Verdict:
6.5/10
B-
TL;DR:
If Joshua Graham wasn't in it, I wouldn't recommend it; he has to take some time to recover his back from carrying this DLC. It's really the only reason to play this DLC, besides the loot. While I did find enjoyment in the quest line, it's not without its faults. I wish it had undergone more development time to address the issues that both I and other players encountered.
The Good:
- Survivalist: A highlight is the Survivalist's story, conveyed through terminal entries scattered throughout the caves. I strongly suggest delving into these terminal logs for a deeper understanding of his backstory. If collecting the logs seems too tedious, I recommend watching Synonymous' video on this topic.
- The New Loot: The newly introduced weapons and attire are great, particularly Joshua's handgun and his outfit. Additionally, the Survivalist's rifle deserves a noteworthy mention.
- Scenery: Zion Canyon's landscape is distinctly beautiful and immersive. Offering a refreshing departure from the Mojave wasteland, it provides a unique environment.
- The portrayal of the Christian Mormons, known as the New Canaanites, was nice and respectful. It's a pleasant departure from the stereotypical image of Christians in the media.
- Joshua Graham, known as the Burned Man, saves this DLC from mediocrity single-handedly. A compelling and memorable character, he serves as the highlight of the entire experience. Graham's brilliant, engaging, and highly quotable voice lines contribute significantly to the overall enjoyment. The exceptional voice performance by his actor further enhances the depth and impact of his character.
- No Essential NPCs: If you desire, similar to the base game, you have the freedom to kill any NPC in the valley. However, there's an odd exception with the NPCs of the Happy Trails Caravan at the beginning of the DLC. Attempting to kill these NPCs would of prevent you from visiting Zion. Which is probably why this is the case. But still weird nonetheless.
The Bad:
- Abruptly Short Playtime: The playtime of Honest Hearts is a significant drawback, resulting in an unsatisfying short experience. The DLC concludes abruptly, leaving you with a sense of unfulfillment and a feeling that potential opportunities were missed.
- The absence of unique new creatures in Honest Hearts, despite the distinct landscape of Zion, is a noticeable drawback. The DLC heavily relies on reusing and reskinning creatures from the base game, hinting at a potentially rushed development and contributing to a sense of disappointment.
- Unfortunately, the ugly cave interiors are copied directly from the base game.
- The side quests weren't that good and were very simple and short.
Story Critique:
The central conflict in this DLC revolves around the different approaches of Joshua and Daniel in addressing the White Legs threat. Daniel advocates a more passive option, suggesting the evacuation of The Sorrows and the Dead Horses from Zion Canyon to prevent potential conflict and preserve the peaceful nature of the Sorrows. In contrast, Joshua proposes a more militant response, advocating the use of the tribes to crush the White Legs and essentially commit genocide against them. Despite expressing his distaste for killing, Joshua sees it as a necessary chore when done righteously.
While I appreciate the underlying concept of the story in this DLC, I believe its execution could have been handled more effectively. As the near ending approaches, players are presented with a choice to side with either Daniel or Joshua, influencing the DLC's ending and slides. However, a notable issue arises as the non-chosen character proceeds without protest, failing to present a convincing argument for their perspective. This missed opportunity denies players the chance to witness an engaging conversation and heated debate between two clashing ideas.
Another aspect that could have been improved is the lack of input from the two temporary companions, Waking Cloud and Follows-Chalk, representing the Sorrows and the Dead Horses tribes, respectively. Their failure to express their opinions on the preferable approach for their tribes represents a missed opportunity to delve deeper into their characters and offer additional perspectives.
The White Legs are portrayed as a ruthless and evil faction, demonstrating cruelty and a lack of mercy towards their enemies. It is revealed their actions including the slaughter, destruction, and genocide of the inhabitants of New Canaan. This brutal assault was carried out to gain entry into Caesar's Legion and eliminate their long-standing rival. The Legion, particularly Caesar, was motivated by the death of Joshua. The ruthless attack on New Canaan left no one spared, including children and the defenceless. To ensure no chance of rebuilding, they salted the earth in the aftermath of their destructive campaign. The DLC begins with the White Legs chasing the surviving refugees into Zion, setting the stage for the conflict.
