Far Harbor Review and Analysis

Fallout 4’s second major DLC has just released. Far Harbor is over 10x the size of Automatron and is full of new additions to the main game, including a brand new story filled with intrigue and mystery.

We’ve been maxing out the content, checking out the side quests and clocking the main story.

How is it? Watch this and see for yourself.

Far Harbor in Byte-Size

• Attempting this at Level 30 is absolutely fine. In some cases, you might even be too strong, though you’ll soon find the difficulty ramps up.
• Make sure you’re stocked up on Radaway, Rad-X and Stimpacks before heading out, though there are some vendors at Far Harbor.
• Radiation resistance perks will also come in handy. Chem resistant to reduce addiction, Aquaboy to go swimming, Rad Resistant, Chemist, and Ghoulish which actually means radiation regenerates your health
• Your mission to find Kasumi Nakano takes you to Far Harbor. She’s a teenage girl who is experiencing some conflict in her life, but her parents have different ideas on what’s happened to her.
• Valentine’s agency is recruited to look into this because Kenji (Kasumi’s father) has history with Nick Valentine. But what could it be?
• This content raises some very strong political and personal dilemas for you to consider. Makes for a fascinating journey.
• I have experienced some hard-crashes on Xbox One. The game randomly locked up a few times while I was just running from point to point. It is entirely random though as I had previously past this particular point with no trouble at all. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Bethesda DLC without these types of issues. But don’t get me wrong, this isn’t even in the same league as Fallout: New Vegas content, Dead Money on Xbox 360. Good LORD!
• Not as glitchy as Automatron either which had an entirely bugged quest that forced you to reset the content in order to progress (Timmy discipline quest-arc)
• Far Harbor is very atmospheric and has a skin-crawling musical score. The surrounding fog is radioactive and all sorts of creatures emerge from that. Some years it recedes, other times it spreads even further afield. People just try to claim the unaffected parts.
• Dark, desolate, grey and muggy environment.But it is beautiful looking. The weathered trees, the fragile ground. That foggy hue surrounding everything. Surprising enemy variation.
• Far Harbor does a great job of building tension, creating mystery and developing intrigue
• There is fascinating psychology underpinned here. Appearances aren’t everything. Belief isn’t what you make it. Has radiation changed beings in unexpected ways? Who are you, really? Equally, are those who pledge to help actually helping?
• Real conflict with Synthetics, Children of Atom, and everyday fishermen
• You have a new follower in the game, Old Longfellow. He helps you through the fog and can come along as a full-time companion once his initial mission is complete. The guy is a good fighter – and drinker – and certainly has some interesting stories to tell.
• Can perform a series of side quests for people to build reputation, such as collect power tools to repair the town’s damaged hull post-invasion, and help an old woman avenge the wrongs done to her family by killing some otherworldly beings.
• The map is enormous! There’s definitely a good 20 hours worth of play through here, which is astounding for a DLC. Most impressively, the story remains interesting as there’s real conflict here with synthetics, their role in society, and whether the religious practices of The Children of Atom are causing the fog to spread. Surprising level of emotional depth

 

Final Analysis

Far Harbor isn’t just the biggest DLC Bethesda have ever done, it may just be the best. The tone sends chills down the spine. The character development and interactions are strong and intriguing – arguably more so than in the main game. Far Harbor isn’t recycled content that’s washed up on shore, this enhances the original experience, feels like its own entity, appears to be a real labour of love, and justifies the Season Pass all on its own. How additional content should be done.