But even ignoring this series' roots, the most recurring element within this open-world shooter masquerading as a role-playing game is the complete, almost desperate, lack of direction when it comes to how it is put together. It chases after modern trends, instead of chiselling them into a coherent product.

The more polished shooting mechanics – greatly improved since Fallout 3 – are contrasted with the statistical nature of the combat, which Bethesda inherited but doesn't know how to handle. The result is a dreadful game experience, where you'll keep pumping the same enemy with dozens of head shots which the animations try to meaningfully sell.

One of Fallout 4's most publicised features, the ability to build your own settlements, is entirely disconnected from the rest of the game. You could rebuild the entire wasteland and nothing would change, relegating the entire affair to a bloated mini-game rather than something that was meant to work in tandem with the game's other elements.

The main quest tries so hard to come up with dramatic hooks regarding one of your loved ones or the nature of being human, yet they fail so completely due to existing in a sandbox designed for the player to run for hours on end from building to building, shooting and looting everything in sight.