Fallout: New Vegas - Dead Money

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Your collar is emitting a high-pitched beeping noise.

Gameplay-wise it's a disaster due to relying on trial-and-error and frustrating mechanics, but the setting, story, dialogue and characters are some of the most memorable in the game. Not to mention the genuinely terrifying atmosphere (fuck those hotel rooms man) which is pretty different from anything else in the main game.

It's a real chore to play, which made me dock the rating by quite a bit, but it's plain to see why it's still loved - it's a masterclass of writing and atmosphere. It's a shame none of this carried over to Honest Hearts.

Whoever designed this DLC didn't know the essence of Fallout or what made it great. Its almost like the creators of this wanted to create an entirely different game and experience, instead of being heavy on exploration and gunning, it focuses on stealth and avoiding combat at all means. Its actually a pretty brutal DLC where getting involved in combat can screw you up bad and the only way to get stimpacks is crafting them through machines since the DLC basically takes away all your items and makes you start with nothing. I mean it doesn't sound bad on paper, but with the system this DLC doesn't really work, and what really brings the DLC for me isn't the stealth focus or heavy resource management, but the fact that there are areas you can't go in or you will instantly die after a few seconds. The game decided to implement a system where there are hidden speakers and devices that if you get close to them will cause you to explore, so you basically have to rush through these areas or get lucky and find the source of the noise to shut it down. This is annoying, but it gets even worse during the final part of the game where speakers are everywhere and they are hidden well and hard to find.

This is one of the worst ideas I've seen implemented in a game and basically throws out the stealth since it forces you to rush through areas and find the source, and at the same time there will be powerful enemies chasing you. Did I also mention this DLC involves a lot of backtracking to areas and has a really bland and generic look and design to it. Plus the story is pretty crappy and the new characters are only mildly interesting, sure they are more interesting then many of the New Vegas characters, but they still aren't fully fleshed out and don't really get enough time to develop properly. I mean its a frustrating DLC with poor mechanics, forces you to play the game the way they want you, has bland design, a bad story, and has almost no redeeming qualities other than somewhat unique companions and decent enemy design. Yeah the DLC is playable and has a few alright moments, but the frustrating instant kill mechanic on top of being forced to play the DLC a specific way really kills it.

I can't stand this DLC because the challenges don't afford any creativity. This game forces you to play a certain way. You get no alternatives to any of the challenges, and no advanced tactics to deal with them. I expect RPGs to offer me options to deal with every problem, not force me to deal with constant health-loss, poor visibility, traps that I can't see (because of the poor visibility and the fact that they are placed within "the cloud"), and useless weapons, and to not complain about any of it. This DLC is difficult, but it's mostly just cruel beyond belief.

The now-infamous radios are the quintessential example of what I hate about this DLC. You cannot see most of them without exposing yourself to them, and they don't care whether you're a level 50 player or a level 1 player, none of your skills apply to them. Constructing armor that resists them, or being able to target them in V.A.T.S. are the kind of tactics that should have been implemented. Alas, you cannot, and it turns into trial-and-error. It blows my mind I would ever describe a Fallout game as "trial-and-error" but that perfectly describes this DLC.

The characters and setting are the bright spot in this, although the gameplay often leaves me just wanting to get this DLC over with, so talking with the companions is less interesting than it could be. The Villa is the only part I like about the setting in this game. Seeing the casino hovering above the villa in the horizon sets the mood pretty damn well, but the dark villa is confusing and highly repetitive visually, so it's charm wears very thin after a while.