In both endings, players confront Salt-Upon-Wounds. In the evacuation ending, players are presented with the choice of either killing him or convincing him to leave through a speech check. However, this decision appears to render the entire evacuation process pointless, as the White Legs' threat was primarily under the leadership of Salt-Upon-Wounds. If he departs or leaves, the threat is effectively nullified, and the evacuation of The Sorrows from Zion seems unnecessary.
On Joshua's path, players witness a moral decision regarding Salt-Upon-Wounds at the end. Three choices are presented: killing Salt-Upon-Wounds personally, letting Joshua execute him, or sparing his life. Each choice significantly impacts the ending slides for the Sorrows, the Dead Horses, and Joshua himself. Sparing Salt-Upon-Wounds results in the Sorrows maintain their peaceful ways, the Dead Horses avoiding increased violence, and Joshua occasionally showing mercy. Killing Salt-Upon-Wounds personally leads to the Sorrows becoming a warlike tribe, the Dead Horses triumphantly returning home, and Joshua remaining steadfast in his beliefs, occasionally showing mercy. The final option, having Joshua kill, results in the same Dead Horses slide as the second option, while the Sorrows become more violent and warlike. Eventually, the Sorrows reject Daniel, and for Joshua, he becomes even more brutal, and his alias as the Burned Man takes on a more depraved nature.
The pivotal moment in the tribes' evolution and Joshua's transformation into warmongers hinges on the decision to kill or spare Salt-Upon-Wounds, an objectively evil character. This situation seems implausible given Salt-Upon-Wounds' monstrous actions, including the mass murder of innocent individuals, including children. His character is a equivalent of a IRL terrorist leader.
The moral quandary of deciding Salt-Upon-Wounds' fate appears unnecessary, considering the atrocities he committed. A more fitting alternative could involve Salt-Upon-Wounds dying during the battle, followed by the surrender of the remaining White Legs, particularly children and non-combatants. Joshua's proclamation that the surviving White Legs must be dealt with to eliminate threat for good could present players with a choice between a merciless approach or a more merciful alternative. This alternative offers a realistic and thought-provoking choice, aligning better with the potential consequences for the tribes, as the slaughter of defenceless individuals would profoundly impact the tribes' development and endings.
The only choices offered are to either crush the White Legs or evacuate Zion. There's no opportunity to negotiate or persuade the White Legs to leave peacefully. A potential option, like bribing them to relocate, could have been a choice. The lack of a pacifist route is noticeable, as both endings involve killing. This missed opportunity may be to rushed development.
6.5/10
B-
TL;DR:
If Joshua Graham wasn't in it, I wouldn't recommend it; he has to take some time to recover his back from carrying this DLC. It's really the only reason to play this DLC, besides the loot. While I did find enjoyment in the quest line, it's not without its faults. I wish it had undergone more development time to address the issues that both I and other players encountered.
The Good:
- Survivalist: A highlight is the Survivalist's story, conveyed through terminal entries scattered throughout the caves. I strongly suggest delving into these terminal logs for a deeper understanding of his backstory. If collecting the logs seems too tedious, I recommend watching Synonymous' video on this topic.
- The New Loot: The newly introduced weapons and attire are great, particularly Joshua's handgun and his outfit. Additionally, the Survivalist's rifle deserves a noteworthy mention.
- Scenery: Zion Canyon's landscape is distinctly beautiful and immersive. Offering a refreshing departure from the Mojave wasteland, it provides a unique environment.
- The portrayal of the Christian Mormons, known as the New Canaanites, was nice and respectful. It's a pleasant departure from the stereotypical image of Christians in the media.
- Joshua Graham, known as the Burned Man, saves this DLC from mediocrity single-handedly. A compelling and memorable character, he serves as the highlight of the entire experience. Graham's brilliant, engaging, and highly quotable voice lines contribute significantly to the overall enjoyment. The exceptional voice performance by his actor further enhances the depth and impact of his character.
- No Essential NPCs: If you desire, similar to the base game, you have the freedom to kill any NPC in the valley. However, there's an odd exception with the NPCs of the Happy Trails Caravan at the beginning of the DLC. Attempting to kill these NPCs would of prevent you from visiting Zion. Which is probably why this is the case. But still weird nonetheless.
