Crafters of the Wasteland will be pleased as it’s time to get scavenging for more resources after Fallout’s release of another workshop DLC. Contraptions allows players to create functioning machinery and even more complex designs than ever before giving players more freedom to create settlements the way they want to make them.
Just like the previous workshop DLC, you will spend most of your time collecting resources before you actually see any sort of fulfilling outcome. However, if you’re like me then hopefully you will have enough materials stored away already so you can jump straight in to the crafting! If I’m honest, I probably would have been more frustrated with the DLC if I had to spend even more time trudging through the Wasteland to find the right materials before I could do anything. Luckily however this was not the case and I could get straight into the creations.
One large distinction that I can make in comparison to the previous workshop DLC is the complexity of the creations. Where as before staged fights and shiny signs were introduced, here the creations are far more active and difficult to perfect. If done right, there is potential for a whole host of new ideas to come out of the main bulk of these items. Conveyer belts and scaffolding and general machinery make it possible to start a whole factory of things with various mechanics to allow this to happen. And don’t get me wrong, this is great and refreshing to see. Sometimes I just wished there was a little more guidance with some things. It takes a little while to get the hang of a lot of things so sometimes I felt a small description of how some items worked wouldn’t go amiss. That being said, the potential here for clever functioning projects is exciting, and I look forward to seeing how far this DLC can go in its creations.
In addition to the machinery and other active objects so to speak, this expansion also saw the introduction of weapon and armour racks. These seemed more for players wanting to show off more than anything else as it enables you to store these items in a visible way rather than being tucked away in a chest. Despite the inclusion being aesthetically pleasing, I wouldn’t say it was entirely necessary and doesn’t really compare to the other objects that you can make.
The use of computer terminals on the other hand is incredibly useful and something I felt Fallout just had to include into the workshop aspect. Being able to control your machinery, switches and all things manufactory from one convenient place made everything come together so much easier. This was certainly one aspect of the content that was easy to navigate around and therefore very enjoyable to use.
One of the main negatives that I felt with the DLC is the limit of only crafting within the settlement space. This carries across from the previous workshop DLC which had much the same problem. I felt it was particular relevant to this one however due to the scale of machinery that is possible. I sometimes found myself not being able to commit to an idea due to buildings getting in the way or general space restricting the amount I could build.
Overall however I was impressed by this add-on. After Wasteland Workshop disappointed me a little I’m glad Bethesda decided to bring in new and original ideas to the workshop. The complexity will allow people to really commit to imaginative ideas and I would expect some high quality ideas to be appearing online soon. A bit more guidance alongside larger scales would have really enhanced the experience, but as a small DLC, I was pleased with the outcome.
REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Microsoft Xbox One code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.
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