Vault-Tec Workshop has comparatively modest aims. It isn't as wild as Contraptions, but offers more than Wasteland did. Creating a vault shelter might not be as flashy as taming Deathclaws or setting up factory lines to move scrap around, but the appeal is much more apparent and lasting.
This DLC is excellent; it does exactly what it sets out to do, and it does it well. A new workshop building set, in a new location, all driven by a new questline.
If you’ve got the pass already, then Vault-Tec Workshop is worth looking into. If you played the hell out of Fallout Shelter, then you’re sure to love this update. Otherwise, save your money for Nuka World, and cross your fingers in hopes that it’s as good as Far Harbour.
I can't escape this game. Considering it was launched in November 2015, it's remained in my PS4 for that entire time, I bought the Season Pass at the lower rate, and have awaited all the DLC packs eagerly, and I'm looking forward to the PS4 Mods coming (note other reviews refer to mods which are not available on PS4 on a PS4 version review - Use Metacritic properly!!)
Anyhow ... this means I'm a harden fan. I'm playing on Survival with a level 76 wanderer now, and I am still deeply in love with the game.
So - Vault Tec DLC... what is is:
Vault 88 is located just north of the glowing sea. Once you do the first mission of getting in and doing a few quests, you will have unlocked an underground area that I believe is bigger than any other settlement in the Commonwealth. It has 3 entrances, meaning for survival players you can look to build safe-routes underground between these places, and it comes with underground water supply etc so you can get everything your future 'guinea pigs' require.
This is another giant pack of settlement goodies. For those, like me, that find spending 8 or 9 hours (and the rest) building an epic settlement as fun, will absolutely love the additional content available from Vault Tec DLC. Literally everything in Vault 111 or 81 can be crafted and built.
The main area you first walk into can be heavily scrapped leaving a huge space to build a huge vault, much much MUCH bigger than any of the existing vaults. I've completed all the missions, unlike Far Harbour or other DLCs with quests in, these are all based actually in the vault itself, meaning no fetch missions and making it relatively quick to unlock. The enemies are nothing new or surprising, but still challenging on Survival mode (!) . The main purpose of the DLC is obviously settlement building, so I expect to hear a-lot of unhappy people that just haven't embraced or enjoyed that ****'t worry, the next DLC will be a lot more quest based!
The actual building of the vault will take a little getting used to, I'm yet to work out a few of the new features and will probably watch a YouTube video once someone else cracks them... but on the whole it's more of the same, a lot more of the same. Really impressed with the scale of parts. Already about 8 hours in to actually building up 88, I've made something pretty impressive. It's also made me reassess my settlements, maybe looking to keep Castle, Sanctuary and 88 as my main places with settlers, while all others function as little outposts for sleep and surviving survival mode!
I've rated this DLC as an 8, not a 10. I think whilst the scale is as big as I'd hoped, I was hoping the tunnels would run much further under the commonwealth and it maybe as useful as underground tunnels I so frequently used in Fallout3. Expect to be hitting vendors to buy up more steel etc also, regardless of the entire cave system being scrap-able once you unlock it all, you'll still use a serious amount of Steel, Rubber and nuclear material! I'll also add some of the content to other settlements, the chairs for instance (the barbers chair and surgeons chair) and also other little touches like the espresso machine that can be used to hydrate in survival mode.
So, in summary I'd say Vault Tec is ESSENTIAL DLC for anyone that is loving their settlements, crafting and doesn't mind burning time in game. Outside of this, it's not bringing anything to the table unless you're playing survival mode.
Good if you like building. There is next to no missions other than build one thing have a person use it. Do this 4 times and thats about it for story. So if you are looking for quest skip this dlc. But if you want to build they give you a large area and lots of scrap
Why are there so many idiots with no understanding of a 0-10 scoring system? As usual you should ignore the moronic 0/10 reviews. This a a decent dlc which adds a lot of potential hours of gameplay to an already vast game. It does however have its faults of course. Unlike any previous reviews for this, I will explain those faults sensibly.
Good - The actual building of the vault I found to be very fun and time consuming. Like all good games, you really will wonder where the time has gone when playing it. The build area itself is vast and there is enough variety to create almost any vault design you have in mind. The overseer character Barstow is typical Fallout and adds an interesting living amoral vault tec employee to the game. Probably the best thing is the option to use the vault structures elsewhere, so although there is only one underground space you could construct other vaults elsewhere. Although build limit may be an issue anywhere but Spectacle Island.
Bad - This dlc is very frustrating because eits such a good idea but has been fairly poorly executed. For a start the build limit is far, far too low and should have been at the very least, double what it is. Hopefully a mod will address that in future for ps4. It seems daft for Bethesda to make the underground space so vast but the build limit it so low. Don't get me wrong, you can still build a pretty large vault but will most likely find yourself resorting to the glitch exploit to expand.
Another strange design decision and probably the most frustrating is the fact that there is no new way to assign settlers. So you build rooms such as cafeterias, clinic, security and classrooms but there is nothing there to assign settlers to so they will almost always be empty. So stupid by the devs. You can plonk a trader stand somewhere of course but it looks ridiculous if your vault design is consistent with vault tec
The quest line also disappoints I'm afraid. The whole idea of experimenting on settlers could, and should have been taken much further. All you really get is 3 mediocre quests where you assign a settler to an object once with 3 mildly amusing outcomes. Experimentation should have been something you could do ambiently, that's the whole point of a vault after all.
Verdict - 100% worth buying if you love the game and building the vault or vaults if you like, is very addictive. The dlc is let down by being too simplistic and by strange design decisions. It's like the dlc has been released only half complete, or as an unfinished idea. The idea is a good one but it should have been taken all the way. 6/10
Vault tec Workshop is more of the same, which in this case isn't a good thing. The experiment are extremely lacking and workshop continues to be frustrating. Bethesda continues to refine this concept, however it's at the expensive of the consumers. One can only hope the next and final dlc can break this streak of mediocrity.
SummaryBuild a brighter future underground with the all-new Vault-Tec Workshop. Create a massive Vault and attract new Dwellers using pre-war industrial kits complete with retro-nostalgic furniture, lighting, and art. Even change and customize the look of your inhabitants with new barbershops and cosmetic surgery stations. And like every good O...