Far Harbour DLC for Fallout 4 is being released on PC, Xbox One and PS4 tomorrow from 12.01 am, wherever you are on the planet – except for Japan, South Korea and the rest of Asia which is still TBA.
To whet your appetite for it before it’s release in a few short hours, Bethesda have released a video on YouTube and a post on their official site exploring the DLC in some depth.
Now Far Harbour is enormous, in fact it “is the largest landmass Bethesda Game Studios has ever created for a piece of add-on content”, considering their repertoire also includes the Elder Scrolls Games, this is no mean feat. Art Director Matt Carofano states that:
“Early on I did a test of a smaller island, and the scale just felt off… When I looked at the scope of Bar Harbor, Maine, in the real world, and the rugged terrain it has with the coast and the mountains, it doesn’t fit in a small-scale environment. We wanted to make the island as big as we could to fit the geographical features and make it an awesome place to explore”
Inspired by Bar Harbour, Maine, Carofano admits that the area and the state’s reputation as being the setting for pretty much every Stephen King novel played a part in the atmosphere that you’re likely to experience whilst playing:
“All the trees in the national park are dead. Everything is dead and covered in radioactive fog. Basically the whole landscape is destroyed. The ocean is on fire in places where ships have wrecked. You’ll see lots of whale skeletons because they couldn’t survive. They all died out and washed against the shore. Maine already has a certain spooky atmosphere. You think about Stephen King. There’s a bit of a horror element that we’re excited about.”
The island itself is rather toxic, covered in a deadly radioactive fog, Lead Producer Phil Nelson states that:
“It’s not like walking around the Commonwealth and maybe encountering some pockets of radiation… The island is radiation.”
There are also 3 factions on the island to deal with, firstly the citizens of Far Harbour, who have made their refuge in the coastal town they are described as a “more rugged, withdrawn group than any you’ve met to this point.” They are meant to be unfriendly, but not necessarily hostile – just gruff I presume!
Then there are the Children of Atom, who have a safe haven inland due to a device that keeps the fog at bay – they are hostile and have a “mission to convert everyone and destroy anyone who refuses to follow” – which means that they are in direct conflict with the citizens of Far Harbour. They also have plans to expand -and the news there is that “Yes, you can build settlements on the island – but first you have to gain their trust.”
The third group are the Synths, who seem peaceful and are hiding high in the mountains. Not much else is mentioned about them…
The path through this DLC will put you into contact with each group, and you will have some big choices to make which will affect each. Lead Designer, William Shen explains:
“Everyone you meet has their own agendas and goals they try to drag the player into… Everyone has a sympathetic side, and a side that’s not-so-sympathetic, and you have to decide where you’re going to land. We wanted to include a ton of different options. Is it possible to go through with no one dying? Can you just decide to destroy everyone? Can you bring certain people to justice and drag out certain truths? Is it worth exposing this person if it means all these other people are going to be hurt? We give you a lot of tools and information that affects all groups, and then you have the ability to decide what you’re going to do with it.”
There are of course, new everything in this DLC, including new weapons, armour, puzzles, crafting options, characters, perks and creatures. Three of the new creatures are the ” Fog Crawler – a huge creature, standing just taller than a Deathclaw – with two large pincers.” and then there’s the “Angler, an amphibious monster that lurks under the surface of the water and has a lure disguised as a flower common to the island.” and finally there is also the “Gulper, a salamander-like creature of varying sizes.”
As for characters, your new companion is a nice young man called Longfellow, who will be one of the first people you encounter in Far Harbour, Phil Nelson says:
“Longfellow is sort of your Quint from Jaws…You show up on the island and you’re pointed to him because no one knows the island better than Longfellow. He’s this seriously grizzled old salty-type. The first thing he does is flat-out tell you that you’re unprepared for the island.”
Fallout 4 Far Harbour is available in a few hours for £19.99/$24.99 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Are you looking forward to rubbing shoulders with Longfellow in Far Harbour? Will you gain the trust of the Children of Atom? Are you laughing because you purchase the Season Pass before the price was hiked up? Tell us what you think in the comment below or in the RGM Forums!
