Just finished the game today after over 120 hours, mostly ignoring the main questline, enjoying the exploration and building. Decied to side with the Railroad as the anti-slavery organization. First annoyance was that I was forced to collaborate with the Institute on such crucial endeavours as allowing them to get a nuclear reactor even though I tried to roleplay a total dislike toward them. Unfortunately, this questline turned out to be a huge disappointment. And I know every other choice would feel equally bad, not mentioning all of them are just plain stupid, illogical and short-sighted. No matter what I would like to do, what other solution I might think about (even those totally obvious ones), the only way to finish the questline is to kill everyone from the opposing factions and destroy everything.

I mean - it's supposed to be a role-playing game. It was even advertised as a one in which my choices would matter. And yet there was totally no way to negotiate with anyone, threaten them, try diplomacy, work out a compromise. The only thing the Railroad was able to come up with was to blow the Institute to hell in a huge underground nuclear explosion (and screw the consequences it would bear for the surface around the place). Not saluaging any tech, not letting less important staff members live, not destroying synth production - just destroy everything.

Same applies to Brotherhood and the Red Glare operation - no negotiations, not even a single dialogue during the whole conflict (even though I was a BoS member when I teleported to get the first reactor part). Just go in, kill everyone, take the part from the lab. Rinse and repeat for the Prydwen. Screw the weapons, the tech, the dialogue.

Such mindless destruction makes every alliance choice just feel bad once I knew that each faction knows only total annihilation of the enemy like in a cheap shooter. Not sure if I'm gonna go for a second playthrough to try out different build or tactics - it all comes down to exterminating everyone who opposes me and my allies.

Yes, the game was enjoyable in general, considering how much time I've spent on it. But the main questline was a total disappointment, even though certain minor plot twists were fun and surprising. Would gladly discuss it further, maybe I overlooked some issues.

I did the Railroad too. Worked out about how I thought it would. I also pretty much argued with Shaun the whole time without him blowing up at me and declaring me an enemy of the Institute, so it's certainly possible to be a diplomatic yet disapproving "ally" to them during the undercover missions. And setting off the evacuate order allows people to get out of the Institute before you completely ruin it, right? Not really 'destroy everything' in that case.

To be fair though - I had no prior contact with the Brotherhood until they came roaring on in to Bunker Hill and started shooting at me on sight. So yeah, blowing the hell out of the Prydwen seemed about right as far as my characters mindset went. I only ever saw them attacking things like some sort of over-zealous old-world military. Which, to be fair, they are.