The Bad:
- Abruptly Short Playtime: The playtime of Honest Hearts is a significant drawback, resulting in an unsatisfying short experience. The DLC concludes abruptly, leaving you with a sense of unfulfillment and a feeling that potential opportunities were missed.
- The absence of unique new creatures in Honest Hearts, despite the distinct landscape of Zion, is a noticeable drawback. The DLC heavily relies on reusing and reskinning creatures from the base game, hinting at a potentially rushed development and contributing to a sense of disappointment.
- Unfortunately, the ugly cave interiors are copied directly from the base game.
- The side quests weren't that good and were very simple and short.
Story Critique:
The central conflict in this DLC revolves around the different approaches of Joshua and Daniel in addressing the White Legs threat. Daniel advocates a more passive option, suggesting the evacuation of The Sorrows and the Dead Horses from Zion Canyon to prevent potential conflict and preserve the peaceful nature of the Sorrows. In contrast, Joshua proposes a more militant response, advocating the use of the tribes to crush the White Legs and essentially commit genocide against them. Despite expressing his distaste for killing, Joshua sees it as a necessary chore when done righteously.
While I appreciate the underlying concept of the story in this DLC, I believe its execution could have been handled more effectively. As the near ending approaches, players are presented with a choice to side with either Daniel or Joshua, influencing the DLC's ending and slides. However, a notable issue arises as the non-chosen character proceeds without protest, failing to present a convincing argument for their perspective. This missed opportunity denies players the chance to witness an engaging conversation and heated debate between two clashing ideas.
Another aspect that could have been improved is the lack of input from the two temporary companions, Waking Cloud and Follows-Chalk, representing the Sorrows and the Dead Horses tribes, respectively. Their failure to express their opinions on the preferable approach for their tribes represents a missed opportunity to delve deeper into their characters and offer additional perspectives.
The White Legs are portrayed as a ruthless and evil faction, demonstrating cruelty and a lack of mercy towards their enemies. It is revealed their actions including the slaughter, destruction, and genocide of the inhabitants of New Canaan. This brutal assault was carried out to gain entry into Caesar's Legion and eliminate their long-standing rival. The Legion, particularly Caesar, was motivated by the death of Joshua. The ruthless attack on New Canaan left no one spared, including children and the defenceless. To ensure no chance of rebuilding, they salted the earth in the aftermath of their destructive campaign. The DLC begins with the White Legs chasing the surviving refugees into Zion, setting the stage for the conflict.
In both endings, players confront Salt-Upon-Wounds. In the evacuation ending, players are presented with the choice of either killing him or convincing him to leave through a speech check. However, this decision appears to render the entire evacuation process pointless, as the White Legs' threat was primarily under the leadership of Salt-Upon-Wounds. If he departs or leaves, the threat is effectively nullified, and the evacuation of The Sorrows from Zion seems unnecessary.
On Joshua's path, players witness a moral decision regarding Salt-Upon-Wounds at the end. Three choices are presented: killing Salt-Upon-Wounds personally, letting Joshua execute him, or sparing his life. Each choice significantly impacts the ending slides for the Sorrows, the Dead Horses, and Joshua himself. Sparing Salt-Upon-Wounds results in the Sorrows maintain their peaceful ways, the Dead Horses avoiding increased violence, and Joshua occasionally showing mercy. Killing Salt-Upon-Wounds personally leads to the Sorrows becoming a warlike tribe, the Dead Horses triumphantly returning home, and Joshua remaining steadfast in his beliefs, occasionally showing mercy. The final option, having Joshua kill, results in the same Dead Horses slide as the second option, while the Sorrows become more violent and warlike. Eventually, the Sorrows reject Daniel, and for Joshua, he becomes even more brutal, and his alias as the Burned Man takes on a more depraved nature.
The pivotal moment in the tribes' evolution and Joshua's transformation into warmongers hinges on the decision to kill or spare Salt-Upon-Wounds, an objectively evil character. This situation seems implausible given Salt-Upon-Wounds' monstrous actions, including the mass murder of innocent individuals, including children. His character is a equivalent of a IRL terrorist leader.
