I've got to be honest... I don't understand [i]why[/i] this thing gets such a bad rap.
I mean, a LOT of the people complaining in the reviews are just complaining about the Creation Club. The thing is that this Season Pass really doesn't have anything to [i]do[/i] with the Creation Club. You don't get CC credits for buying the season pass. You don't need any DLCs to use any CC items. The only apparent connection this Season Pass has to the Creation CLub is that they're both published by Bethesda. [sarcasm]Because, you know, if a company does [i]one[/i] thing that I dislike, obviously, I have to hate every single thing it does because it's unfeasible for anything to be a mix of good AND bad qualities.[/sarcasm]
In case you hadn't figured it out, I think that line of thinking is really, [i]really[/i] stupid. When you judge something, you should judge it on its own merits. So, I suppose we should probably start [i]actually[/i] talking about the Season Pass itself, right?
Ultimately, whether or not you should buy the season pass is simply a matter of math. I honestly doubt that Bethesda's gonna start putting out any more DLC for this game, [spoiler](aside from the occasional CC update, which again, has nothing to do with the season pass)[/spoiler] so what you get from buying this is just going to be the six already published DLC. The cost of those DLCs:
Far Harbor: $24.99
Nuka-World: $19.99
Automatron: $9.99
Vault-tec Workshop: $4.99
Wasteland Workshop: $4.99
Contraptions Workshop: $4.99
Total cost: $69.94
At only $49.99, the Season Pass is nearly $20 cheaper than buying each DLC seperately. It also happens to be the best value available if you own the game and want all the DLCs. In one review for the Season Pass I read, the reviewer told people to get the Game of the Year edition instead, claiming it was a better value. But, it isn't, as it costs $59.99. Granted, it also comes with the base game attached, which is at a $29.99 value, but you don't get an extra copy of it if you already own the base game, so if you [i]do[/i] own the base game already, [spoiler]which, if you don't, why are you reading reviews for its DLC in the first place?[/spoiler] getting the Game-of-the-Year edition instead of the season pass is just wasting $10 for no real reason whatsoever.
So, now that we've established that the Season Pass is the most cost effective way to acquire all of the DLC for Fallout 4, we need to decide... are those six DLC actually worth it?
Ultimately, this is largely a matter of opinion. See, with Bethesda Games, their DLCs tend to fall primarily into two categories, which I prefer to call "Story" DLC and "Stuff" DLC. The Story DLC add new quests, characters, items, and locations to the game, and have their own story arc associated with them. In essence, they're basically expansions of the base game, and if you enjoy the base game, just about all of Bethesda's Story DLC are worth spending money for.
Stuff DLC, on the other hand, primarily just add stuff to the game, with often times little depth behind them. They can vary in quality, from FNV's Gun-Runner's Arsenal on the high end of the spectrum, to, well, most Creation Club items on the other end. At best, they can certainly improve your gameplay experience, but most Stuff DLC you can safely take or leave.
Of the DLCs this game has, three of them are clearly just these Stuff DLCs... that would be the three with the word "workshop" in their titles. Let it be known that Vault-tec Workshop actually [i]does[/i] have a story, but the story takes a back seat to the stuff. Furthermore, all three of these DLC focus almost entirely on the settlement building system. While I personally like building settlements, if you don't, you won't get much out of these three.
But, if we go back to our math, we'd realize that, even if you ignored the three Stuff DLCs, and only got the other three, you'd still be saving money by getting them through the Season Pass. It's $54.97 for Far Harbor, Nuka-World, and Automatron, when purchased seperately.
Of these, Far Harbor is clearly the best. That's probably why it's the most expensive. If you like Fallout 4, definitely get Far Harbor. Nuka-World in unconventional, as it centers around playing as a raider. If you're late in the game when you get this DLC, trying to play it can cause a lot of problems with your companions and the factions you ally with. That's why it's best to start a new character for Nuka-World, but I'd still say it's worth getting. Finally, Automatron has the shortest story of all three, likely why it's the cheapest Story DLC here. It doesn't come with a new world map to explore, just new locations in the Commonwealth, but it does add this really cool robot construction mechanic that lets you build custom robots that can get pretty powerful. If that sounds cool to you, definitely get Automatron.
Now, keep in mind, there are scenarios in which you won't get your money's worth from the Season Pass. If you already own Far Harbor or Nuka-World, or simply decide you don't want one or both of them, or if you decide you want [i]only[/i] those two or already own the four cheaper DLCs, you'll be losing money on this Season Pass. But otherwise, this is still the most cost-effective way to get your DLC.
But, there's still the matter of the whole "costing $50" deal. And, yeah, for what you get, that is overpriced. But here's the thing: The Season Pass [i]is on Steam[/i]. So it goes on sale frequently. At the time of writing this, the Season pass is 50% off. [spoiler]All the individual DLC are only 40% off, also, meaning the proportion of money saved is even greater.[/spoiler] If you decide you actually want the Season Pass, [i]just wait for it to go on sale[/i]. In all honesty, I don't understand why anyone would buy anything off Steam for full price when sales are just so frequent.
So, ultimately, yeah, I recommend this item. Just don't buy it at full price.
