never personally had a problem with Fallout 4‘s dialogue system, but something about how Far Harbor implemented it has felt smoother and more immersive than it was in the main game. The characters you meet have clear motives for what they do, even if they’re simple, and I’ve found myself caring about their well-being fairly quickly. I have enjoyed the new methods of storytelling that have given me new information about the Island itself, the groups that make it their home, and the reason everyone’s guard is up so high.
5. New types of gameplay to experience
In one of the quests that you complete not long after arriving on the Island, you end up in a simulation that feels like you’re playing Portal. I wasn’t expecting it at all, or even the prospect of having to solve puzzles, and I really enjoyed the change of pace from “run around, hoard the junk, shoot enemies.” It also utilized the “settlement-building” system well to implement the solutions for the puzzles.
Have you been playing Far Harbor? What do you love about it? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
