Christopher Byrd (The Washington Post) has reviewed Fallout 4:

Fallout 4 is a game that can swallow you whole. Just give it time.

Bethesda Game Studios makes games that can swallow you whole. I once traded in their fantasy epic The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind (2002) because I was too engrossed in it. For almost a month, I played it like it was my job, averaging at least eight hours a day. It was the first game I ever dreamt about regularly. I had never had to sever myself from a game before so I felt spiritually dirty the day I left it at GameStop.

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The more you become involved in the game’s political factions whose interests lie in opposing directions, the more compelling it becomes. Fallout 4 didn’t click for me until close to 30 hours in when the perks I unlocked for my character started to powerfully gel. I began to sink into the cozy logistics of devising micro and macro goals for my character such as thinking about what unexplored area to visit next or speculating on how far I might carry an allegiance before I betray it.

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Fallout 4 is best appreciated over time. Play it for ten hours and the game will likely feel underwhelming. Play it for fifty then see if you can stop yourself from playing it for fifty more.