Fallout 4 Automatron DLC Review

Fallout 4 Automatron adds depth and customizability to a game that is already extremely deep and customizable. While not essential, it is it quite enjoyable.

Version Reviewed: PS4

The first of the Fallout 4 downloadable content was released today. This DLC, titled Automatron, brings a number of tweaks to the core Fallout 4 game without making any massive changes to the formula. Bethesda spent considerable time developing this addition, and it shows.

The story behind this new content is an interesting choice. “The Mechanist” has appeared in the Commonwealth, and unleashed his robot armies upon the people. It is now up to the Sole Surviver, a new female pal, and a disembodied head of a former-mechanist robot to spot the evil-doer.

If that story sounds familiar, then you’ve likely listened to the Silver Shroud radio drama on your Pip Boy. The events in this DLC mirror that story in a highly intentional way, but differ just enough to keep you guessing.

This new quest line isn’t long. It took my level 53 character about 2 hours to complete. I also had a fully upgraded legendary gaussian rifle at my disposal with plenty of ammo, as well as X1 power armor. Your experience may not match my own. The two new dungeons were big, but easily transversed with an end-game character.

The “new female pal” is actually Ada, a custom-built and programmed robot unlike anything else you’ll see in The Commonwealth. Well, at least until you start building your own.

That is where this DLC really shines. Have you ever wanted to travel around with your very own pink assaultron by your side? Now you can! What about a shiny silver sentry bot with a robobrain head and protectron arms? Yep, you can have one of those too.

In fact, you can have as many robots in your army as you want. You can still only bring one companion with you at a time, but that’s okay. It is having the robot army that counts, not the ability to command it, right?

Well, okay, maybe not. The robots do make tremendous guards for all of your settlements. The only problem is that they require a tremendous amount of junk on hand to build. If you want your own robot army, be prepared to go on multiple salvaging forays into various dungeons for the parts you’ll need.

While that sounds like it might be a fleeting entertainment experience, the overall content here is deeper than you might expect. There are so many options, and figuring out the one that’ll complement your character’s play-style can be fun.

As for Ada, she’s less interesting than I had hoped. Customizing her with different bot-parts is cool, but ultimately she isn’t much different than a typical companion and lacks a compelling personality.

The real star of this DLC is Jezebel. Without spoiling the plot too much, let’s just say she’s a riot. Her personality reminded me instantly of GLADOS (Portal, Portal 2), and that is a good thing. Having her around to constantly insult me was tremendously entertaining.

Automatron also adds new weapons and armor for your character to use. Robot armor is like a higher quality version of metal armor. If you’re looking for better protection again ballistic damage, then robot armor is for you.

The new weapons are more varied than the new armor choices. There’s the Tesla rifle that shoots electrical arcs, Mr. Handy arms, a pistol made from an assultron’s head, and lots of other good stuff.

The new power armor “Tesla” mod, was cool, but somewhat of a disappointment. I’m not sure of what I was expecting, but the new additions to my power armor didn’t live up to those undefined expectations.

An unexpected improvement to The Commonwealth was the addition of the Rust Devils. They’re like the Raiders and Gunners, but unaffiliated with either group. Their fascination with robots, along with the presence of the Mechanist, means there is now a lot more mechs wandering around The Commonwealth.

That opens up the robotics expert perk as a genuinely viable option now. Before it was a wasted perk that saw little to no use. With so many more robots around roboting it up in The Commonwealth, there will be a lot more chances to use it.

Ultimately, the additions to Fallout 4 are solid and compelling, but only if you’re still playing the game. It makes for a great addition to the Fallout 4 experience, but it isn’t going to make you pull the game out of the drawer if you’ve already beaten it and moved on.

Verdict

Pros:

+ Lots of new things to build

+ Adds diversity to enemies found in game

+ New armor and weapons types

+ Another unique quest chain

+ New companions

Cons:

– Much more junk scavenging necessary

A copy of this DLC was provided to App Trigger for the purpose of this review.