Fallout London feels like an actual Bethesda RPG launch: heaps of praise mixed in with plenty of crash complaints

Fallout London screenshot
(Image credit: Team FOLON)

Complaints of frequent crashes mixed together with heaps of praise? Fallout London's first day feels very much like a normal Bethesda RPG release.

For the uninitiated, Fallout London is the absolutely massive Fallout 4 conversion mod that brings the apocalyptic nuclear clouds over to the English capital. After five years in development, almost 100 volunteer developers involved, and multiple delays thanks to both global conflicts and Bethesda's mod-breaking next-gen update, Fallout London finally crossed the finish line yesterday.

All that turbulence seems to have been worth it since Fallout London has so far impressed with a lengthy main quest that rivals even the base game's - the modding team refers to London as "Fallout 4.5" for a reason - and callbacks to British pop culture that has everyone doing surprised Pikachu faces online. 

Very British Redditor Jellyfish_McSaveloy called it "very good," and was surprised by how "authentic" the city felt. "I expected the developers to get the major monuments right," they wrote, "but I walked outside Greenwich station and it's literally the same as the real-life location." 

Other players mentioned that you can find knockoff versions of English delicacy Heinz beans, Mr. Kipling's Cherry Bakewells, and a 'horse meat' food item - almost definitely a callback to the scandal where millions of products were recalled because supermarket chains were selling horse meat advertised as pure beef. The Fallout London team are, at the very least, big foodies.

Acclaim around an authentic city and interesting storyline isn't enough to drown out noise about, you know, the mod not properly working for some people. Several Reddit posts are littered with reports about Fallout London continually crashing, though one hero thankfully rounded up a list of potential fixes, so you can spend your weekend in another post-apocalypse completely unhindered. As long as the fixes actually fix your issues. 

Either way, it wouldn't feel like a proper Bethesda release without crossing your fingers to ward off the threat of a looming crash. Hell, even Fallout 4's long-awaited next-gen update didn't work properly. So, in other words, we're so back.

Fallout London arrived at the perfect time because Todd Howard recently said that Bethesda aren’t in a rush to develop more Fallouts: “I don’t think it’s bad for people to miss things.” 

CATEGORIES
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

Read more
Fallout 4 mod Fallout London screenshot showing a ruinous post-apocalyptic Camden
As if Fallout: London wasn't already big enough, its devs now say the mod's "first DLC is getting closer" with "more surprises" to come
Fallout
Disco Elysium lead says original Fallout is an RPG "that's almost Biblical in its annihilation," making "other post-apocalyptic worldbuilding seem like an amusement park"
Key art for Atomfall showing a character in the English countryside looking at a nuclear plant some distance away
Atomfall review: "This isn't British Fallout – it's something much better than that"
Fallout: New Vegas mod Fallout: Nuevo Mexico
After 4 years, Fallout: New Vegas' massive New Mexico mod is canceled: "Continuing forward simply isn't sustainable"
Atomfall screenshot
Fallout: New Vegas is a big inspiration for Atomfall, which is why you’ll be able to kill every NPC in post-apocalyptic Cumbria
Victor, the friendly cowboy robot from New Vegas
Modiphius sets date for delayed Fallout New Vegas TRPG sourcebook, alongside a solo adventure that lets you play as a super mutant, ghoul, or robot
Latest in Fallout
Fallout 76 screenshot showing an irradiated mutant man-like creature screeching, its sharp canine teeth showing
After 14 years at Bethesda, Skyrim and Fallout veteran made his final settlement in just 2 days – but only because he'd made some rough ones before that
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
Fallout overseer
Original Fallout creator says he "pushed" for a happy ending with "cake and balloons" instead of the RPG's downbeat finale
Fallout
Disco Elysium lead says original Fallout is an RPG "that's almost Biblical in its annihilation," making "other post-apocalyptic worldbuilding seem like an amusement park"
Fallout 4 mod Fallout London screenshot showing a ruinous post-apocalyptic Camden
As if Fallout: London wasn't already big enough, its devs now say the mod's "first DLC is getting closer" with "more surprises" to come
mister burke sat in a beige suit, black tie, white shirt, and black hat and shades
Bethesda fans raise $140k for prolific VA's medical bills as Bethesda describes him as "an incredibly talented and instrument part of our games"
Latest in News
Lunar Remastered Collection
"Will today’s players still enjoy a game from 30 years ago?": JRPG icon Kei Shigema says he was thrilled to see Lunar getting a remaster even if he's not involved himself
Nick Offerman as Bill and Murray Bartlett as Frank in The Last of Us episode 3
The Last of Us season 2 showrunners tease a "gorgeous" episode akin to season 1’s Emmy-nominated Bill and Frank story: "Just you wait"
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
CD Projekt boss says "cutting-edge single-player games" – you know, like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 – will "continue to enjoy great popularity" despite industry shifts
Cyberpunk 2077
Despite releasing exactly zero new games, CD Projekt bagged $120 million in profit for 2024 – the Witcher and Cyberpunk studio's third-best result ever
Muse
Daredevil: Born Again midseason trailer teases Matt Murdock’s violent fight with Muse, including a gory scene straight from the comics
Batman looking over the city during Batman: Arkham City, one of the best PS3 games.
The PS2 Batman Begins game was considered such a "disaster" that Christopher Nolan turned down a Dark Knight-inspired game