(N.B. Spoilers for Fallout 4’s Nuka World DLC follow. Duh.)

I’ve been a huge fan of the Fallout series ever since some guy I worked with at HEB introduced me to Fallout New Vegas way back in 2009. This isn’t a post about how great Fallout is or which Fallout game is the best. This is about Nuka World: the last DLC for the beautiful game that is Bethesda’s second installment in the Fallout franchise, Fallout 4. So lets dive right in, shall we?

(N. B. B. This is a review in progress. I’ve literally only been playing this DLC for three hours, so there really won’t be much substance to this review. A full review will come in six weeks when I’ve actually finished the DLC.)

Fallout 4 is an amazing game. All launch problems and bugs aside, it’s very impressive. In all honesty, this is probably one of the least buggiest games that Bethesda has ever released. Gah… I said I wasn’t going to do this. Okay. On to Nuka World.

Like most Fallout DLC, Nuka World begins with a radio signal. You’re told to head to the Nuka-rail station. Upon your arrival, you meet a group of not so friendly Gunners that, surprise!, want to kill you. After dispatching your would-be assassins, you meet a man who seems to be injured. He tells you that he has just escaped the raider-infested hell of Nuka World, but his wife and child are still inside. If you’d be willing to help him retrieve his family, he’d toss a handful of caps your way. What’s not to trust?

In the words of Admiral Ackbar: “It’s a trap!” (RIP my froggy friend.)

Upon your arrival, you find that the man who tasked you with finding his family was, in fact, lying to you. The gang of raiders that he works with have set up an intricate maze for you to meander your way through. How ever will you make it out alive?

Really, though. This is a tough one. If I was playing as a lower level or using a different character build, I don’t see how I could’ve gotten out of this. Expert and master locks dot the landscape as you have to make your way from trap infested room to to trap infested room, constantly being bombarded by bottle cap and frag mines

In an unlikely twist of fate, you become the leader of the raider gangs that inhabit the once-great theme park. When first walking around my new kingdom, I came across the marketplace. Not much different here except for a few interesting legendary weapons and armor pieces, typical Fallout 4 fodder. But, it’s once you get into the park that the fun begins.

I made my way into the Kiddie Kingdom, and really, in all honesty, had one of the best experiences in Fallout 4. The boss was tough, the enemies were interesting, and the level design was beautiful. I won’t spoil too much, but it’s just an all around good time.

And that’s what I’m really hoping for with this DLC: fun. Every other DLC released so far has been very serious (or completely settlement driven!); they haven’t been the usual Fallout nonsensical masterpieces that we experienced with New Vegas or Fallout 3. From what I’ve seen so far, Nuka World is going to be more along the lines of ‘Old World Blues’ than ‘Lonesome Road’, and that’s really what we all wanted from Fallout 4.

After the sad, difficult task of finding your son, shouldn’t we have a couple hours of mindless, humorous violence? The answer: yes, I think we should. We deserve it. And so far, Nuka World is delivering just that.

(Keep checking back for my Review in Progress of Fallout 4’s Nuka World DLC)