The moral quandary of deciding Salt-Upon-Wounds' fate appears unnecessary, considering the atrocities he committed. A more fitting alternative could involve Salt-Upon-Wounds dying during the battle, followed by the surrender of the remaining White Legs, particularly children and non-combatants. Joshua's proclamation that the surviving White Legs must be dealt with to eliminate threat for good could present players with a choice between a merciless approach or a more merciful alternative. This alternative offers a realistic and thought-provoking choice, aligning better with the potential consequences for the tribes, as the slaughter of defenceless individuals would profoundly impact the tribes' development and endings.
The only choices offered are to either crush the White Legs or evacuate Zion. There's no opportunity to negotiate or persuade the White Legs to leave peacefully. A potential option, like bribing them to relocate, could have been a choice. The lack of a pacifist route is noticeable, as both endings involve killing. This missed opportunity may be to rushed development.
"I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me" is one of the rawest lines in all fiction."
The writing is very good but it's way too short and the final missions drag a bit too much.
the dlcs werent THAT good for fnv
I'll admit it; I'm a sucker for anything Tribal related in Fallout. I blame Fallout 2 for this. That being said, this DLC is extremely short being only around 2 hours long.
It has some excellent writing and philosophical dialogue that really does carry the extremely simplistic and completely uninteresting story, however. On a second playthrough I realized just how short this DLC was, definitely recommended if only to witness Joshua Graham's character and dialogue.
It has some excellent writing and philosophical dialogue that really does carry the extremely simplistic and completely uninteresting story, however. On a second playthrough I realized just how short this DLC was, definitely recommended if only to witness Joshua Graham's character and dialogue.
This review contains spoilers
The only reason that I gave this such a high rating is one character - Joshua Graham. The reason I like this DLC so much more than Dead Money is because there is a character I actually care about, and want to see through their story. The gameplay of the DLC itself is basically just a scaled down version of the base game with less choices, but that is fine. My favorite armor set in the game is unique to the DLC, the desert ranger outfit, but other than that and the survivalist’s rifle, the gear is pretty lacking. I just wish we could have seen more of Joshua Graham. If he was in the main game as a primary option, I’d side with him over even Mr. House.
While I did enjoy this DLC more than the previous Dead Money, I still think it falters in a few areas. While I love the characters in this DLC, I think the overall story isn’t as strong as dead money. Where I think it improves over the previous dlc is in its world design. Gone are the cramped and desolate villas and casino and in its place is a massive new river area for your to explore, which I think fits the New Vegas loop much better. Even though the story could’ve been better, it’s a still a great lil dlc to revisit.
Joshua Graham, man, such a great character.
Too bad he's kind of wasted in this samey and boring DLC. Kill stuff and explore a world made for a game with a more vertical movement system. This DLC would've made more sense in Breath of the Wild with how bad the open world feels to traverse. It also crashed a lot for me- I never lost any progress, but it's a bit annoying. It's just more Fallout, and I'm OK with that.
Too bad he's kind of wasted in this samey and boring DLC. Kill stuff and explore a world made for a game with a more vertical movement system. This DLC would've made more sense in Breath of the Wild with how bad the open world feels to traverse. It also crashed a lot for me- I never lost any progress, but it's a bit annoying. It's just more Fallout, and I'm OK with that.
childhood is when you idolize joshua graham..... adulthood is when you realize follows chalk makes more sense
Three extremely cool characters and 10,000 geckos. Genuinely do not know how to feel about this one- almost every "tribal" character is flat and feels vaguely not okay, and the world can feel a lot more barren and dull than a lot of New Vegas's normal locales; the story it tells is definitely compelling, but, to me, feels less personal and affecting than Dead Money. In a lot of ways this holds the appeal of FO3 or Skyrim, where it's a largely empty open world that's also very pretty to gallivant through and is filled with things to shoot/experience points to rack up. Outside of its scenery and the writing of a few characters it's not very memorable but it's clean honest fun!
solid thats really it. wish it was better but I'm still happy with what I got
I really like the way this DLC handles faith in general. It's something messy, conflicting, deeply related to the people interpreting it, and yet it's still treated with sincerity and is shown to be a legitimately redemptive force just as much as it allows unearned clemency and hides developmental backslides. It works nicely with the themes of forgiveness and lost innocence.
