Fallout 4: Far Harbor is the 3rd and final announced DLC for Fallout 4 but hopefully not the last. Featuring a new area or island off the coast of Maine, the player must go in search of a missing girl. However, in true Lovecraftian fashion, the island is not as it seems and many new threats await in the fog. While easily one of Bethesda’s largest DLC’s, comparable with the Shivering Isle pack in Oblivion, there just isn’t a lot to do in Far Harbor. So if exploring is your thing there is plenty of space to do that. The fog covering the island poses its own unique problems for instance, since it is everywhere and constantly causes radiation damage. The island also features new and old enemies. Ghouls, super mutants and raiders, or trappers as they’re called, make up most locations. The local sea life has also adapted on the island though. Six foot newts, fire breathing angler fish and giant prawn terrorize the fog anywhere near the water. I almost crapped my pants in surprise when a bus sized hermit crab attacked me. So far I have only found the one though and what really surprised me was that it looked exactly like a hermit crab and not mutated like everything else.
While there may be plenty of space to explore there aren’t many ruins or locations to really explore. There is one good sized factory but it wouldn’t have been nearly as hard if it wasn’t packed to the brim with super mutants. There wasn’t much of a reason to explore it either. There is one new vault which was exciting, especially with all the high level ghouls around but Vault 118 is kind of a letdown. While odd, even compared to other vaults, it quickly became a cheesy soap opera at best. It seemed like it was building up to an even bigger mystery on the real function of the vault but that didn’t go anywhere either. Other side missions primarily break down to ‘kill a thing’ or ‘find a thing’ and require very little. I did get excited when one NPC kept giving me missions that reminded me of the Necronomicon mission in Point Lookout. In the end, when I thought things were about to get interesting it just ended rather abruptly.
The main mission of Point Lookout is very unique and grabs the player’s attention. While looking for the missing girl the player encounters the remaining settlers of Far Harbor, a colony of synth and a group of Followers of Atom. Each group has their own issues and secrets; not to mention they are all on the brink of war. The plot itself is inventive and lets the player decide how nearly everything will go down. Which group to side with and how to deal with things. I personally chose to work with the synth since it seemed to have everyone’s best interest in mind… and a lot more espionage. The game practically begged me to destroy the island though by providing me with nuclear launch codes and more. There is one new partner, old man Longfellow, but very little happens with him.
One new feature in Far Harbor is a puzzle section that players can’t just shoot their way out of. While semi-optional, players who wish to dig up the best plot items will have to go through at least the first three sections. Part puzzle and part workshop, the player must build and gather resources in a virtual world to reach the goal. While somewhat time consuming only the last puzzle should require more than an elementary education. Everything the player needs is basically provided, so there isn’t much actual gathering beyond completing the puzzle itself. Sound is the same as ever. Graphics are also basically the same, instead of a ruined city there is a spooky island.
While Far Harbor seems expansive it is actually very hollow with little content under the surface. It’s not bad by any means and will provide players with hours of content. It just feels as if it could use some more meaty missions or another vault, like a DLC that needs a DLC of its own. The only real replay value is in getting all the different endings but they generally boil down to make peace or kill everyone. The real choice is what group you join, a lot like the main game.
