Fallout 3 had some truly exceptional DLC so it was expected that Fallout 4 would deliver equally engaging add-on content. While the Automatron DLC isn’t quite as compelling as even the lesser DLCs from the previous game, it does a fine job of giving us meaningful and entertaining content for its brief duration. It also comes with a bevy or new customization options that should entertain those who enjoy the game’s crafting mechanic long after they complete the add-on’s core story mission.
The main story starts after you meet a robot named ADA who you rescue from a band of murder-bots. ADA watched her robot friends get destroyed and wants revenge on the one who controls the killer automatons: The Mechanist. In order to find his location, you have to scour the wasteland to find and destroy robots which have tracking beacons that will help you find the nefarious villain. This of course leads to an all out war against against all manner of metallic monstrosities.
As you would expect, you have to fight a lot, and I mean A LOT, of robots in this DLC. Fallout 4 gets to a point where it becomes a cakewalk and doesn’t offer much challenge. Automatron brings back some of the difficulty one faces during the introductory parts of the game and provides a great, if sometimes overwhelming challenge. Facing off against a pack of super mutants is nothing compared to having an entire room full of robots attacking you at once. It’s tough but exhilarating.
While the main story bits are interesting and offer up some cool interior places to explore, the real heart of this DLC lies with crafting and customizing robots and creating armor made from robot parts. Fallout 4 already had a nice amount of different robots but this DLC tosses a few more to the mix. Add in the ability to create your own robots from scratch using parts from both the new and old robots and you get an insane amount of customization options to tinker around with.
Whether this aspect is a good thing or not depends on how much you like crafting in general. Those who have spent more time building up their settlements and crafting armor and weapons than they have with the game’s story will find something to sink more time into. Those like me who never really cared for this aspect won’t exactly be swayed into creating any robots, especially if they have already beaten the game and have no reason to have extra robot companions.
While I personally enjoyed the three hours I spent with the DLC, I can’t exactly say it’s an exceptional one. The main story was enjoyable and having extra stuff to craft is always nice but this DLC isn’t anything to really get excited for. It is good for what it offers though and those who love to craft will probably dig this more than I did. Not a bad DLC but not a great one either.
This review of Fallout 4: Automatron is based on a digital copy for the PlayStation 4 which came as part of the season pass.
