Fallout 76 has had an interesting journey ever since its launch back in 2019. As someone who really never played right after launch, however I have picked it up in recent months, mostly due to the Amazon TV show, I’ll admit. And so far, I’ve enjoyed what I’ve played of it.
However, I’m particularly excited after playing a bit of the upcoming Skyline Valley update, which launches today across all platforms. During an event at the ZeniMax studios in London last month, I had the chance to go hands-on with the update, as well as chat with the developers about the history of Fallout 76 so far and where it’s headed into the future.
The Story So Far…
To say Fallout 76 had a rocky launch is an understatement. While our reviewer at launch had a more pleasant time than others, it was a grim sight for Bethesda’s survival game back in 2019. However, in the years since, the team has seemingly turned this game around, now with 20 million players who have ventured into the Wasteland as of May 2024. That’s a sizeable number, and no doubt it’s been bolstered by a renewed energy in the Fallout franchise thanks to the Amazon show, but it’s also a testament to the steady work the team behind 76 has been doing to improve and expand its offerings.
Keep in mind, it’s easy to forget now that this was Bethesda Game Studios’ first foray into a live service game. The studio has always been known for its contained, single-player experiences. While ZeniMax, BGS’ parent company, had MMO experience before, thanks to The Elder Scrolls Online, for many in Bethesda’s flagship studio, this was uncharted territory. And it showed at launch.
However, since then, Bethesda has released 52 separate content launches, expanding the world of Fallout 76 with new features, a new story, and much more. Skyline Valley is the next installment in that line of updates, bringing the first-ever true map expansion to Appalachia.
While players have been able to leave Appalachia and Vault 76 behind to go to The Pitt and Atlantic City in the past, these have been smaller, contained adventures. Skyline Valley adds a whole new region right into the map itself, complete with about 20 points of interest and a story that connects to the broader narrative of Appalachia, namely what went on in Vault 63 to the south of the eponymous 76.
When asked during a group Q&A at the London event if Skyline Valley was ever going to get the expedition treatment, creative director Jon Rush called expanding the map a “natural evolution” of Fallout 76.
“Expeditions, it’s safe to say our team is super proud of the expeditions, right? They look great, they’re fun, [there are] interesting creatures, there are good rewards. The difference between the West Virginia map and the expeditions is a kind of view that our West Virginia map as the main character of the game, right? And you start that story when you leave the vault, and you get to experience that character in any way that you want, but the game’s really about how that character changes and evolves and adapts and how players facilitate that. So expeditions weren’t built to do that. Expeditions are an adventure you go on to have fun. You can’t build there, you can’t really influence the world, but you have a very pointed objective for a very pointed reward.
“So updating the map with the new region is really sort of a natural evolution of our main character, which is the map, right? So our game has been a story from day one up until now, and so this is just an evolution of that story, and it’s an opportunity that opens up to let players tell their own stories in ways that some of our other features don’t, because that’s not their purpose.”
Incredibly Atmospheric
Expanding southward into Shenandoah, the forest air is “sizzling with ozone,” as Rush described it during the event in London last month. This storm dominates every sightline in Skyline Valley. Stepping into the content update for the first time, the red miasma that filled my vision was oppressive. Everywhere I turned, the storm was ever present, never really letting up.
“The storm was really what drove all the rest of the content, right?” Rush told me and a group of journalists in a Q&A during the event. “It’s like seeing that as a visual sketched out, we were like, ‘Yes! We want that now. How does that affect everything else?’ The storm, that is the keystone for this whole update.[...] The keystone for this whole region, everything in that region: the story, the new factions, the ghouls, all centers on that storm. And that’s what people see, and it’s all very, very purposeful.”
Lightning strikes would hit nearby buildings, cars, and even poor souls who decided to venture forth wearing metal armor into this red soup, the story’s epicenter is seemingly the storm’s origin, which has something to do with the mysterious Vault 63. Already on the map, Skyline Valley brings it to the forefront of the story, with players able to explore the ghoul-infested vault to learn its secrets.
The electric atmosphere is coupled with a new electrified Ghoul type, The Lost. Interestingly enough, one of the major characters you’ll work with is a type of Lost Ghoul named Hugo Stolz (no joke, when I heard this, my mind immediately went to Hugo Stiglitz from Inglorious Basterds, and I simply cannot get this out of my head even weeks later), who has his own reasons for working with the player character.
The storm, as Rush says, drives everything. But it’s not just the storm players have to contend with. Giant rabid turkeys roam the land, while robotic storm goliaths present a unique challenge to adventurers. A new event, which saw me get electrocuted multiple times during our playthrough, puts players in the role of a storm chaser, powering up a lightning rod to draw in all the electricity crackling through the air.
This was actually the most fun I had during our event, as it was fast, frenetic, and full of environmental dangers and enemies alike. Dealing with the newly electrified Lost Ghouls while also dodging the lightning strikes that would streak to the ground around me kept me on my toes, and it was some of the best action I’ve experienced in my (admittedly) short time playing Fallout 76. Towards the latter stages of the event, Dangerous Pastimes, Lost would literally fall to the ground in lightning strikes, appearing out of nowhere and throwing me off guard, keeping the pressure up while the other creators and I were frantically trying to charge the lightning rod.
Story-wise, I didn’t really explore much of it during this hands-on experience. For starters, the intro quest was across the map from Skyline Valley, which was somewhat confusing at first, and it took me a bit to realize I would need to travel all the way back to near the Wayfinder to kick things off in the new content. However, after getting through the first few quests, meeting Hugo, and learning a bit about the goings-on in the Shenandoah Valley, I’m eager to continue this in my full playthrough.
Going Caravaning
The Blue Ridge Caravan Company has been a part of Fallout 76 for a while, and Skyline Valley is letting players actually take part in a caravan run. This new event will see players escort a caravan around Skyline Drive in the new region, protecting the goods from other players and NPCs alike who are set to ambush and ruin your day.
“These kinds of RNG elements of, what if a deathclaw were to happen to walk by when I’m fighting off a pack of super mutants who ambushed my caravan, there’s always that unknown element that happens that I think differentiates it quite a bit,” Rush told me when asked what makes this caravan mechanic stand out among others.
Caravans are themselves nothing new to MMORPGs, and it’s exciting to see this type of content enter Fallout 76. According to Rush, players can take part in a caravan, which upon succeeding, can earn their own Caravan Outpost for their CAMP, eventually expanding their outpost with further upgrades and decor.
It’ll be interesting to see this in motion, and if it sticks with players, it can become yet another aspect that keeps things fresh and interesting in the Wasteland. I’m eager to see what could happen if your group gets ambushed by other players, all the while mutants and potentially a deathclaw happens upon your route; what could happen? Do the enemy players work with you to take out the monsters, or does everybody limp back to their CAMPs to lick their wounds? It’s an interesting prospect to think about for me.
Welcome to Skyline Valley
The update, which dropped today, is an exciting expansion of the survival game that, by all accounts, seemed poised to fall by the wayside after its early woes. Yet the Bethesda team has simply kept trucking along, determined to make Fallout 76 a compelling place to play while fans of the franchise wait patiently for Fallout 5.
And it honestly only feels like the beginning here, as Fallout 76 has already teased one of its big 2025 additions, the ability to play as a Ghoul for the first time. What the team has on the horizon beyond that is unclear, but the future does look pretty bright if you can see past the ozone storm on the horizon. I’m definitely eager to jump back into Appalachia, and we’ll have our full thoughts on the content update in the coming weeks.
Full Disclosure: Travel and Accommodation for the event was provided by Bethesda.
