I loaded it up again a while back, and although I don't think I will ever be able to get over the hideously broken state it was released in, I have to admit that it's hugely improved now. In particular, the level scaling used to be insanely broken - say you were level 30 and then someone that was level 200 came into the same area - at which point everything gets its level bumped up and started to kill you with one hit. It's also much less grindy - in the initial release, you spent way too much of your time going around the map and collecting literal junk so you could fix your gear - that mechanism is still there, but it's been adjusted to be way less obnoxious.
They have also added human NPCs and factions, which make the world seem much more alive. I think the instancing has also been considerably improved, since on this replay I haven't run into the (previously very common) situation where you arrive at a quest location and find someone else has killed the target / picked up the quest item and you have to exit the game, go back in, and hope that the instance you end up in this time has the item you need.
If you were burnt by the launch, it's probably too late to get into it - but if you haven't played it at all, give it a try.
I played it at launch, and it was a broken disaster.
In 2021, I went back and even got the platinum trophy for the game, which only 1% of players on PS have done. I even did a review for it this year on my YouTube channel. I have given this game more than a fair chance. I played it through fully with a new character mere months ago. It's still a poorly designed, and VERY GRINDY game that fails in every way to reward the player for the time spent.
It's grossly imbalanced, and the change they made to the level scaling only served to introduce new problems.
You also get pigeonholed into using certain weapon types. Using a sniper build is 100% useless once you get past level 50, as the enemies are just complete bullet sponges. The game does not scale well, despite the changes.
You run out of ammo far too quickly, and the game doesn't compensate for that, because they want you to keep grinding for more resources to craft.
They added player vendors finally, but then decided to TAX caps on both the seller AND the buyer, which is just one more resource grind.
They still charge you caps to fast travel, which is insane, since the quest designs are so awful, and require multiple trips back and forth to the NPC quest giver, who then often sends you right back to where you just came from, on the opposite side of the map.
The most work goes into selling you more cosmetic items, and forcing players to lean into the Fallout 1st subscription. Literally every player I know who still plays the game is subbed.
The weapon rewards are SO BAD that the game has a third party black market website where people sell rare weapons for actual real world cash, because the game constantly "rewards" you with garbage Legendary rolls like a melee weapon that does "+15% damage to mirelurks", or some other useless roll.
I could keep going, but I think I've made my point clear.
Sorry, but I have given this game far more time than it deserved. Being "better than it was at launch" doesn't magically make it a good game. It's still awful imo. If you enjoy it, great. I am friends with people who still play it every day. They also agree with my assessment of the state of Fallout 76, but they still play anyway for some reason.