It is annoying that it entirely secularizes the faith of the natives, though. I'd much have preferred a wider cosmology (especially because syncretization is such a major emphasis of their culture), but this DLC's scope of writing is pretty tight and I understand the mindset that led them to have everything tie back to the relationships between Canaanites and the people who are inexorably affected by their tendrils of imperialism. That's also why I always get a little annoyed at it being boiled down to "lol white savior" when the entire point is more about how it is impossible to take back that first contact - Joshua Graham is unambiguously, textually, the worst thing that ever happened to the Dead Legs or the Sorrows. The petty feud of a Hegelian LARPer causes real, appreciable harm that is delegated into comforting obscurity, and this largely-pointless conflict harms people well outside its scope. Daniel and Joshua can never actually find the peace they crave, only shades of it that still haunt their dreams. Every action they take here is a supplicative effort to spare their egos from fully reckoning with the ruin they singlehandedly brought these people.
The problem is that this DLC does not give remotely enough voices to the natives because of its tightdeadlines scope and that because it's a Choices Matter Roleplaying Game the PC has more sway than any individual voice, and this taints a good deal of its genuinely deep worldbuilding, character writing, and thematics. They have no real agency in the plot and the entire "innocence lost" angle mostly serves to infantilize. I don't think it's ill-intended, inasmuch as it's a victim of just being a DLC and thusly lacking the scope needed to tackle it three-dimensionally and being trapped in the structure of the base game, and I'll fully admit a good deal of this is cope when I know that Josh Sawyer has politics that are resoundly anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, and anti-colonialist.
As much as it complicates its main narrative, the DLC's tight focus works to its benefit gameplay-wise. It does not overstay its welcome and is a pure, concentrated hit of Bethesda Dopamine that I sorely desired after Starfield's fast travel-heavy UX nightmare left me in the cold. There's always something cool to look at and something useful to find (if you're in hardcore mode, at least), and the Survivalist's logs is a very large part of why I love this genre. The .45 pistols are so fucking cool (and kinda so fucking busted) that they singlehandedly justify the DLC's existence.
At one point Daniel tells the player off: "Throughout our history, we have called many places Zion. This valley is full of God's beauty, but it's just a place. Zion is more than this."
I grew up in this part of the country. I used to believe what the Caananites believed. I can't ever go back there, even though those red rocks and blue skies are so comforting to me that these crude Gamebryo replications make me long so much that I ache. I can't ever commit to what guides these men, knowing what it's done to my family.
Even if he's allowed to stick to his morals, though, he can't help it. Even as he builds new lives for himself and those he loves, this place'll haunt his dreams for the rest of his life. Turning your back on Zion always leaves you emptier.
It is annoying that it entirely secularizes the faith of the natives, though. I'd much have preferred a wider cosmology (especially because syncretization is such a major emphasis of their culture), but this DLC's scope of writing is pretty tight and I understand the mindset that led them to have everything tie back to the relationships between Canaanites and the people who are inexorably affected by their tendrils of imperialism. That's also why I always get a little annoyed at it being boiled down to "lol white savior" when the entire point is more about how it is impossible to take back that first contact - Joshua Graham is unambiguously, textually, the worst thing that ever happened to the Dead Legs or the Sorrows. The petty feud of a Hegelian LARPer causes real, appreciable harm that is delegated into comforting obscurity, and this largely-pointless conflict harms people well outside its scope. Daniel and Joshua can never actually find the peace they crave, only shades of it that still haunt their dreams. Every action they take here is a supplicative effort to spare their egos from fully reckoning with the ruin they singlehandedly brought these people.
The problem is that this DLC does not give remotely enough voices to the natives because of its tight
As much as it complicates its main narrative, the DLC's tight focus works to its benefit gameplay-wise. It does not overstay its welcome and is a pure, concentrated hit of Bethesda Dopamine that I sorely desired after Starfield's fast travel-heavy UX nightmare left me in the cold. There's always something cool to look at and something useful to find (if you're in hardcore mode, at least), and the Survivalist's logs is a very large part of why I love this genre. The .45 pistols are so fucking cool (and kinda so fucking busted) that they singlehandedly justify the DLC's existence.
At one point Daniel tells the player off: "Throughout our history, we have called many places Zion. This valley is full of God's beauty, but it's just a place. Zion is more than this."
