Fallout: London Is a Blast—If Only It Would Stop Crashing

I’ve been eagerly diving into the massive Fallout 4 mod, Fallout: London. My brief time in its brilliantly British wasteland has been filled with quirky delights: I read a hilarious terminal entry about a scientist who named his favorite irradiated shrew "Big Dave," whacked a few of those Radshrews with a walking stick, and even choked down some expired pink wafers. I chuckled at a spot-on joke about train delays due to “leaves on the track.” Nothing like a good British transport joke to remind you of the joys of overpriced and underwhelming public services!

But just as I was getting into the swing of things, Fallout: London decided to send me straight back to my desktop. And it didn’t stop there. Every few minutes, just when a conversation was heating up or I was about to load a save, the game would crash again. It’s enough to make my stiff upper lip start to wobble.

Unfortunately, I'm not alone in this frustration. There’s a patch on the way, and a couple of suggested fixes floating around, including downloading yet another mod or addressing a possible Nvidia issue with the ‘Weapon Debris’ setting. But turning off that setting involves uninstalling Fallout: London and Fallout 4, then reinstalling just to access the vanilla settings menu. I’ve already done this twice. First, I tried to get the mod working on Steam, but when that failed, I bought it on GOG. Even after a fresh install to tweak the settings, the crashes continued.

I’m done. To be clear, this isn’t a warning to avoid the mod—Fallout: London is fantastic when it’s working. But I’ve hit my limit for fiddling with files. Instead, I’ll be watching YouTube videos to see more of what the mod has to offer. So, consider this a PSA: make sure you’ve got all the extra mods and settings squared away before diving in, or wait for the patch. Save yourself the headache.

It’s a real shame because London itself is incredible. Everything from the architecture to the lighting, even down to the new dialogue system reminiscent of New Vegas, is a massive improvement over vanilla Fallout 4. The opening area’s atmosphere, for instance, reminded me more of BioShock’s eerie grandeur than anything I expected from a Fallout game, but it works beautifully.

What’s refreshing is the absence of traditional Fallout iconography. Let’s be real: Vault Boy and Nuka-Cola have long lost their satirical edge, now more Funko Pop than biting critique. But here, even the Pip-Boy has been swapped out, giving the setting a much-needed revitalization. And yes, you can still restore health by munching on pink wafers, which is a fun little touch.

So, when you do get around to exploring Fallout: London, I’m sure you’ll love it—just make sure you’re set up and ready to go. As for me, I’ll be haunted by the memory of a giant file that simply refuses to unzip.