After 8 years of positive reviews, Fallout 4 drops back down to a "Mostly Negative" Steam rating – and it's all thanks to Bethesda's disastrous Anniversary Edition launch

Fallout 4 power armor — (Image credit: Bethesda Softworks)

The Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition hasn't exactly been going over well with fans since launch, with reports of the update accompanying Bethesda Game Studios' big release breaking mods – the game itself, too – and new paid DLC falling short of impressing players.

It's been a wild time for Fallout stans recently, with the Anniversary Edition update wreaking havoc, reports of DLC "no longer being recognized as 'owned'" floating about, and Bethesda struggling to address the problems "as quick as we can" post-launch. Reviews on Steam saw a "Mostly Negative" rating emerge for the new edition's Creation Club content – but they've now spread to the base game itself, as criticism floods fans' feedback.

In fact, this is the first time in a whopping eight years that Fallout 4 sits on Valve's platform with a "Mostly Negative" recent reception – it's been some form of "Mixed" and then positive since a low drop in September of 2017. Just mouse over "Date Range" on the game's reviews and select "Show graph" to see what has been a generally steady, nearly decade-long period of decent ratings for Fallout 4… and then look at November of this year.

That's when the reviews fall to "Mostly Negative" – and the drop has come suddenly, coinciding with the Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition. You can read some of the recent comments left to get a glimpse at what players are thinking as well. "Unplayable," writes one. Another delves into why they find it so. "The Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition update is absolutely terrible," they explain. "It broke mods that were previously running perfectly."

They add that "Bethesda isn't showing much genuine effort" at cleaning things up. Elsewhere in the reviews, a disappointed fan exclaims, "Why, Bethesda?! Bring mods back!" Somebody else similarly says, "Thanks, Bethesda, for ruining the game I loved! Ruining the game I play on my sad days!" It's safe to say that Fallout 4 is not in good shape right now, judging by the reviews on Steam alone – and honestly, I get it.

As a longtime lover of Bethesda's RPGs (except Starfield, we don't claim you), I'm staying away from the Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition myself until it's in a much better state – here's hoping it's as fun as Skyrim's own Anniversary Edition one day.

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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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