I grew up in this part of the country. I used to believe what the Caananites believed. I can't ever go back there, even though those red rocks and blue skies are so comforting to me that these crude Gamebryo replications make me long so much that I ache. I can't ever commit to what guides these men, knowing what it's done to my family.
Even if he's allowed to stick to his morals, though, he can't help it. Even as he builds new lives for himself and those he loves, this place'll haunt his dreams for the rest of his life. Turning your back on Zion always leaves you emptier.
feels a little light and maybe I'm consequently overrating this (it feels VERY fast to complete, locations aren't exactly full of collectables) but the environments are easily the best in the game, even the cave interiors, and the writing is surely the best too. it's sort of a shame the only incentive to explore more of joshua graham's story, and all of the biblical references around the entire thing, are more or less entirely on you, but, like, why would you not yknow? this stuff is captivating. grateful the option to return exists too, even if there's more or less absolutely no reason to
I found that the DLC had added not too much to gain from the area with little items I had carried over to the main world. The area was empty of many helpful items such as doctor bags and stimpacks which made the area infinity more difficult. I had completed the DLC with large gaps between playing it
they made the brave decision to add mormonism to fallout. at least we got to see the burned man i guess. that was neat.
I love you Joshua Graham
The weakest of New Vegas's DLCs. The canyon setting is boring, the story doesn't offer much, and the locations are lackluster. No cool items other than the Desert Armor.
I really like the weapons and Joshua Graham is so cool
(I replayed the intro of the game SO MANY TIMES to try to save the crew)
(I replayed the intro of the game SO MANY TIMES to try to save the crew)
way less of a white savior narrative than i was expecting; it's just self-aware and candid about the fact that the conflict was birthed by joshua and daniel's presence enough to avoid veering off into complete cartoonishness. even so, the dlc is way too brief to really do most of its ideas any real justice or feel completely level-headed about the topics it intends to dissect - a shame since you'd expect joshua in particular to get more screentime and focus considering what a titan he is in new vegas' lore.
that said i'd still become a good mormon housewife for him
that said i'd still become a good mormon housewife for him
A bit short DLC, but with interesting story and some characters.
it's very funny how mormons are the most thought provoking or hardest motherfuckers in fallout
Is me racist for shooting Follows Chalk and failing like 20 missions??
Graham was incredible but mannnnn he deserved a better world and characters to share the DLC with
I'm conflicted on this one. The world is large but feels empty, there's really not much to look at and the quests are very dull. I couldn't care less about the tribal conflicts, there's not a single interesting character among them. It's only worth playing because Joshua Graham is one hell of a character with a great arc.
This DLC brings you to a beautiful change of scenery. That's pretty much all that's going for this place though. It's filled with locations, but they are pretty much all useless to me anyways. If you just like looking at stuff its fine, but this place has no loot whatsoever, so I find very little care about.
That is except for The Survivalist's loot. The best part of the DLC by far is his short story. It's harrowing, personal, deep, and beautiful. Just a wonderfully written biography of a man trying to survive and do right by the sins he places upon himself.
Much like Joshua, the other highlight of the DLC. Not as good as The Survivalist mind you, but still a strong character.
This DLC is also fucking brutal on melee players. The wild animals here will fucking shred you so having to get in close to melee them hurts a lot.
That is except for The Survivalist's loot. The best part of the DLC by far is his short story. It's harrowing, personal, deep, and beautiful. Just a wonderfully written biography of a man trying to survive and do right by the sins he places upon himself.
Much like Joshua, the other highlight of the DLC. Not as good as The Survivalist mind you, but still a strong character.
This DLC is also fucking brutal on melee players. The wild animals here will fucking shred you so having to get in close to melee them hurts a lot.
A nice short little story, love the change of scenery, it wasn't too interesting tho
some really long filler content, fairly uninteresting plot and some really dull enemies and dungeons
Joshua Graham carried this DLC. I can't give it less than 3,5 when it has the best written character in the entire game. Story and setting is nice as well + Daniel is a bitch
one of the weaker dlc's but still really good.
The prettiest New Vegas expansion, which is welcome given how ugly the game can be at times. It's much simpler narratively than the other expansions which makes it a simple but solid experience. It's also nice to see some more tribal cultures outside of Fallout 2.