Back in the summer of 2018, I was sitting in a friend's apartment watching the Bethesda showcase. I was blown away by the concept of Fallout 76, and couldn't wait to get my hands on it. We both joked about how we were going to nuke every single player who even shot at us.
Months later, Fallout 76 launched, and it was a far cry from the game I had initially imagined it to be. At least, that's how I felt in 2018. Even later, the Fallout TV series launched, and it would go on to become one of the best video game adaptations of all time, causing a massive resurgence in all things Fallout.
Most surprisingly, Fallout 76 was suddenly popular. A game I had chalked up as "washed" the moment it launched had broken its own launch record. What? I had to check it out for myself.
Twelve hours later, I realized the sun was starting to rise. I was officially hooked on Fallout 76, rad-dicted and glowing with obsession.
Some 500 hours of game time later, Fallout 76 has become one of my favorite games. Be it quests, events, or just player-built homes, everything in Fallout 76 is as it should be, fun to do – or should I say, rad-iating pure joy.
I am now a staunch Fallout 76 player and spokesperson. I ask each and every friend I have to play the game with me.
Thanks to a wasteland-shaking amount of content, I have another reason to continue begging friends to give it a try. In comes Fallout 76: Burning Springs, the largest update in over five years!
Not to mention Walton Goggins. He's reprising his role in the game just in time for the second season of the Amazon Fallout TV series, which is set to release on December 17, 2025. Which is around the time we'll get full access to the Burning Springs expansion. Don't worry, it'll hit PTS tomorrow on October 2!
The Burning Springs of Ohio
Starting us off, we enter the area of Burning Springs, a post-nuclear Ohio that's crawling in devious NPCs, new quests, collectibles, events, and the all-new Bounty system carried by none other than The Ghoul. Yes, The Ghoul is here nearly 200 years before the events of the Fallout television show.
My time with the map was frantic, as we were only given a couple of hours to explore the wastes. Tucked away in Ohio, you'll find Highway Town, a village centered around a once massive concrete highway bridge that's fallen into disrepair.
I first took the elevator down, which centers itself neatly next to where all the preview event attendees spawned in. In my ghoulish curiosity, I first tried out the ever-wonderful bounty system.
Walton Goggins, baby!
First, I want to mention that we were unable to catch his voiced character; we only had text-to-speech audio at the time of this alpha build. However, after watching some new footage featuring his voice, I can say with almost certainty that they nailed it. I'll obviously check him out once he goes live on the PTS.
The system itself is a hell of a time as well. With endless missions coming in as a stack of papers that The Ghoul deems unfit for himself to carry out, you'll get paid your fair share for the effort you put in to bringing down the targets.
I took out a couple with decent ease, although it wasn't the same as my stealth commando build (I know you hate me). I made do anyway. Slapping targets mindlessly, I got my loot and made my way back to Highway Town.
Somehow, someway, I'm told you'll eventually get The Ghoul's gun for yourself. I was pretty disappointed to leave this system, since, as I mentioned earlier, I only had two hours to test the rest.
The Rust King's land
As I dove into the campaign missions, I started hearing about this guy called the Rust King. Something, something, I need to work with him, etc. Getting to him was met with a dance of wild circumstances that I won't spoil in the least, but I'll just say people of the wasteland suck; they're terrible people.
The Rust Kind is the highly intelligent Super Mutant, which reminded me of my time with Virgil from Fallout 4. Except, this guy was like the Mad Max version of that.
"You look out at this wasteland, it looks like chaos. But there's always somebody behind the wheel," The Ghoul said. The Rust King just so happens to be the wheel of Ohio.
In between, I had to test out the new events. I dove headfirst, like any self-respecting Wastelander would, you have to know what the next big grind is gonna be about, right? Luckily, I was able to try four of them, and damn, were they a blast.
The first one centered around this pocket zone, filled to the brim with rad scorpions. Defending the area, you'll need more than yourself if you're going to fight off the hordes ahead; I watched one poor soul charge in alone, only to end up as scorpion chow.
My first group stuck together and rotated around the area like robots with our heads cut off. As I did my best to recall the PC controls as an Xbox console main, I fat-fingered melee multiple times before remembering the V.A.T.S. button.
We, I like to say we, because it makes me feel better, fumbled our way to the final waves, featuring some badass legendary creatures. That's when the pocket rockets started to fly and the Ohio landscape started to light up.
I grabbed quite a few legendary pieces over these events that I hauled off to turn in for Legendary Script out of habit. I didn't need to, but come on, Legendary Script is Legendary Script. That, and I couldn't bring myself to drop them.
The next was an escort mission that I didn't think really needed an escort since it's a Deathclaw, but it dies pretty easily if the group doesn't pay attention. Pro tip: Stick with the Deathclaw or miss out on loot. You heard it here first.
I'll leave the other two for your eagerly exploring characters to discover on their own, or someone else's gameplay video. I'm not going to be the guy to let it out.
Once I had my fill of quests, it was time to do a little scouting ala Bethesda style.
Exploring Burning Springs
Most of the area I had time to explore featured small remote towns or pole barn-style buildings. Picking up tape, screws, and other random lootable items that I had no business needing for a character at a preview event. Again, habit can be a bitch.
What was it The Ghoul said, "Thou shalt get sidetracked by bullshit every goddamm time," or something like that? Yeah, I might have a problem.
What I did notice was an overwhelming love for the areas I came across. If you looked closely enough, you could dig out narratives from dropped notes, environmental clues, and even the way a corpse lay across the ground.
If a story is worth a thousand words and a story comes once every minute, you'll find yourself enveloped by the world if you so choose to let it. Environmental storytelling has always been one of my favorites, and Fallout 76, despite being an MMO, still finds a way to squeeze that Bethesda magic in there.
On top of that, I came across a new collectible that sent me on a goose hunt for a door in a random town. Multiple people at the event had trouble finding what I'll call "The Fallout 76 Ninroot quest" location. I even had to help someone out (it was Danny Peña) with the building's spot.
That started a bromance fight over who could find the most collectibles, and since I'm one of those action-oriented players, I didn't catch quite as many as I hoped I would. So, I'll say it was a draw. Danny would completely agree, I'm sure.
I'm Deathclawing to jump back in
Other than the horrible pun I made, what captured me the most about Burning Springs is the noticeable impact it left on my gaming tastes. For the last month or so, I've been grinding away at both Rainbow Six Siege X and Borderlands 4 in an attempt to become some form of pro player in one and a split-second boss killer in the other.
Fallout 76 reminded me of the good times, those filled with pleasure rather than the burning amount of stress you get over dropping elo or MMR. A quintessential escape from all things rage-inducing, and instead, a kicked back lounge chair of questing and explorative friendship in the people you encounter.
Everyone at the event shared at least one thing, and that was their love for a game that I once thought was on the brink of death. The nicest community I've ever come across has been that of Fallout 76, and the people, players, and developers I met reflected all the same.
Burning Springs isn't just another expansion, but a tender beacon that calls for me and every kindred spirit who relishes adventure to jump back into the radiant and unforgiving embrace of Fallout 76.
To top it off, it just so happens that this new world aligns with the expression of the players it represents, and has gifted us another wonderful world to call home for a few hundred more hours.
Not to mention, you get more Walter Goggins.
Fallout 76 Burning Springs launches into PTS on October 2, 2025. Players will be able to check out the current build until it goes live, later this year on the main servers.
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