I give up. Until Bethesda gives us a major update that fixes all of these glitches, I’m done playing Fallout 4. I don’t want to be – I haven’t even finished the main story line. But these bugs can make gameplay downright maddening. The Fallout franchise is well known for it’s technical issues, but Fallout 4 really raises the bar. As I’ve made my way through the wasteland of post-apocalyptic Boston, I’ve run into glitches that keep me from fast traveling, completing quests, building settlements, and even repairing my power armor. I tired of working around these nuisances, which means Fallout 4 will be collecting dust on my shelf until Bethesda gets their shit together and addresses these major problems.

 

The most egregious glitch in Fallout 4 is that certain side quests cannot be completed if you go too far down the main story line. Far more frustrating than getting stuck in scenery (a common problem in New Vegas), this technical issue means side quests must be fully completed before carrying on with the main story. That can be particularly annoying when a character needs time to prepare something and tells you to come back later. Right now, as I approach the end of the main story, I still have two “Miscellaneous” quests left that can’t be completed: “talk to Jack Cabot about the artifact” and “bring a HalluciGen canister to Fred Allen.” When I try talking to Jack he only says one-liners in return (Oh, hello!) and check out the weird separation between Jack and the quest marker (see photo above). And Fred Allen… well, he’s just nowhere to be found, apparently.

Another annoying glitch pops up when you’re building your settlements. After connecting all of your settlements together to share resources, you’re ready to really trick out some of them. You start setting up defense turrets until suddenly… you can’t anymore. You have the resources, that’s not a problem. The game just won’t let you place that turret anywhere, no matter how you position it. The same happens for junk walls, prefabs, you name it. Now you’re stuck with half a wall and one lousy turret. That’ll keep the super mutants at bay!

Similar to the building problem, I also experienced a glitch that wouldn’t allow me to repair my power armor. I was so annoyed that I actually turned the game off. I need my power armor, damnit! I was trying to repair it in one of the later settlements (Country Crossing?) and as I entered the crafting menu, the game informed me that I lacked the requirements to repair the item. Really now?  Because to me it looks like I have 6/6, 1/1, and 1/1.  I’m also maxed out on the perk chart, so that’s not the problem either. After restarting the game and going elsewhere (Sanctuary) it allowed me to repair the parts. Stupid.

And last but not least, a few days ago there was a glitch that told me I couldn’t fast travel while losing health. Problem was, I wasn’t losing health at all. No enemies nearby, no traps hurting me, no poison or radiation affecting me. I was just standing still in the middle of the wasteland. Again, restarting the game solved the issue, but I’d rather not have to restart a game just to fix a glitch.

I’m sure other gamers have encountered plenty of other bugs that I’ve been lucky enough to avoid thus far. These problems span across all platforms, whether you’re playing on Xbox One, Playstation 4, or PC. I’m not sure anybody has made it through the game without experiencing a few glitches. In the end, after I’ve cooled off, all the bugs just make me sad. An otherwise excellent game has been knocked down a peg or two because of problems that never should’ve made it past quality control. And to make it worse, Bethesda never seems to care all that much. New Vegas was riddled with glitches and they never fixed those. Hopefully with Fallout 4 the developer will turn over a new leaf. But let’s not hold our breath on it.